By the time of the Crusades, the Islamic world had developed its own sophisticated styles of fortification. Distinctive and highly effective, the region's unique military architecture continued to evolve in response to the Crusader and Mongol threats, and also drew upon the traditions of their foes and neighbors. The resulting Islamic concepts of military architecture had an influence upon fortifications in Western Europe, including Italy and the Iberian Peninsula. Rather than providing security for feudal aristocracies, however, as was increasingly the case in Europe, Islamic fortifications continued to focus upon the defence of cities and frontiers

Covering fortifications as far apart as North Africa, Afghanistan and northern India, this volume focuses on the Islamic side of the conflict, highlighting the fortifications in use when the Crusaders sought to reconquer the Holy Land, as well as the eventual absorption of the territories of Byzantium into the Islamic world.

שם הספר
Saladin and the Saracens (Men-at-Arms)
Knights of Jerusalem: The Crusading Order of Hospitallers 1100-1565 (World of the Warrior)
Crusader Warfare: Byzantium, Western Europe and the Struggle for the Holy Land 1050-1300 AD (v. 1)
Yarmouk, 636AD: The Muslim Conquest of Syria (Osprey Military Campaign)