Crusader Diet in Times of War and Peace: Arsur (Israel) as a Case Study

Pines, Miriam; Sapir‐Hen, Lidar; Tal, Oren

doi:10.1111/ojoa.12117

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The differences in manufacturing between the Crusader and Muslim pottery allowed us to sort out the two types of pottery. We used [15][16][17][18][19][20][21], for the selection and identification of Crusader and Muslim pottery. Additionally, we gathered information from public exhibitions in Israeli museums for identification of pottery to each period.…”

Section: A Survey Of the Territorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Richard the Lionheart and the Ferocious Saladin Face to Face in Arsuf: A Proteomic Study

Zilberstein¹,

Zilberstein²,

Righetti³

2021

Heritage

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

On 7 September 1191, a fierce battle took place in Arsuf (Palestine) between the Crusaders (marching south towards Jerusalem) led by King Richard the Lionheart and the Ayyubid army commanded by the sultan Saladin. The confrontation lasted for most of the day and terminated with a victory of the Crusaders, proving Richard’s courage as a soldier and his skill as a commander while denting Saladin’s reputation as an invincible warrior. The site (today known as Apollonia) holds the ruins of a Crusader castle perched on a cliff over the sea. We recovered plenty of pottery shards among which we could distinguish those of the Crusaders from those of the Ayyubid army. Extraction of food remnants confirmed that the Crusaders’ diet consisted mostly of pig and sheep meat (together with cheese), with a minimum of carbohydrates (what today would be termed a “ketogenic” diet), whereas the Muslim army consumed mostly carbohydrates (wheat, Triticum durum, Hordeum vulgare), together with fruits and vegetables, with minimal levels of sheep meat and cheese. As a result, the Crusaders’ diet had a positive effect on their slenderness and “cardio”. This might have been why the Ayyubid army lost ca. 10 times more soldiers in Arsuf. Shrewdness of leaders and soldiers’ equipment and willingness to fight are, of course, the main ingredients of victory, but diet too might not have a secondary role and help to tip the balance.

show abstract

Section: A Survey Of the Territorymentioning

confidence: 99%