European chain mail rings were flattened and joined with a rivet. A mail tunic could be made up of as many as 30,000 rings.

Horses

A knight required three horses: a pack horse, a horse used as transportation and a horse saved for battle.*

* The phrase "to mount one's high horse" is derived from mounting the battle horse.

The service of a Crusader was usually limited to a period of 2-3 years.

A full suit of mail offered protection against most weapons. Mail required padded undergarments to be comfortable and effective. Full armor weighed between 45 and 55 pounds.

Rewards

A Crusader was probably motivated by a number of things: The addition of new land holdings and booty. The remission of his sins. Escaping the judgment and jurisdiction of secular courts.

Dagger was the weapon of last resort. It could be thrust into the slits of a visor or through a chink of mail.

The armored knights of the Crusades were outfitted with the high-tech equipment of their time. A charge by mounted knights was virtually unstoppable.

Double-edged sword, when used properly, could burst apart chain mail or cut bone. Primarily a slashing weapon. Weight: 2.5 pounds. Fuller, or the groove that ran down the middle of the blade, lightened the weapon.

Triangular shield constructed of wood and leather with metal decoration and reinforcement.

Islamic soldier

The core of the Islamic military was made up of slaves. Islamic broadsword The signature curved, single-edged saber did not appear until the mid-13th century.

The Islamic military was known for its light cavalry.

Although soldiers were not as well protected as their Christian adversaries, they were much more mobile.

Ethics

Muslim soldiers were held to strict rules of warfare:

Rape was prohibited.

Killing women, children and noncombatants was forbidden.

The destruction of crops, trees (especially fruit-bearing) and animals was tolerated only for food.

Lamellar, or scale cuirass, was constructed by overlapping plates of hardened leather or metal and stitching them to a cloth or leather backing.

Saladin

(1138-93) Born in Kurdish Iraq, he is remembered as a masterful military leader and a ruler endowed with honor,culture and generosity.