Crusade
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GREAVES: armor worn to protect the shins.
GREEK FIRE: invented in Byzantium in the seventh century, Greek fire was a mixture of pitch, sulfur and naphtha that was used in warfare to set fire to ships and fortifications.
HAJJ: the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are required to make at least once in their lives, during Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar (a lunar calendar, meaning months aren’t static). Another pilgrimage, known as the Umra, can be made at any time.
HAUBERK: a shirt of mail or scale armor.
JIHAD: meaning “to strive,” jihad can be interpreted in both a physical and spiritual sense. In the physical it means holy war in the defense of and for the spread of Islam; in the spiritual it is the inner struggle of individual Muslims against worldly temptations.
KA‘BA: meaning “cube” in Arabic, a stone building situated in the center of the Great Mosque in Mecca, toward which Muslims face during prayer. It is believed to have been a pre-Islamic holy place for Arabian tribes, but later became central to Muslim worship when Muhammad set the Black Stone into the eastern corner of the shrine and rededicated it to Islam. Muslim tradition states that it was built by Adam, then rebuilt by Abraham and Ishmael. It is Islam’s holiest shrine, around which Muslims circle during pilgrimage.
KAFFIYEH: head scarf worn by Arab men.
KINGDOM OF JERUSALEM: the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was founded in 1099, following the capture of Jerusalem by the First Crusade. Its first ruler was Godfrey de Bouillon, a Frankish count. Jerusalem itself became the new Crusader capital, but it was lost and regained several times over the following two centuries until it was finally reclaimed by the Muslims in 1244, whereupon the city of Acre became the Crusaders’ capital. Three other states were formed by the Western invaders during the early Crusades: the Principality of Antioch and the Counties of Edessa and Tripoli. Edessa was lost in 1144, captured by the Seljuk leader Zengi. The Principality of Antioch fell to Baybars in 1268, Tripoli fell in 1289, and Acre, the last principal city held by the Crusaders, fell in 1291, signaling the end of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and of Western power in the Middle East.
KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN: Order founded in the late eleventh century that takes its name from the hospital of St. John the Baptist in Jerusalem, where it had its first headquarters. Also known as the Hospitallers, their initial brief was the care of Christian pilgrims, but after the First Crusade their objectives changed dramatically. They retained their hospitals, but their primary preoccupation became the building and the defense of their castles in the Holy Land, recruitment of knights and the acquisition of land and property. They enjoyed similar power and status as the Templars and the orders were often rivals. After the end of the Crusades, the Knights of St. John moved their headquarters to Rhodes, then later to Malta, where they became known as the Knights of Malta.
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR: Order of knights formed early in the twelfth century, after the First Crusade. Established by Hugues de Payns, who traveled to Jerusalem with eight fellow French knights, the order was named after the Temple of Solomon, upon the site of which they had their first headquarters. The Templars, who were formally recognized in 1128 at the Council of Troyes, followed both a religious rule and a strict military code. Their initial raison d’être was to protect Christian pilgrims in the Holy Land; however, they far exceeded this early brief in their military and mercantile endeavors both in the Middle East and throughout Europe, where they rose to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful organizations of their day. There were three separate classes within the order: sergeants, priests and knights, but only knights, who took the three monastic vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, were permitted to wear the distinctive white habits that bore a splayed red cross.
MADRASAH: a religious school dedicated to the study of Islamic law.
MAMLUKS: from the Arabic, meaning “slave,” the name was given to the royal bodyguard, mainly of Turkish descent, bought and raised by the Ayyubid sultans of Egypt into a standing army of devout Muslim warriors. Known in their day as “the Templars of Islam,” the Mamluks achieved ascendancy in 1250 when they assassinated Sultan Turanshah, a nephew of Saladin, and took control of Egypt. Under Baybars, the Mamluk Empire grew to encompass Egypt and Syria, and they were ultimately responsible for removing Frankish influence in the Middle East. After the end of the Crusades in 1291, the Mamluks’ reign continued until they were overthrown by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
MARITIME REPUBLICS: Italian mercantile city-states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa.
