The years 1200-1350 witnessed many important political changes that dramatically affected relations between Christians and Muslims. Insight into the historical developments that occurred in these years is necessary background for appreciating the works and authors discussed in this volume.[1]

Political developments

The destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 not only marked the end of the Abbasid dynasty, which had determined, at least in part, the course of the Islamic world for more than half a millennium, but also led to a fur…