Overview

Between 1050 and 1128 the nomadic Seljuq Turks and European Crusaders subjected northern Syria to a series of invasions from the east and west. The migration of militant peoples from the Eurasian Steppe and Western Europe inserted a new set of political elites into a complex frontier zone already beset by numerous conflicts fought along several ethno-cultural and religious contours. Surveying this turbulent chapter of Syrian history from multiple perspectives, this book recalibrates the underlying power dynamics of the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries. Through this regional focus, it reassesses both the impact that the establishment of Turkish and Crusader lordships had upon bilad al-sham (Greater Syria) and the reactions of Syria's established ruling elite to this unprecedented sequence of events. Providing a unique reinterpretation of the political situation in bilad al-sham during one of the most important periods in Middle Eastern history, this book proposes a new model for understanding the political dynasties of this period and questions the significance ascribed to the establishment of the Crusader States by modern historians.

Full Product Details

Author:   James Wilson (Postdoctoral Fellow at the Zukunftskolleg and Department of History and Sociology, University of Konstanz)
Publisher:   Edinburgh University Press
Imprint:   Edinburgh University Press
ISBN:  

9781399503181

ISBN 10:   1399503189
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   28 February 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

List of Figures Acknowledgements Note on Names, Transliteration and Abbreviations Abbreviations Principal Historical Figures, Dynasties and Terminology Introduction: Defining and Exploring the Political World of Bilad al-sham Historiographical Overview The Primary Sources The Scope of this Book Notes Part I Historical Sketch of Bilad al-sham Introduction: Part I The System of Autonomous lordships in Syria Byzantine, Fatimid and Seljuq Syria Notes 1 The Byzantine Empire Byzantine Bilad al-sham The Antiochene–Aleppan Balance of Power The Byzantine Political Footprint in the Face of Seljuq Incursions Byzantine Interactions with Local Rulers in Bilad al-sham Conclusion: the Break-up of Byzantine Bilad al-sham Notes 2 The Fatimid Caliphate Fatimid Bilad al-sham The Fatimid Political Footprint in Northern Syria: 442–463/1050–1071 The Fatimid Collapse in Southern Syria and Palestine Fatimid Interactions with Local Rulers in Bilad al-sham Conclusion: The Fatimids as ‘the Other’ in Bilad al-sham? Notes 3 The Great Seljuq Sultanate Seljuq Bilad al-sham The Sultan in Bilad al-sham Syrian Campaigns Instigated by Malik Shah The Seljuq Perpetuation of the System of Autonomous Lordships in Syria Seljuq Bilad al-sham in the Sixth/Twelfth Century The Türkmen in Syria Conclusion: Reassessing Seljuq Bilad al-sham Notes 　 Part II Countering the Crusades? Introduction: Part II 4 The Reactions of Seljuq, Fatimid and Syrian Elites The ‘counter-Crusade’ and ‘la maqam’ Paradigms The Seljuq counter-Crusade The Fatimid counter-Crusade Alliance Networks among Syrian Elites in the Early Crusading Era Notes 5 The Notables and Frontiers of Aleppo The Empowerment of Syrian Notables Appeals for Assistance The Frontiers of Bilad halab Revisiting Baldwin II’s Siege of Aleppo Conclusion: Aleppan Notables and the Threat of Frankish Rule Conclusion: Situating the Crusades in Syrian History Appendices Bibliography Index

Reviews

"[...] the book will be a welcome addition to several lively, ongoing conversations in Crusades-adjacent fields.--R. A. Miller, emerita, University of Massachusetts Boston ""CHOICE March 2024"" James Wilson's book is the most significant re-assessment of the Syrian context for the Crusades since the time of Claude Cahen. Wilson shows conclusively that, far from being a by-product of Seljuq statecraft, a system of autonomous lordships was a defining feature of Syria's political landscape well before the coming of the Turks. He also demonstrates that, when the Franks encountered this landscape on their arrival during the First Crusade, they never fully integrated themselves into local political cultures, and so remained clumsy and alien participants in a long-lived and distinctively Syrian game of lordships. Moreover, it was this system that stymied official Seljuq reactions to the Frankish invasions, no matter how quickly or purposefully the sultans responded. Based on a skilful and judicious reading of a wide range of sources from the complex society of medieval Syria, this should be required reading for anyone interested in the origins of the crusades and their impact on the Middle East. --Paul M. Cobb, University of Pennsylvania This book is a skilful and lucid survey of Syria in the turbulent period of the Seljuq and crusader conquests of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and an important work of transnational history. Drawing on a wide range of important sources, James Wilson writes with a clarity and coherence that light a path through a complex historical landscape. --Andrew Jotischky, Royal Holloway University of London"

Author Information

James Wilson is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Zukunftskolleg and Department of History and Sociology at the University of Konstanz. He has published one book, Medieval Syria and the Onset of the Crusades: The Political World of Bilad al-Sham 1050-1128 (EUP, 2023), and journal articles in Crusades, Transmediterranean History, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society and Al-Masāq: Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean.

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