Byzantium and the Crusader States 1096-1204

This is the first full scholarly study of the relations between Byzantium and the Crusader States of Syria and Palestine. Ralph-Johannes Lilie sets out to explore the policies and principles which shaped contacts between the Eastern Empire, the Crusader States, and the nations of Western Europe whence the Crusaders came. He traces the actions of the Byzantine Emperors in the twelfth century as they sought to keep control of the crusading armies within their territories and to maintain their positions with respect to the west, and shows how mutual suspicion and attempts at co-operation ended in downright enmity. Originally published to much acclaim in German, Byzantium and the Crusader States has been revised for the English edition by Professor Lilie, and a lucid and scholarly translation provided by J. C. Morris and Jean E. Ridings.`Lilie's book is an important one, not only because the course of relations between Greeks and Latins in the eastern Mediterranean region is discussed in a refreshingly original way, but also because all historians of the Latin East will want to consult it on points of detail.'Jonathan Riley-Smith, English Historical Review