Queens of Jerusalem - by Katherine Pangonis (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In 1187 Jerusalem, the holy city held by Christians for four generations and the prize of the First Crusade, fell to Saladin after a short siege. The Christians within were outnumbered ten to one, and yet the city held out long enough for favourable terms to be negotiated. The population was spared. The city was defended by a woman: Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem. The Holy City had been lost, but the Christians maintained their footholds in the Middle East for another century. This region became known in Europe simply as Outremer, 'overseas'. Steeped in biblical wonder and the glamour of exoticism, Outremer has inspired generations of historians from antiquity to the modern day. Missing from both medieval and modern histories of the Outremer is the voice of the women of the kingdom. The stories of the queens and princesses who ruled and rebelled in this volatile region have all but been written out of the historical record. Even the women who carried water on to the battlefields, and were struck down with arrows as they toiled beneath the walls of besieged cities during the First Crusade, have had their roles omitted from the majority of the chronicles. The queens who defended their cities against Muslim besiegers, negotiated with Saladin, and ruled with 'unusual wisdom' similarly have seen their deeds overlooked. William of Tyre, the key historian for this period, gives a sympathetic portrayal of just one queen, and writes off the rest as manipulative harridans, or barely worth the words. He devotes the fewest possible pages in his hefty chronicle to the deeds of women, when indeed women played a key role in both the crusades themselves and the foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. There is a trend for male chroniclers of the crusades to concern themselves with the deeds of men, and this has carried over to much modern scholarship too. Kate Lombard's book intends to address the imbalance by shedding light on the deeds of some of the most daring, devious and devoted women that history has witnessed. She explores the lives of the female rulers of Outremer from the year 1095 to the fall of Jerusalem in 1187. The primary subjects are Morphia of Melitene, Melisende of Jerusalem, her rebellious sister Alice, her shrewd daughter Constance of Antioch and finally Sibylla of Jerusalem and her domineering mother Agnes of Courtenay, the women who presided over the collapse of the kingdom. Eleanor of Aquitaine is also a key figure, owing to her journey east with the Second Crusade and the love triangle that developed between her, Constance and Constance's husband Raymond of Antioch (Eleanor's own uncle). Queens of Jerusalem explores the role women played in the governing of the Middle East during periods of intense instability, and how they persevered to rule and seize greater power for themselves when the opportunity presented itself."--

Book Synopsis

The untold story of a trailblazing dynasty of royal women who ruled the Middle East and how they persevered through instability and seize greater power.

In 1187 Saladin's armies besieged the holy city of Jerusalem. He had previously annihilated Jerusalem's army at the battle of Hattin, and behind the city's high walls a last-ditch defence was being led by an unlikely trio - including Sibylla, Queen of Jerusalem. They could not resist Saladin, but, if they were lucky, they could negotiate terms that would save the lives of the city's inhabitants.

Queen Sibylla was the last of a line of formidable female rulers in the Crusader States of Outremer. Yet for all the many books written about the Crusades, one aspect is conspicuously absent: the stories of women. Queens and princesses tend to be presented as passive transmitters of land and royal blood. In reality, women ruled, conducted diplomatic negotiations, made military decisions, forged alliances, rebelled, and undertook architectural projects. Sibylla's grandmother Queen Melisende was the first queen to seize real political agency in Jerusalem and rule in her own right. She outmanoeuvred both her husband and son to seize real power in her kingdom, and was a force to be reckoned with in the politics of the medieval Middle East. The lives of her Armenian mother, her three sisters, and their daughters and granddaughters were no less intriguing.

Queens of Jerusalem is a stunning debut by a rising historian and a rich revisionist history of Medieval Palestine.

Review Quotes

"A simply fascinating, original, and detailed history that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Crusader History & Medieval Palestine collections, "Queens of Jerusalem: The Women Who Dared to Rule" by Katherine Pangonis is a model of historical research. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented." -- "Midwest Book Review"

"A complex historical narrative that celebrates female agency and a tale of family intrigue spanning generations, this book sheds light on the silenced women of a fascinating medieval bloodline."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Beautifully constructed, highly intelligent, perceptive, humane and empathetic, this wonderful book turns the forgotten women rulers of Jerusalem from powerless broodmares into complex actors with agency, ingenuity and fascinating lives."--WIlliam Dalrymple

"Fascinating, intriguing, exciting and authoritative. Here are the female rulers of the crusader states as shrewd politicians, warrior queens and mothers and wives, holding their own against male crusader states and Islamic warlords in the ruthless arena of the Middle East. The female crusader potentates have long been neglected, so this is long overdue and it was worth waiting for."--Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times bestselling author of Jerusalem

"In a refreshing shift of historical emphasis, these women, whether players or pawns, are brought to life on their own terms, their experiences and careers."--Christopher Tyerman, Professor of History of the Crusades at Oxford University

"The subjects of this important and inspiring book have regularly been resigned to the footnotes of history. But the Queens of Jerusalem are history-makers, game-changers. Delight in their company in this seminal and scintillating debut."--Bettany Hughes

"Using a good range of contemporary sources, Pangonis deftly weaves together the life stories of the dynasty of women who ruled the Latin East in the twelfth century. Perhaps the greatest strength of this work is that Pangonis situates these women in the landscape, architecture, and culture of the Near East, combining physical descriptions with a colourful and engaging narrative." -- "The Times Literary Supplement (London)"

About the Author

Katherine Pangonis is a historian specialising in the medieval world of the Mediterranean and Middle East. She holds MA degrees in literature and history from Oxford University and University College London. She has a particular interest in rewriting the voices of women into the historical narrative, re-examining understudied areas of history and bringing her findings into the public eye.