In this classic work, presented here with a new introduction, one of the world's most renowned crusade historians approaches this central topic of medieval hist

Despite various studies on the development of crusading thought, the First Crusade itself has not been properly examined from this perspective. Drawing on a ran

Riley-Smith’s 1986 book gives convincing case for a ‘revisionist’ view of the crusades, challenging the common belief that the crusades were motivated by

A detailed account of the circumstances and motives of the first crusaders.

According to tradition, the First Crusade began at Pope Urban II’s instigation and culminated in July 1099, when western European knights liberated Jerusalem.