SO refreshing to get a history of the Crusades from the Islamic perspective a real eye-opener in many respects. Using almost exclusively Muslim sources, Cobb paints a picture of an advanced, cultured and often Liberal society faced with waves of bloody-handed, religious zealots whose only concession to civilisation was to have a bath once a year.

Their swords may have been sharp, but not their minds, and even when they seemed to be on the cusp of victory, they contrived to throw it away.

Most westerners seem to see the Crusades in terms of the Holy Land where victory was indeed lost, but as Cobb astutely points out, this was balanced out by victory in places such as Spain, Portugal and Sicily. Amid all the high politics and military manoeuvres, Cobb gives illuminating vignettes of colourful characters such as El Cid (not as patriotic as the Spanish would have us think); Saladin (not the perfect prince Muslims imagine) and the sect of the Assassins (killers for cash rather than faith). The Crusades will never the same again.