Jerusalem Falls: Seven Centuries of War and Peace

by John D. Hosler

Overview

The first full account of the medieval struggle for Jerusalem, from the seventh to the thirteenth century

The history of Jerusalem is one of conflict, faith, and empire. Few cities have been attacked as often and as savagely. This was no less true in the Middle Ages. From the Persian sack in 614 through the bloody First Crusade and beyond, Jerusalem changed hands countless times. But despite these horrific acts of violence, its story during this period is also one of interfaith tolerance and accord.
 
In this gripping history, John D. Hosler explores the great clashes and delicate settlements of medieval Jerusalem. He examines the city’s many sieges and considers the experiences of its inhabitants of all faiths. The city’s conquerors consistently acknowledged and reinforced the rights of those religious minorities over which they ruled. Deeply researched, this account reveals the way in which Jerusalem’s past has been constructed on partial histories—and urges us to reckon with the city’s broader historical contours.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300268690
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John D. Hosler is professor of military history at the Command and General Staff College. His previous books include John of Salisbury and The Siege of Acre, which was a Financial Times Book of the Year.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations viii

Acknowledgments x

Introduction 1

I Islam Awakens: 614 and 638 11

II Sunni and Shia: the 970s and 1070s 55

III Ankle-Deep Blood: 1098 and 1099 97

IV Saladin the Merciful: the 1100s and 1187 137

V Alliances and Antichrists: 1229 and 1244 176

Conclusion 214

Appendix 229

Notes 231

Bibliography 287

Index 323

Editorial Reviews

Hosler is a sure guide to this winding story. . . . This is an intriguing and occasionally eye-opening account of the Middle Ages’ most alluring city.”—Dan Jones, Sunday Times

“This elegantly written monograph carefully evaluates a wide variety of surviving written and archaeological evidence to identify the factors that led to violence and/or peace in Jerusalem.”—Jessalynn Bird, sehepunkte

“Unwaveringly evenhanded, Hosler succeeds in constructing a plausible and surprising counternarrative to histories of Jerusalem focused on violence and conquest. A fresh perspective elevates this sharp chronicle.”—Publishers Weekly

“During the Middle Ages, Jerusalem did not go a century without armies surrounding and entering its walls. The city was continually sacked and the inhabitants massacred. Jerusalem Falls covers this violent and bloody history with thoroughness and brilliance. Reading it one can clearly agree with so many throughout history who wished that God cared a little less for a city that so many religions call ‘holy.’”—Kelly DeVries, author of Battles of the Crusades 1097–1444

“With an original and thought-provoking approach, Hosler tackles the always controversial topic of Jerusalem. The seven centuries, from the Persian sack of 614 until the final fall of the Crusader city in 1244, are studded with successive brutal conflicts and conquests, but also with remarkable examples of rapprochement and concord. Hosler’s history will come as a revelation, and perhaps an optimistic one for readers mainly acquainted with the violent aspects of the Holy City’s past and present.”—Adrian J. Boas, author of Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades

From the Publisher

With an original, and thought-provoking approach, Hosler tackles the always controversial topic of Jerusalem. The seven centuries, from the Persian sack of 614 until the final fall of the Crusader city in 1244, are studded with successive brutal conflicts and conquests, but also with remarkable examples of rapprochement and concord. Hosler’s history will come as a revelation, and perhaps an optimistic one for readers mainly acquainted with the violent aspects of the Holy City’s past and present.”—Adrian J. Boas, author of Jerusalem in the Time of the Crusades

Adrian J. Boas

During the Middle Ages, Jerusalem did not go a century without armies surrounding and entering its walls. The city was continually sacked and the inhabitants massacred. Jerusalem Falls covers this violent and bloody history with thoroughness and brilliance. Reading it one can clearly agree with so many throughout history who wished that God cared a little less for a city that so many religions call ‘holy.’”—Kelly DeVries, author of Battles of the Crusades 1097–1444

Kelly DeVries

2022-08-30
An argument for the relevance of Jerusalem’s history, from the seventh to the 13th centuries to today’s conflicts over its status.

Hosler, a professor of military history and author of The Siege of Acre, sets his narrative during the centuries known in the West as the “medieval period.” He describes the text as a “book about conquest” covering a series of Jerusalem’s “falls” when “possession of the city passed from adherents of one religious confession to another by way of conflict.” It’s a dizzying, detailed story of faiths, ethnic and tribal communities, and sects and subgroups using military action to secure control of a city sacred to all of them. Some of these elements—Persians, Saracens, Christians, Byzantines, Fatimids, Europeans, Arabs, Turks, Sunnis and Shia Muslims—will be known to readers, yet many will be hard-pressed to keep track of the hundreds of other figures who populate the complex narrative. While a judicious attempt at balancing accounts, it’s difficult to see its relevance to the current situation in Israel. There’s no question that Jerusalem’s inhabitants during Europe’s Middle Ages experienced periods of tranquility and toleration in their multicultural, pluralistic society. However, there was also no lack of carnage, including massacres by Christian crusaders in 1099, the nadir of the city’s history. While it’s important to be reminded that, from time to time, Jerusalem was “a city for all,” the text is packed with gore, massacres, and expulsions by Christian crusaders as well as Jews and non-Christian “infidels” attempting to hold their possession in the Judean hills. Trying to balance such horrors against periods of comparative calm is a false equivalency. Nevertheless, for its factual and up-to-date solidity and skilled rendering of a deeply complex and troubling history, Hosler’s work deserves attention.

A useful historical resource aside from the stretch required to accept its central argument.

Kirkus Reviews