Oxford History of the Crusades
About This Novel
For a long time, the Crusades have been described as a "stupid and meaningless sacrifice." However, in fact, the Crusades were not just a short two-hundred-year expedition, nor a meaningless sacrifice. Instead, they deepened the self-identity of Westerners and shaped the formation of modern Europe. It was not just the Crusades: the Crusades were much more than nine wars against Jerusalem, but a long movement spanning six hundred years across Europe, Asia and Africa. In addition to the "Crusades" in the traditional sense, the Teutonic Crusaders in the north accelerated the Christianization process in Eastern Europe; the Crusaders in the Iberian Peninsula started the reconquest movement; the Albigensian Crusade against heretics promoted the completion of French centralization. These deeds together constitute the complete melody of the Crusade movement. Not to mention unnecessary sacrifice: On the surface, the Crusaders lost the entire sphere of influence in the Middle East, including Jerusalem, but in fact, the Crusaders powerfully curbed the expansion of forces from Asia-rescuing the dying Byzantine Empire and disrupting the political order of the Middle East. It was not until the 15th century that the Ottoman Empire, which unified Western Asia, once again posed a threat to Europe. ······
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