LATIN AND MUSLIM HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE CRUSADES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WILLIAM OF TYRE AND \u27IZZ AD-DIN IBN AL-ATHIR

The First Crusade produced more historical material than any other event in the early Middle Ages. Since the participants of the Crusade were proud of their achievements they wanted to preserve the memory of their deeds. The experiences and the ideas narrated by eyewitnesses were later enhanced by Latin historians in the West. In the Muslim world the events that took place in the late eleventh century (1095-1099) did not have the same significance or effects which they had on Europe. Muslims viewed the arrival of the Crusaders as any other invasion of Islamic territories. Moreover, they did not realize the distinct character of the Crusade. Thus, the Latin invasion of the East was treated by contemporary Muslim historians as a part of the general history of Syria and the Muslim East. This tendency is illustrated in the only Muslim source of the First Crusade that has come down to us: The Damascus Chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi. Latin attitude toward Muslims was represented by William of Tyre (1130-1185), who is regarded as the best historian of the Crusades. Although William was a native of Jerusalem and was well acquainted with the Arabic language, as well as Islamic culture, he displayed the same prejudices and misconceptions of the West toward Islam. The qualities which distinguished him as a master historian were similar to those displayed by a contemporary Muslim historian, \u27Izz ad-Din Ibn al-Athir (1160-1232) in his work The Perfect History (Al-Kamil fit-Tarikh). The comparison between both historians reveal astonishing similarities in their methodology and their style. The thesis of this study is that remarkable consistency and conformity exist between the two works: Historia Rerum in Partibus Transmarinis Gestarum of William of Tyre, and Al-Kamil Fit-Tarikh of Ibn al-athir. The analysis of the same events that were recorded in both histories led to the discovery of new facts regarding the relation between the Latin Christians in the Holy Land and their Muslim neighbors in the twelfth century