First Crusader - Tapa dura

" an entertaining and edifying jaunt "-Greensboro, NC News and Record " makes a convincing case that the wars of Heraclitus should rank as the first crusade "--Smith Hempstone, Washington Times "Regan argues that the real crusades began centuries before [the]11th century "--Wisconsin State Journal " brings to life a lurid but neglected age that reverberates into our own."--Publishers Weekly "For most people, the crusades involved knights marching across Europe to rescue the Holy Land Regan puts this all in a fresh, broader perspective by looking at the Byzantine Empire he revises ideas of holy war and brings to life the 17th century emperor Heraclius who rescued the true cross " --Clive Foss, University of Massachusetts

The word 'Crusades' has traditionally referred to the wars fought after the late eleventh century to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. Reagan argues that they actually began in the seventh century with the conquest by the Persians of the Byzantine Empire. In retaliation, the emperor Heraclius used Christian propaganda to turn the war into the first crusade. Coincidentally, Heraclius's career was unfolding at the same time as that of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. No sooner had Heraclius overthrown the power of Persia and regained the Holy Land, than he lost it to the irresistably strong Arabs. First Crusader is an entertaining and challenging reinterpretation of The Crusades.