July 4, 1095
Shayzar, Syria

November 16, 1188
Damascus, Syria

Arab lord, soldier, and writer

"When one comes to recount cases regarding the Franks [Christian crusaders], he cannot but glorify Allah ... for he sees [the Franks] as animals possessing the virtues of courage and fighting, but nothing else."

—Usamah ibn Munqidh, An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades: Memoirs of Usamah ibn Munqidh.

Usamah ibn Munqidh, a Syrian nobleman and soldier of the twelfth century, sat down at the end of his long and adventurous life and composed his memoirs, known in English as An Arab-Syrian Gentleman and Warrior in the Period of the Crusades. This autobiography presents a colorful...