Content area
Full Text
The Leper King and His Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. By Bernard Hamilton. (New York: Cambridge University Press. 2000. Pp. xxv, 288; 10 figs. $59.95.)
"The reason for the loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the seizure of this caravan," wrote the continuator of William of Tyre with reference to Prince Reynald of Chatillon's attack on a caravan traversing his territory en route from Cairo to Damascus in the winter of 1186-87 (the Eracles, c. 22). This aggression broke the treaty he had made with Saladin some months earlier and led in a quick succession of events to Saladin's decisive victory over the Franks at Hattin on july 4,1187. Professor Hamilton has spent nearly two decades researching the background for this long and involved story, and the result is a highly authoritative historical account and reinterpretation of the reign of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (1174-1185). His conclusions are...