The Rise of Nur al-Din 1149–74

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 5 The Rise of Nur al-Din focuses on the tumultuous years following the Second Crusade. This was an era when Nur al-Din was carving out an empire for himself, seizing Damascus, and coming into conflict with the Anatolian Seljuks and Fatimid Egypt. Many of his campaigns were directed against fellow Turks or other Muslim dynasties and for many periods the Crusader States were only infrequently threatened with invasion. In this chapter, the geopolitical implications of Nur al-Din’s actions are explored to show how the steady agglomeration of power under his rule fundamentally changed the Near East’s political balance. This chapter also contains substantial thematic discussion on the mercenary market in the Crusader States and the size of the armies deployed by the kingdom of Jerusalem.