First published 2020
After Jerusalem fell in 1244, Christian forces concentrated everything on defending Acre, their final stronghold in the Holy Land. The city thrived as a Mediterranean trading hub, its streets bustling with diverse cultures while ten thousand knights from the Templar, Hospitaller, and Teutonic orders manned its defenses. In 1291, the largest Mamluk army ever assembled appeared at Acre's gates. For six brutal weeks, enemy forces undermined the city walls and launched relentless bombardments, targeting the vulnerable Cursed Tower that protected the harbor. The Christian defenders knew their cause was lost, yet they fought with desperate courage for this symbol of a dying world. Crowley draws on newly discovered primary sources to reconstruct the final battle for the Holy Land, bringing readers inside the epic conclusion of the Crusades as the last Christian bastion fell to Islamic forces.
Genres: historical-fiction, war, adventure, military-history
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: epic-battle, last-stand
Setting: Acre, Holy Land
Period: 1291, 13th-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Ático de los Libros
Content warnings: violence, war