I was wondering what the armies were like during the first few Crusades in the Holy Land. I would think that the European style of warfare with heavy cavalry and heavy infantry would be rather unsuited to desert warfare, the sun's heat cooking them in their armor. If this is the case, did the crusaders fight differently than they would have back in Europe? If not, how different we're the armies of the Muslims and the Crusaders?
I have a related question:
Where did the Crusader States draw the majority of their troops from? Did they pull levies from the Christian inhabitants of Palestine? Did any Muslim soldiers serve the Crusader Kings?
did the crusaders fight differently than they would have back in Europe?
When you say "European Crusaders", do you mean Latin Crusaders, or Byzantine Crusaders?