During the Middle Ages, Islam was Christian Europe's only civilized and most troublesome neighbor. The Middle Ages saw almost continual strife between these two distinct cultures. By the time the Frankish Crusaders reached the Middle East at the end of the 11th century, Islam had already incorporated three major races: Arabs, Persians and Turks, each of which contributed different strengths to the armoury of Islam. This title explores the organization, uniforms and equipment of the armies of Islam from the 7th to 11th centuries, backed by illustrations, museum photographs and eight full page color plates by popular Osprey artist Angus McBride. Packed with specially commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams, the Men-at-Arms series is an unrivalled illustrated reference on the history, organisation, uniforms and equipment of the world's military forces, past and present. The Men-At-Arms covers subjects as diverse as the Imperial Roman army, the Napoleonic wars and German airborne troops in a popular 48-page format including some 40 photographs and diagrams, and eight full-colour plates. David Nicolle is Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute of Medieval Studies, Nottingham University. He is the author of numerous books on aspects of medieval military history, including many for Osprey. Angus McBride was one of the world's most respected historical illustrators, and contributed to over 100 Osprey titles over several decades. Reference Book Slight yellowing.