The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to the Crusades

You re no idiot, of course. You know the Crusades were a war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. However, these bloody conflicts raged over centuries, under changing circumstances, making the whole story difficult to follow.

You don t have to don armor and cross deserts to relive the Crusades! The Complete Idiot s Guide to the Crusades shows you why these wars began, why they continued for so long, and how their impact on the world still resonates. This Complete Idiot s Guide gives you:

--An introduction to the Dark Ages and the Renaissance, and why Pope Urban II would grant absolution to anyone who reclaimed the Holy Land for Christianity.

--The origins of such Holy Orders as the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers, and the Teutonic Knights and the roles they played during the Crusades.

--The creation of such items as chastity belts, razors, stained glass, perfume, the crossbow, the compass, and public latrines.

--The nobles Richard the Lion Heart, Louis IX, and Frederick II and the Muslim leaders Saladin, Zengi, and Nur ed-Din who held the lives of thousands in their hands.