MARSHAL: in the Templar hierarchy, the chief military official.
MECCA: a city in Saudi Arabia. Birthplace of Muhammad and the holy city of Islam.
MONGOLS: nomadic tribespeople who lived around the steppes of eastern Asia until the late twelfth century when they were united under Genghis Khan, who established his capital at Karakorum and set out on a series of massive conquests. When Genghis Khan died, his empire extended across Asia, Persia, southern Russia and China. The Mongols’ first great defeat came at the hands of Baybars and Kutuz at Ayn Jalut in 1260, and their empire began a gradual decline in the fourteenth century.
OUTREMER: French word meaning “overseas,” referring to the Holy Land.
PALFREY: a light horse used for normal riding.
PARLEY: a discussion to debate points of a dispute, most commonly the terms of a truce.
PRECEPTORY: Latin name for the administrative houses of military orders, which would have been like manors, with domestic quarters, workshops and usually a chapel.
RICHARD THE LIONHEART: (1157-99) son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard ruled as king of England from 1189 to his death in 1199, but spent very little time in the kingdom. Along with Frederick Barbarossa and Philip II of France, he led the Third Crusade to recapture Jerusalem, which had fallen to Saladin.
RULE, THE: the Rule of the Temple was drawn up in 1129, with the aid of St. Bernard de Clairvaux, at the Council of Troyes, where the Temple was formally recognized. It was written as part religious rule, part military code, and set out how members of the order should live and conduct themselves during their daily lives and during combat. The Rule was added to over the years and by the thirteenth century there were over six hundred clauses, some more serious than others, the breaching of which would mean expulsion for the offender.
SALADIN: (1138-1193) of Kurdish origin, he became sultan of Egypt and Syria in 1173, after winning several power struggles. Saladin led his army against the Crusaders at Hattin and dealt the Franks a devastating blow. He reclaimed most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem created by the Christians during the First Crusade, leading to the launch of the Third Crusade, which saw him pitted against Richard the Lionheart. Saladin was a hero throughout the Islamic East, but was also admired, and feared, by the Crusaders for his courage and gallantry.
SALAT: ritual prayer carried out by Muslims five times a day.
SARACEN: in the medieval period, a term used by Europeans for all Arabs and Muslims.
SENESCHAL: the steward or chief official of an estate. In the Temple’s hierarchy, the seneschal held one of the highest positions.
SEQUIN: Venetian gold coin.
SIEGE ENGINE: any machine used to attack fortifications during sieges such as mangonels (Arabic: mandjaniks), trebuchets and espringales (Arabic: ‘arradas).
SHIA AND SUNNI MUSLIMS: two branches of Islam formed in the schism that arose after the death of Muhammad over the question of who should be his successor. The Sunnis, forming the majority, believed that no one could truly succeed Muhammad and appointed a caliph as leader of the Muslim community. Sunnis revere the first four caliphs appointed after Muhammad’s death, whose example they follow as the custom (sunna) that all Muslims should follow. Shias hold as their figure of authority only the imam, the fourth caliph, whom they consider heir of the Prophet, descended from the bloodline of Ali, Muhammad’s son-in-law. Shias reject the first three caliphs and the traditions of Sunni belief.
SURCOAT: a long linen or silk sleeveless garment, usually worn over mail or armor.
TAKE THE CROSS: to go on Crusade, a term derived from the cloth crosses that were handed out to those who pledged to become Crusaders.
TEUTONIC KNIGHTS: military order of knights, similar to the Templars and the Hospitallers, originating in Germany. The Teutonics were founded in 1198 and during their time in the Holy Land were responsible for guarding the area northeast of Acre. By the mid-thirteenth century they had conquered Prussia, which later became their base.
VAMBRACES: armor worn to protect the forearms.
VELLUM: parchment used for writing, most commonly taken from the skin of a calf.
VISITOR: a post within the Temple’s hierarchy created in the thirteenth century. The visitor, who was second only to the grand master, was the overlord of all the Temple’s possessions in the West.
Select Bibliography
Acre 1291: Bloody Sunset of the Crusader States. David Nicolle. Osprey Publishing, 2005.
