Simon Mayall, "The House of War: The Struggle Between Christendom and the Caliphate" (Bloomsbury, 2024)

May 3, 2025

In this engaging discussion, retired lieutenant general Simon Mayall, a scholar on the Middle East, delves into his new work, exploring 1,300 years of conflict between Christendom and the Caliphate. He highlights pivotal battles like the fall of Constantinople and the siege of Jerusalem, revealing their long-lasting impacts on today's geopolitical landscape. Mayall shares personal anecdotes from his military career, shedding light on the evolution of war strategies and the emotional experiences of soldiers. He also emphasizes the importance of historical context in understanding modern Muslim-Christian relations.

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ANECDOTE

Mayall's Personal Middle East Journey

Simon Mayall draws on his family and military experiences across the Middle East to enrich his historical perspective.
He connects personal history with broader regional conflicts, giving his narrative practical depth and authenticity.

INSIGHT

Complex Religious Conflict Dynamics

The conflict between Islam and Christendom involved complex intra-religious struggles, not just binary fights.
Often, internal sectarian disputes were more deadly than the obvious religious enemy.

INSIGHT

Military Lessons From History

Many enduring military principles, such as leadership and logistics, transcend centuries from ancient to modern warfare.
The Ottoman state's centralization influenced Western European military and political development.

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A powerful new history detailing the most significant military clashes between Islam and Christendom over the 1,300 years of the Muslim caliphate.

From the taking of the holy city of Jerusalem in the 7th century AD by Caliph Umar, to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I, Christian popes, emperors and kings, and Muslim caliphs and sultans were locked in a 1300-year battle for political, military, ideological, economic and religious supremacy. In this powerful new history of the era, acknowledged expert on the history of the Middle East and the Crusades Simon Mayall focuses on some of the most significant clashes of arms in human history: the taking and retaking of Jerusalem and the collapse of the Crusader states; the fall of Constantinople; the sieges of Rhodes and Malta; the assault on Vienna and the 'high-water mark' of Ottoman advance into Europe; culminating in the Allied capture of Jerusalem in World War I, the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the dissolution of the sultanate and the caliphate, and the formation of modern Europe and the modern Middle East.

The House of War: The Struggle Between Christendom and the Caliphate (Bloomsbury, 2024) offers a wide, sweeping narrative, encompassing the broad historical and religious context of this period, while focussing on some of the key, pivotal sieges and battles, and on the protagonists, political and military, who determined their conclusions and their consequences.

Simon Mayall is a former soldier in the British Army, and an acknowledged expert on the history of the Middle East, and of the Crusades. Much of his 40-year professional career was focussed on the Middle East, and he has strong family and academic interests in the region. His last appointments were as the British Government's Defence Senior Adviser for the Middle East, and the Prime Minister's Security Envoy to Iraq and the Kurdish Region.

Caleb Zakarin is editor at the New Books Network.

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