Although the crusader states in the Holy Land were never hugely powerful in themselves, they had significance out of all proportion to their size for medieval Christendom at large, and were the continuing focal point for the crusading impulse from the west, a topic discussed in this text. Note on Transliteration vii Introduction 1(1) The geography of the region 1(2) The historical background 3(3) The Turkish phenomenon 6(6) The First Crusade and Its Impact 12(17) The First Crusade: territorial and demographic effects 12(4) Muslim views of the First Crusade 16(3) The impact of the First Crusade on the Byzantine Empire 19(4) The impact of the First Crusade on the Armenians 23(3) Technical and cultural interchange 26(3) Politics and Warfare: 1097--1119 29(16) Antioch and its Muslim neighbours: 1100--19 29(3) Antioch and Byzantium to 1119 32(2) Jerusalem and its Muslim neighbours to 1119 34(6) Frankish and Muslim military and naval forces 40(5) From the Field of Blood to the Second Crusade: 1119--49 45(14) The Byzantine factor 46(3) The career of Zangi and the fall of Edessa: 1119--44 49(6) The sequel to the fall of Edessa: the Second Crusade 55(4) Nur Al-Din, Saladin and the Frankish States 59(20) The reign of Nur al-Din and the acquisition of Damascus 59(6) The contest for Egypt 65(3) The extension of Saladin's power: 1169--86 68(7) Hattin and the Third Crusade 75(4) The Frankish States and the Later Ayyubids 79(9) The Ayyubid realm and the Latin kingdom 79(1) The Fifth Crusade: 1217--21 80(1) The Crusade of Frederick II: 1228--9 81(2) The Crusade of Theobald of Champagne and Richard of Cornwall: 1239--41 83(1) The Crusade of St Louis of France: 1248--50 84(2) The aftermath 86(2) The Frankish States and the Early Mamluk Sultans 88(5) The extension of Mamluk rule to Syria 88(1) The sultanate of Baybars 89(2) The sultanate of Qalawun 91(2) Conclusion 93(2) Bibliography 95(2) Index of Persons 97(3) Index of Places 100