Crusading and Trading between West and East

Sophia Menache is Professor Emerita at the University of Haifa. She has studied the history of the Military Orders with special emphasis on the Knights Templar and the communication aspects of the crusades. She also published three books on medieval communication, propaganda and stereotypes, and many articles on the interrelationship between humankind and pets, especially dogs, from the ancient period up to the end of the Middle Ages. She served as secretary of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East between the years 2002-2009.Benjamin Z. Kedar is Professor Emeritus of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the founding editor of Crusades and former President of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (1995-2002). He also studies comparative and world history: most recently, he co-edited Volume 5 ofThe Cambridge World History.Michel Balard is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Agrégé d'histoire, late member of the French School at Rome (1965-1968). Maître de conférences at the University of Paris 1 (1968-1976), Docteur ès-lettres (1976), Professor at the University of Reims (1976-1988), at the University Paris 12 Val-de-Marne (1988-1991), at the University Panthéon-Sorbonne (1991-2004), and former President of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East (2002-2009).