The Cross and the Crescent: A History of the Crusades. Malcolm Billings. BBC Publications, 1987.
A History of Business in Medieval Europe: 1200-1550. Edwin S. Hunt and James M. Murray. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
A History of Medieval Life: A Guide to Life From 1000 to 1500 AD. David Nicolle. Chancellor Press, 2000.
A History of the Crusades (3 volumes). Steven Runciman. Cambridge University Press, 1954.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilization. Aryeh Grabois. Octopus, 1980.
The Knights Templar: A New History. Helen Nicholson. Sutton Publishing, 2001.
The Life and Times of Edward I. John Chancellor. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981.
The Lion of Egypt: Sultan Baybars I and the Near East in the 13th Century. Peter Thorau. Trans: P. M. Holt. Longman Group UK, 1987.
One Thousand Roads to Mecca. Ed: Michael Wolfe. Grove Press, 1997.
Power and Profit: The Merchant in Medieval Europe. Peter Spufford. Thames & Hudson, 2002.
The Templar of Tyre: Part III of the “Deeds of the Cypriots” (Crusade Texts in Translation). Paul Crawford. Ashgate Publishing, 2003.
The Templars. Piers Paul Read. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999.
The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven. James Wasserman. Inner Traditions, 2001.
The Times Atlas of European History. 2nd Edition. Times Books, 1998.
The Trial of the Templars. Malcolm Barber. Cambridge University Press, 1978.
The Wars of the Crusades: 1096-1291. Terence Wise. Osprey Publishing, 1978.
The World’s Religions. Ninian Smart. Cambridge University Press, 1989.
TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK
OF THE FINAL BOOK IN
THE BRETHREN TRILOGY . . .
THE FALL OF THE TEMPLARS
After two hundred years, the Crusades are over.
Leaving the Christian Empire in the East in ruins, Will
Campbell and the survivors return to the West, to find a
continent in shock over the loss of the Holy Land. Will, his
grief still raw, has only one thing on his mind: Revenge.
After years of political plotting, King Edward I finally has
Scotland in his sights, and as the English army marches
north, Will is forced to make a decision that will change
his life forever. But with all his thoughts bent on defeating
his enemy, he does not realize that an even more ominous
threat is growing.
For there is a warrior king on the throne of France, whose
desire for supremacy knows no bounds, and who will stop
at nothing to fulfill his twisted ambitions.
The fight for the Holy Land has ended.
The Temple’s last battle has just begun.
AVAILABLE FROM DUTTON IN JANUARY 2009
Prologue
As the young man knelt, the iron cold of the floor seeped through the thin material of his hose. He felt the stone, hard and unyielding, bruising him, but the discomfort was reassuring; the flagstones beneath him were the only thing in the chamber that felt solid. A fog of incense hung in shifting layers, stinging his eyes. It was a bitter smell that reminded him of burning leaves. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t the serene frankincense that always welcomed him into church. Around him, shadows stole across the walls, nebulous and unfamiliar, as figures passed by candles that sputtered in holders on the ground, placed so far apart that the quivering points of fire cast little real light and served only to blind and disorient him further. A few yards away to his left the floor was spattered with a substance that gleamed wetly. Here, in this dimness, it looked almost black, but in daylight the young man knew it would be a bright, shocking red. He could still smell its sharp, metallic odor, even over the pungent incense, and he swallowed tightly, a plug of nausea clogging his throat.
This wasn’t what he had expected. Part of him was glad of that; he may not have gone through with it had he known what would be asked of him this night. The only things that kept him here, doing as he was bid, were the presence of the men in the shadows and the fear of what would happen if he refused. But he didn’t want to show weakness. He wanted to do this right, despite his trepidation, and so he stared straight ahead, his chest, bare and pale, thrust forward, hands, slick with sweat, clasped tightly behind his back.
Now the men had stopped moving and the chamber had fallen silent again; he could hear faint birdsong coming through the high windows, all covered with heavy black cloth. It must be almost dawn.
