D157.B37

- Includes bibliographical references and index - Includes black-and-white illustrations and 5 maps - Includes illustration plates in colour between p. 82 and 83 and between p. 178 and 179

For nearly two hundred years the Middle East was the battleground on which three of the world's great powers - Islam, Byzantium and western Christendom - fought themselves to a standstill. The first crusade was preached by Pope Urban II in 1095 and this and successive crusades continued until the last of the crusaders' earlier victories was undone with the loss of Acre in 1291. This new popular history, taking into account the latest scholarly research, presents for all those interested in this epic struggle an enthralling narrative that not only relates to the crucial events - the battles, sieges and marches - but also brings to life the remarkable characters involved in this clash of imperial ambitions. God Wills It! relates the whole dramatic history of the crusading movement which throughout much of the Middle Ages sought to establish Christianity in the place of its birth. Its a saga rich in paradox and contradiction: worldly ambition and spiritual self-sacrifice, pride and humility, extraordinary valour and despicable cowardice. It is, above all else, a tale of humanity in all its extremes, and a sad record of how an ideal, misguided but well intentioned, can become prostituted and corrupted.