The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin

Description

‘Superbly researched and enormously entertaining… One of the outstanding books of the year’ – The Times

An epic story of empire-building and bloody conflict, this ground-breaking biography of one of history’s most venerated military and religious heroes opens a window on the Islamic and Christian worlds’ complex relationship.

WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE

When Saladin recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, returning the Holy City to Islamic rule, he sent shockwaves throughout Christian Europe and the Muslim Near East that reverberate today.

It was the culmination of a supremely exciting life. Born into a significant Kurdish family in northern Iraq, this warrior and diplomat fought under the banner of jihad, but at the same time worked tirelessly to build an empire that stretched from North Africa to Western Iraq. Gathering together a turbulent coalition, he was able to capture Jerusalem, only to trigger the Third Crusade and face his greatest adversary, King Richard the Lionheart.

Drawing on a rich blend of Arabic and European sources, this is a comprehensive account of both the man and the legend to which he gave birth, describing vividly the relentless action of his life and tracing its aftermath through culture and politics all the way to the present day.

Reviews

“An authoritative and brilliantly told account of the life of one of the world’s greatest – and most famous – military leaders” – Peter Frankopan

“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” – Dan Jones – Sunday Times

“Superbly researched and enormously entertaining … one of the outstanding books of the year — Gerard DeGroot” – The Times

“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” – PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk Roads

“Outstanding. Jonathan Phillips has written a compelling account of arguably the most inspirational of Islamic military heroes” – CHRISTOPHER DE BELLAIGUE, author of The Islamic Enlightenment

“Fascinating, authoritative and intelligent” – Spectator

“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 integrity can be recognised and honoured by people on both sides of a vicious conflict. His concluding account of the intense emotion that the memory of Saladin still inspires in the Middle East today reveals the sensitivity and pain that underlies so many of the region’s unresolved problems” – KAREN ARMSTRONG, author of Fields of Blood

Author Biography

Jonathan Phillips is Professor of Crusading History at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is the author of Holy Warriors: A Modern History of the Crusades; The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christianity; The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople; The Crusades, 1095-1197; Defenders of the Holy Land, 1119-1187 and the co-editor of three academic essay collections on the Crusades. Phillips is the co-editor of the academic journal Crusades, writes for BBC History and History Today and has made numerous radio and television appearances.