Excerpt from Usama Ibn Munqidh "The Book of Contemplation, Islam and the Crusades"

Excerpt from Usama Ibn Munqidh "The Book of Contemplation, Islam and the Crusades"

The crusades are a defining part of Islamic as well as Christian history. A time of extreme violence, the crusades saw Christian armies invading the Islamic, Arabian world to reclaim the biblical holy land. This account highlights the extreme violence of the period, describing bodies completely filling the street. This period connects with the developments in Iberia throughout Islamic occupation. The eighth century map I included in my exhibit shows Islamic land in the south and Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian peninsula, a sign of the conflict in the region.

Usama Ibn Munqidh, translated by Paul M. Cobb

Penguin Books

Twelfth century/sixth century

The next morning, the two sides fought in Cairo, and the Juyushiya and their companions were victorious over the Rayhaniya. Of this latter group a thousand men were killed in the market of Amir al-Juyush; their corpses blocked up the market street.