Alliances and Treaties between Frankish and Muslim Rulers in the Middle East: Cross-Cultural Diplomacy in the Period of the Crusades. Translated by ... 1 (Muslim World in the Age of the Crusades) - Tapa dura

`... this book is still a very valuable academic resource; it is full of fascinating material which convincingly dispels the long-held theory that Crusaders and Muslims in the twelfth century had little, let alone, close contact with each other.' Professor Carole Hillenbrand, University of Edinburgh 'a provocative and important book', 'excellent and insightful work' (Jonathan Phillips, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies). '...there is much that is fresh and original about Koehler's thesis. His insights into the realpolitik underlying the various treaties and alliances of this period are deeply incisive.' Nicholas Morton in Crusades 13 (2014) p. 268-270. 'It is hoped that this new English translation will be widely read and its ideas far-reaching. This volume is essential for all those interested in the history of the Crusades, the medieval Middle East, and Christian-Muslim relations.' K. Scott Parker in Al-Masaq 28.1 (2016), 97-99. DOI: 10.1080/09503110.2016.1152819

In Alliances and Treaties between Frankish and Muslim Rulers Michael Koehler presents a fully integrated study of Frankish-Muslim diplomacy in the period from the First Crusade through to the thirteenth century. It is a ground-breaking study that challenges preconceived notions of the relations between Frankish and Muslim rulers in the Middle East. Commonly portrayed as an era of conflict, the period appears here as one in which conventions of diplomatic cooperation were commonplace. This book is one of the few works in the fields of Crusader Studies and Middle Eastern Studies that draws to the same extent on Arabic and Western sources; two textual traditions that have usually been studied in isolation from each other.