Fascinating new study of the key campaigns, battles and sieges that shaped the crusading period in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Warfare in the Age of Crusades: Europe explores in fascinating detail the key campaigns, battles and sieges that shaped the crusading period in Europe during the Middle Ages, giving special attention to military technologies, tactics and strategies. Key personalities and political factors are addressed, including the role of the papal monarchy in initiating the crusading expeditions and the use of crusade in the Christianization of the Baltic region and against heresies in Europe.

Chapters focus on the Iberian crusades or Reconquista beginning in the eleventh century through to the final surrender of the Emirate of Granada in 1492. The northern or Baltic crusades are also a key element of the story. The narrative covers the involvement of the Holy Roman emperors and the popes, the military capabilities of the Baltic peoples, and the parts played by the Scandinavians as well as the Russians and Mongols. The concluding chapters reconsider crusades launched against heresies in Europe, specifically the Cathars and Hussites.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments and a Note on Transliterations
• List of Maps and Map Legends
• Chapter Chronologies
• Introduction: The Origins of the Reconquista and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom in Western Europe
  • Precursor to Holy War: Expanding and Defending Christendom and Dar al-Islam
  • The Islamic Invasion of Iberia and the Rise of Moorish Spain
    • Strategic Map: The Islamic Conquest of Iberia and Septimania and Raiding into France, 711–32
  • Charlemagne’s Campaigns and the Forging of Catholic Western Europe
    • Strategic Map: Route of Charlemagne’s 778 Campaign into Northern Spain and the Location of the Marca Hispanica
  • The Holy Roman Empire Moves East: The Rise of Medieval Germany
  • Conquest and Conversion: The Viking Age and the Rise of Medieval England, France, and Scandinavia
• 1. The Iberian Reconquista Before the Age of Crusades
  • The Origins of Holy War and Crusade during the Reconquista
  • The Emergence of Christian Kingdoms in Northern Spain
    • Regional Map: Muslim and Christian Iberia, c. 900
  • The Break-Up of Moorish Spain: The Taifa Civil Wars
    • Regional Map: Iberia in the Age of the Taifa Emirates, c. 1080
  • El Cid Campeador: Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar and Eleventh-Century Iberian Military Culture
  • The Almoravid Invasion of Iberia and the Battle of Sagrajas/Zallaqa
    • Regional Map: Army Movements before the Battle of Sagrajas
  • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Sagrajas, 1086
  • From Reconquista to Holy War: Iberia as a Crusading Frontier
    • Strategic Map: The Reconquista, 1064–96
    • Regional Map: Christian and Almoravid Iberia, 1094
• 2. Crusades Against Infidels: The Reconquista
  • Aragón Presses South and the Decline of the Almoravids
  • War at the Edge of the World: The Crusader Siege of Lisbon and the Rise of Portugal
    • Regional Map: Almoravid Invasion and Crusader Counterattacks, c. 1147
    • Tactical Maps: The Siege of Lisbon, 1 July–24 October 1147
  • The Rise of Spanish Military Orders and the Almohad Counter-/ihad
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Alarcos, 19 July 1195
    • Regional Maps: The Almohad Empire in North Africa and Southern Iberia, c. 1200
  • The Tide Turns: The Las Navas de Tolosa Campaign
    • Strategic Map: Spanish and Almohad Movements before the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, June–July 1212
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, 16 July, 1212
  • The Reconquista Advances South and the Rise of the Emirate of Granada
    • Strategic Map: Spanish and Portuguese Movements Leading Up to the Siege of Seville, 1246–7
    • Tactical Maps: The Siege of Seville, July 1247–November 1248
  • Alfonso XI’s Gibraltar Crusade and the Battle of Río Salado
