SIEGE WARFARE DURING THE CRUSADES

Despite the attention dedicated to castles, siege warfare is often given little more than a token chapter in books on these strongholds or medieval warfare more generally and little has been written since 1992. Since 2019, Israeli-led excavations are underway at Arsuf and Montfort, and French teams worked at a number of Syrian strongholds, the crusader town of Caesarea and excavations at Belvoir. Excavations in Syria the citadels of Aleppo and Damascus and countless other strongholds including Gaza and Jaffa, already lost to history, while Crac and others have been damaged during the course of wars in the last 50 years, adding urgency in what is still a volatile region prone to conflict. Sieges played a role in the crusades and the famous battles fought between the Franks and the Muslims. Fulton's graphic, wide-ranging book considers the history of siege warfare in the Holy Land from every angle - tactics and technology, fortifications, composition of the opposing armies and strategy at each stage of the conflict on either side. The differences and similarities between the Eastern and Western traditions are explored, as is the impact of the shifting balance of power in the region. He looks at truces, rapid attack, deception and negotiation, transfer of knowledge, walls and towers, entrances and concludes with an overview of the Siege of Acre 1291, a list of sieges, rulers and their reigns and a glossary. There are ten regional maps including Sinai, Egypt and Cyprus and further maps on major battles and Saladin's campaigns in Palestine 1187 and Syria 1188. Plus plans and dozens of images, graphs and tables. 344 large glossy pages, colour.