This is a general account of the history and architecture of Crusader castles in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, County of Tripoli and Principality of Antioch between 1099 and 1291, the years during which the Crusaders had a permanent presence on the Levantine coast.

1. Prologue to the study of crusader castles; 2. Fortification in the east and west before the First Crusade; 3. Castles in the twelfth-century Kingdom of Jerusalem; 4. Twelfth-century castles in the northern states (County of Tripoli, Principality of Antioch and County of Edessa); 5. Siege warfare in the crusader lands; 6. Nobles, Templars and Teutonic knights in the thirteenth century; 7. The Hospitallers in Tripoli and Antioch; 8. Muslim castles of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; Postscript: crusader castles and the west.

'... a welcome addition to the literature of military architecture. With well-chosen drawings and excellent photographs taken by the author, it provides one of the best-balanced accounts of the fortification of Palestine in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ... a thoughtful and illuminating survey of the entire Crusader military building effort in its different phases.' The Times Literary Supplement'... a brilliant survey ... Fully illustrated, Dr Kennedy's authoritative account demonstrates how the castles were used in war and peace.' Jerusalem Post'The appearance in affordable paperback of this elegant, erudite and accessible study first published in 1994 ... is welcome. Professor Kennedy's lightly-carried learning is deployed in a style that consistently engages.' C. J. Tyerman, The English Historical Review