The Christian, Greek-speaking Byzantine empire was placed rather uneasily between western Christendom and the Islamic world during the Crusade era. Like all historical topics - particularly medieval - sources on the crusades give a variety of perspectives and accounts, but Byzantine writers provide a unique outlook on these crucial events.
Byzantine Sources for the Crusades, 1095-1204 brings together important sources on the Crusades into one volume. The texts translated here include established accounts, such as selections from Anna Komnene-s description of the passage of the First Crusade in 1096-8, John Kinnamos writings on the Second Crusade, and Niketas Choniates- studies on the Second and Third Crusades, particularly covering the passage of German emperor, Frederick I Barbarossa during the latter. However, less well-known accounts are also translated and provided, such as Zonaras and the contemporary letters of the archbishop of Ohrid during the First Crusade, var
