The life and legend of the sultan saladin

An engaging biography that offers a new perspective on one of the most influential figures of the Crusades

In , Saladin marched triumphantly into Jerusalem, ending decades of struggle against the Christians and reclaiming the holy city for Islam. Four years later he fought off the armies of the Third Crusade, which were commanded by Europe’s leading monarchs. A fierce krigare and savvy diplomat, Saladin’s unparalleled courtesy, justice, generosity, and mercy were revered by both his fellow Muslims and his Christian rivals such as Richard the Lionheart.

Combining thorough research with vivid storytelling, Jonathan Phillips offers a fresh and captivating look at the triumphs, failures, and contradictions of one of the Crusades’ most unique figures. Bringing the vibrant world of the twelfth century to life, this book also explores Saladin’s complicated legacy, examining the ways Saladin has been invoked in the modern age by Arab and Muslim leaders ranging from Nasser in Egypt, As

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Superb, highly readable and definitive One of the world’s leading crusades scholars Phillips's narrative of Saladin's career is vivid and judicious, punctuated by set pieces that charge along like battle scenes from Game of Thrones

Superbly researched and enormously entertaining one of the outstanding books of the year

An authoritative and brilliantly told account of the life of one of the world’s greatest – and most famous – military leaders. Jonathan Phillips leaves no stone unturned in this impressive and lively history of the genius who was Saladin

Outstanding. Jonathan Phillips has written a compelling account of arguably the most inspirational of Islamic military heroes

Fascinating, authoritative and intelligent

This illuminating and fascinating biography of Saladin could not be timely. Today political figures often inspire little admiration, but Saladin’s career at the height of the Crusades reminds us that moral charisma and integ

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Robert Irwin

The story of Saladin has been told many times. One of the most influential portraits of the 12th-century Ayyubid sultan appeared in a work of fiction, Sir Walter Scott’s The Talisman (). In that novel the status of hero was shared between Saladin and a fictional Scottish knight named Sir Kenneth. Saladin appeared as not only a fearless warrior, but also a noble soul who, disguised as a Moorish physician, entered the Crusader camp to treat and cure Richard the Lionheart’s fever. In Stanley Lane-Poole’s history Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (), Scott was praised for being able to ‘depict the true character of Saladin with remarkable accuracy’. Lane-Poole thought that the Muslims did not really deserve Saladin and that ‘the character of the great Sultan … appeals more strongly to Europeans than to Moslems, who admire his chivalry less than his warlike triumphs’. In the s and s, the great orientalist Hamilton Gibb produced a series of influential ess