Download or read book The Crusades and the Near East written by Conor Kostick and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-10-18 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The crusades are often seen as epitomising a period when hostility between Christian West and the Muslim Near East reached an all time high. This edited volume reveals a more complex story, exploring how the Holy Wars led on the one hand to a reinforcement of the beliefs and identities of each side, but on the other to a growing level of cultural exchange and interaction.