Saladin
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Saladin
Pearson Longman, 2009
- : hbk.
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-265) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Like Alexander or Caesar, the name of Saladin the greatest figure of Islamic history has a timeless quality. As famous today as he was when he drove the Crusaders out of Jerusalem, the real Saladin has dissolved into legend with each generation's retelling of his story. Through the ages he has made many numerous appearances in both classic and popular culture: Dante placed him in the first circle of Hell with the heroes of Troy and Rome while Rex Harrison played him as a cad in the film King Richard and the Crusaders. In Youssef Chahine's epic film Saladin, he emerged as a hero of Arab socialism, and he has even made an appearance in an episode of Dr Who. Even today, Saladin's historical influence continues with Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi all claiming to be his military and spiritual heir.
To understand the real Saladin, however, A. R. Azzam argues that we must place him within his historical setting amidst the 10th century Sunni Revival - the powerful and sweeping intellectual renaissance which would ultimately transform every field of Islamic thought. Making a compelling case against accepted orthodoxy, this ground-breaking biography contends that Saladin was not the brilliant military commander of popular imagination but that, in fact, his true greatness lay in his spiritual vision. An honest and guileless leader, Saladin baffled his enemies by refusing to play their political games and succeeded in uniting an army from all parts of the Muslim world without bloodshed. Yet despite being one of the most powerful men in Islam, Saladin died a pauper in 1193 without even enough money for straw to line his coffin.
The first major biography of Saladin for twenty years, and the first by a Muslim historian to appear in English, A. R. Azzam's timely and fascinating account is essential reading for anyone interested in the medieval Crusades, Islamic history and the origins of the modern Middle East.
Table of Contents
Contents
Glossary of Main Names
Map of Jerusalem
Prologue:
Separating the Man from the Myth
Chapter 1:
The Weakening of the Abbasid Caliph and the Sunni Revival
Disputes between Sunnis and Shiites
Building a new Sunni orthodoxy
Chapter 2:
The Turning of the Tide
The arrival of the Crusades in Syria
The establishment of Saladin's father and uncle
The rise of Nur al-Din and the spread of madrasas
Chapter 3:
The Young Saladin
The religious milieu in which Saladin grew up
The beginning of the Islamic counter-crusade
The education of Saladin
Chapter 4:
The Battle for Egypt
The Fatimids: the sick man of the Nile
Shirkuh's campaign
The emergence of Saladin and the siege of Alexandria
Chapter 5:
The Unlikely Vizier
The death of Shirkuh and the appointment of Saladin as vizier
The rise of al-Qadi al-Fadil
Chapter 6:
Master of Egypt
The crushing of the Sudanese uprising and the dismantlement of the Fatimid state
The establishment of Saladin's authority in Egypt
The introduction of Sunni orthodoxy to Egypt
Chapter 7:
The Prize of Syria
The death of Nur al-Din and Amalric
The power struggle in Syria
Saladin marches into Syria, and the challenge of Aleppo
Chapter 8:
The Meddlesome Priest: Saladin and al-Khabushani
Madrasa building in Egypt
The relationship between Saladin and the ulama
The Sunnification of Egypt
Chapter 9:
Saladin and the Leper King
Baldwin IV and the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Saladin's defeat at Mont Gisard
The death of Nur al-Din's son and the struggle for northern Syria
Chapter 10:
Sailing Close to Disaster: Saladin's Illness at Harran
The death of Baldwin IV
Saladin's march on Mosul
Saladin's illness
Saladin and al-Qadi al-Fadil: renewed vows
Chapter 11:
Victory at Hattin
Saladin gathers his army
Deliberations in the Franks' camp
The march to Tiberias
The capture of the True Cross
Saladin slays Reynauld of Chatillon
Chapter 12:
The Return of Jerusalem
The collapse of the Latin Kingdom
Saladin besieges Jerusalem
The triumphant entry into Jerusalem
Chapter 13:
The Arrival of Richard
Conrad fortifies Tyre
The siege of Acre
The fragmentation of Saladin's army
The fall of Acre and the massacre of the 3,000
The march towards Jaffa
Saladin's defeat at Arsuf
Chapter 14:
A Bitter Siege of Attrition: Saladin, Richard and Jerusalem
The death of Taqi al-Din
Saladin fortifies Jerusalem
The attack on Jaffa and the defiance of Richard
Peace negotiations and the departure of Richard
Chapter 15:
Death in Damascus: Saladin's Last Days
The return to Damascus
Saladin's illness
Saladin's death and the mourning of the people
Saladin: an assessment
Notes
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"
