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This hand decorated Crusades Chess Set epitomises the struggles for domination between Christians and Muslims and concentrates particularly on the Third great Crusade led by King Richard I of England, who in 1189 joined King Philip II of France in an effort to recapture the holy city of Jerusalem. King Richard, with 8000 troops, seized Cyprus and some cities on the Palestinian coast, but ultimately failed to dislodge the Muslim leader Saladin from Jerusalem. Both sides relied heavily on mercenary soldiers. European knights from England, France, Spain and Germany were all employed against the Muslims and Richard I was also supported in the Third Crusade by specialist Italian crossbow men. The Muslim army contained Saracens, Seljuk, Mameluks, Arabs, Berbers, Turks, Kurds and Egyptians. The army was well equipped and had a vast number of camels, which enabled them to cover long distances very quickly. The prize, the city of Jerusalem, was fought over continuously by both sides, changing ownership many times. There was slaughter and suffering in abundance until in 1921, the last Christian foothold in the Holy Land was relinquished and fell into Muslim hands. The crusades period came to an end when Christian Europe in the 14th Century was devastated by plague, famine and internal strife. The high cost of Crusading financially crippled many European states, but a few prospered, particularly the cities of Venice and Genoa, where many ships were provisioned for their voyages to the Holy Land. However, contact with the Arabic world bought many benefits to Europe. Fabrics such as cotton, mohair, taffeta and gauze, foods such as sherbet, syrup, coffee, artichokes, aubergines, oranges, lemons and spinach all resulted from these contacts. Stories of heroes of the Crusades abound in all cultures, so we invite you to create your own heroes and villains from within the characters of the crusades hand decorated chess set. Design : Hand Decorated King Height : 135mm / 5.25 Inches
Theme : The Cusades Chess Set SKU : CS0017
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Theme Chess Sets