There was movement to his left. He saw a figure approaching and his stomach churned with apprehension. It was a man dressed in a shimmering cloak sewn from hundreds of overlapping circles of silk, all different shades of blue and pink: cobalt, sapphire, rose, violet. Here and there the material was shot through with silver thread that glistened whenever the candlelight caught it, the overall effect creating the impression that he was clad in the scales of a fish. The young man knew the figure was male, for he had spoken often during the ceremony, guiding him, commanding him, but so far his face had been concealed by a cowl, fashioned from the same material as the cloak, that hung down almost to his chest. It was surprising he could even see to walk. Under the cowl, his head appeared oddly misshapen and his voice, when he spoke, came out muffled and deep.
“You have chosen the path and it was wisely chosen. You have sworn the oaths and stood fast in the face of temptation and dread. Now is the final test and the most perilous. But obey me as you have pledged and all will be well.” The figure paused. “Will you obey me now and always?”
“I will,” breathed the young man.
“Then prove it!” snapped the figure, whipping back the cowl and dropping to a crouch before the young man, who recoiled from the grinning skull that was revealed, the candles on the floor up-lighting it, making the bone that much yellower and the huge, hollow eye sockets that much blacker.
Even though he knew it was just a mask, even though he caught a glimpse of dark human eyes through the sockets of the skull, his terror didn’t dissipate, and when a small gold cross was drawn from the folds of the fish-scale cloak and held in front of him, his heart seemed fit to explode in his chest.
“Spit on it.”
“W ... what?”
“Denounce its power over you. Prove you are loyal to me alone, that you speak as one with your brothers.”
The young man’s eyes darted left and right as the men moved out of the shadows. They too wore masks; blood red with the image of a white stag’s head painted on the front of each.
“Spit!” came the command again.
Feeling the men crowding in around him, blocking out the frail candlelight, the young man leaned forward over the proffered cross. He collected saliva in his dry mouth with difficulty. Closing his eyes, he spat.
Table of Contents
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright Pa
ge
Acknowledgements
PART ONE
Chapter 1 - The Venetian Quarter, Acre, The Kingdom of Jerusalem 28 SEPTEMBER ...
Chapter 2 - The Genoese Quarter, Acre 13 JANUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 3 - The Citadel, Cairo 17 JANUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 4 - The Temple, Acre 17 JANUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 5 - The Docks, Acre 17 JANUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 6 - The Temple, Acre 17 JANUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 7 - AL-Bira, Northern Syria 26 FEBRUARY A.D. 1276
Chapter 8 - The Venetian Quarter, Acre 12 MARCH A.D. 1276
Chapter 9 - The Citadel, Cairo 12 MARCH A.D. 1276
Chapter 10 - The Genoese Quarter, Acre 12 MARCH A.D. 1276
Chapter 11 - The Genoese Quarter, Acre 12 MARCH A.D. 1276
Chapter 12 - The Venetian Quarter, Acre 16 MARCH A.D. 1276
Chapter 13 - The Docks, Acre 15 APRIL A.D. 1276
Chapter 14 - Kabul, The Kingdom of Jerusalem 15 APRIL A.D. 1276
Chapter 15 - The Venetian Market, Acre 14 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 16 - The Citadel, Cairo 25 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 17 - The Pisan Quarter, Acre 26 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 18 - The Citadel, Cairo 26 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 19 - Assassins’ Stronghold, Northern Syria 26 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 20 - The Street of St. Anne, Acre 27 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 21 - The Royal Palace, Acre 27 MAY A.D. 1276
Chapter 22 - Fustat-Misr, Cairo 17 JUNE A.D. 1276
Chapter 23 - The Temple, Acre 8 JULY A.D. 1276
PART TWO
Chapter 24 - The Royal Palace, Acre 17 FEBRUARY A.D. 1277
Chapter 25 - The Docks, Acre 25 FEBRUARY A.D. 1277
Chapter 26 - The Royal Palace, Acre 26 FEBRUARY A.D. 1277
Chapter 27 - The Plain of Albistan, Anatolia 15 APRIL A.D. 1277
Chapter 28 - The Road Outside Mecca, Arabia 15 APRIL A.D. 1277