God's Battalions

The author of The Rise of Christianity reviews the history of the seven major crusades from 1095-1291 in this work of religious revisionist history.

Distinguished and award-winning scholar Rodney Stark takes on the current vogue in liberal thinking to argue that, in fact, the Crusades were not unprovoked. They were not the first round of European colonialism. They were not conducted for land, loot, or converts. The Crusaders were not barbarians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. They sincerely believed that they served in God’s Battalions.

In the wake of many recent books justifying Muslim holy wars by criticizing the historic use of violence by Christians, Stark presents the other side of the story. Drawing upon a wide variety of sources, Stark argues the facts and figures about why and how Christianity attempted to secure the Holy Lands and protect the safety of Christian pilgrims.

“Rewards a careful reading, and not only because the story itself is so gripping, with tales of courage and desperation, outsized characters, and fate of cultures hanging in the balance. . . . Masterful . . . sets the record straight.” —National Catholic Register

“Christian readers should welcome Stark''s affirmation of the best in scholarship, both old and new, and his willingness to argue a controversial position.” —Christian Scholar''s Review

“There is much to be learned here. Filled with fascinating historical glimpses of monks and Templars, priests and pilgrims, kings and contemplatives, Stark pulls it all together and challenges us to reconsider our view of the Crusades.” —Publishers Weekly