The First Decade

About the lecture

In this module, we think about how the Crusader States managed to survive in the years following the First Crusade, focusing in particular on: (i) the precariousness of the Crusader States' position in the immediate aftermath of the First Crusade; (ii) the focus on capturing port cities, e.g. Laodicea in the north, Jaffa, Haifa, Caeserea, Acre, Beirut and Sidon in the south; (iii) the importance of ports in terms of securing supply lines back to Europe; (iv) the importance of ports as major trading hubs and (as a result) sources of colossal tax revenue; (v) the focus on securing fertile agricultural land, e.g. the Hauran plain south of Damascus; and (vi) the focus on securing naval supremacy of the Eastern Mediterranean over the previously dominant Fatimids.

About the lecturer

Dr Nicholas Morton is a specialist in the history of crusading and the Medieval Mediterranean between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. More recently he has begun to focus specifically upon the theme of inter-faith relations between Christianity and Islam in this region. He has published extensively on topics connected to this subject area, writing a range of monographs and scholarly articles. He is also an editor for the Ashgate series Rulers of the Latin East.

Currently Dr Morton is completing a monograph exploring the First Crusaders' attitudes and behaviour towards the various non-Christian peoples they encountered during their campaign. This will be a highly revisionist work addressing many key scholarly and public orthodoxies surrounding the nature of Christian/Islamic interaction during the crusade.