Sultan Saladin – since Lessing’s play “Nathan the Wise” (1779) considered as the epitome of religious tolerance – and his opponent King Richard I. the Lionheart – already in medieval times an ideal of knightly virtuousness – are the focus of attention in this exhibition, whose first place of display is the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle (Saale).

With the help of these two characters, the exhibition takes the visitor on a journey into the fascinating world of encounters and confrontations in the Near East at the time of the crusades.

The encounter of the crusaders’ culture with the Oriental culture is not only of great importance to European history, but of current interest, too, as recent political events demonstrate. The exhibition shows that this encounter also included – besides armed conflicts – peaceful relations and cultural exchange.

The project was the idea of Prof Dr Alfried Wieczorek, Director of the Reiss Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim. Together with the scientific coordinators of the project (Prof Dr Heinz Gaube, Prof Dr Bernd Schneidmüller, Prof Dr Stefan Weinfurter), further scientific advisory boards, and the collaborating museums in Halle and Oldenburg, the idea was discussed and further developed. For scientific preparation, in 2004 an interdisciplinary conference dedicated to the central issues of the project and equipped with well-known experts took place. The papers, which tackled these issues from both the western and the eastern point of view, were published in a volume of its own.

The exhibition features the view of the events in the Crusader States between 1099 and 1291 from both perspectives and is the first one to confront Christian with Muslim cultural remains.

 

However, the display is not a common touring exhibition, since each of the three museums focuses on different aspects. While Oldenburg emphasizes the role of the Near East as a mediator of knowledge, Mannheim stresses the artistic transfer and historical aspects. Focussing on regional history, the State Museum Halle demonstrates the various consequences of the crusades to Central Germany, an aspect largely ignored so far.

Therefore, the show comes up with new finds and objects published in the exhibition catalogue for the first time. The catalogue (600 pages) contains plenty of coloured illustrations, information on exhibits, and essays on interesting topics by renowned experts. It is published by Philipp von Zabern and available for only € 28.00 (museum’s edition).

The various exhibits comprise jewellery, weapons, coins, astronomical instruments, building sculptures, etc. and are supplemented by models, paintings, photographs, and large scale installations. On ca. 1,000 sqm, more than 130 remarkable objects from the Near East as well as from European collections are presented. In Halle, the focus of attention is on the rich however little known relics of crusaders and pilgrims from Central Germany, among them the Magic Ring of Paussnitz and numerous further objects, some of which are on display for the first time. Highlights of the exhibition are valuable reliquaries, e.g. from the cathedral treasures of Halberstadt and Quedlinburg, stations of the tourist route “Romanesque Road” (www.sachsen-anhalt-tourismus.de).

 

As usual, the exhibition is accompanied by a large number of various events such as lectures, readings of the 1001 Nights Tales, Oriental cooking, forging armours, and attending the Friday Prayer of the Muslim Community Halle.