Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade

This book looks at the First Crusade as a military campaign and asks why it was successful. Modern writing about the crusade has tended to emphasize motivation and the development of the idea of the crusade, but its fate was ultimately decided on the field of battle. This book looks at the nature of war at the end of the eleventh century and the military experience of all the contending parties in order to explain its extraordinary success. It is the first such examination, taking into account all other factors but emphasizing the military.