    • Strategic Map: Spanish and Muslim Naval and Land Movements around Gibraltar, 1340
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Río Salado, 30 October 1340
• 3. Crusades Against Heretics: The Albigensian Crusade
  • The Apex of Papal Monarchy and the Crusades of Innocent III
  • The Rise of the Cathar Heresy in Southwestern France
    • Regional Map: Locations of Cathar Strongholds in Languedoc, France
  • The Formation of the Albigensian Crusade and the Massacre at Béziers and Siege of Carcassonne
    • Strategic Map: Crusaders Movements in Southern France, July–August 1209
    • Tactical Maps: The Siege of Carcassonne, 1–15 August 1209
  • God’s ‘Strong Mountain’: Simon of Montfort and the Expansion of the Albigensian Crusade
  • ‘To the Swamps of Hell’: Simon of Montfort, Pedro of Aragón, and the Battle of Muret
    • Strategic Map: Army Movements Before the Battle of Muret, Summer and Early Autumn, 1213
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Muret, 12 September, 1213
  • Revolts, Royal Intervention, and the Rise of Inquisition
• 4. Crusades Against Pagans: The Northern Crusades
  • The Origin of the Northern Crusades
  • Baptism or Death: The Wendish Crusade, 1147
  • Danish and Swedish Crusades in the Baltic
    • Strategic Map: Danish Crusader Activity in the Western Baltic in the Twelfth Century
    • Strategic Map: Swedish Crusader Activity in the Eastern Baltic in the Thirteenth Century
  • The Livonian Crusade: The Rise and Fall of the Brothers of the Sword
    • Strategic Map: Crusader Lines of Attack during the Livonian Crusade
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Saule River, 22 September 1236
  • From the Holy Land to the Baltic: The Teutonic Knights at War
    • Strategic Map: Crusader Lines of Attack during the Prussian Crusade
  • Battle on the Ice: Alexander Nevsky and the Defence of Mother Russia
    • Strategic Map: Russian and Crusader Movements Near Lake Peipus, March and Early April 1242
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, 5 April 1242
  • Prussian Rebellions and Crusader Military Setbacks
  • The Battle of Grunwald and the End of the Northern Crusades
    • Regional Map: The Baltic States on the Eve of the Battle of Grunwald, 1410
    • Strategic Map: Army Movements before the Battle of Grunwald, 9–15 July 1410
  • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Grunwald, 15 July 1410
• 5. Crusades Against Heretics: The Hussite Crusades
  • Jan Hus and the Origin of the Hussite Movement
  • The One-Eyed General and the Development of Wagenburg Tactics
  • The ‘Four Articles of Prague’ and the First Hussite Crusade
    • Strategic Map: Crusader and Hussite Movements during the First Crusade, April–July 1420
    • Strategic Map: Prague and Its Surroundings before the Battle of Vítkov Hill, July 1420
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Vítkov Hill, 14 July 1420
  • Hussite Internal Divisions and the Second Hussite Crusade
    • Strategic Map: Crusader and Hussite Movements during the Second Crusade, August 1421–January 1422
    • Strategic Map: Hussite and Crusader Placements Around Kutná Hora and the Hussite Breakout North, 9–21 December 1421
  • A Third Crusade, Hussite Civil War, and the Death of the Blind General
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Malešov, 1424
  • Prokop the Great’s ‘Beautiful Rides’ and the Final Hussite Crusades
    • Strategic Map: Hussite and Crusader Movements during the Fifth Crusade, 1–16 August 1431
    • Tactical Maps: The Battle of Lipany, 30 May 1434
• Conclusion: The End of the Reconquista and the Legacy of the European Crusades
• The Last Crusade in the West: Granada and the Defence of Islam in Southwest Europe
  • Strategic Map: Christian Campaigns and Lines of Attack in the Emirate of Granada in the 1480s
• The Fall of Granada and the End of the Reconquista
• Eastern Europe Besieged: Ottoman Expansion and the End of the Crusading Era in the East
• The Legacy of the European Crusades
• Glossary of Important Personalities
• Glossary of Military Terms
• Notes
• Select Bibliography