The History Channel reminds us that on this date in 1095, Pope Urban II ordered the First Crusade. Prior to 1979 it was more difficult than it is today to imagine such a thing, a leader of a world religion ordering a . . . Continue reading →
As Riley-Smith explains, however, the Muslim memory of the Crusades is of very recent vintage. Carole Hillenbrand first uncovered this fact in her groundbreaking book The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. The truth is that medieval Muslims came to realize that the Crusades were . . . Continue reading →
I think Obama was historically ignorant and politically ill-advised to bring the Crusades into the discussion, for reasons we have discussed in this space (in short, because the historical phenomenon is far too complex to be shoehorned into a neat, politically useful . . . Continue reading →