Salah ad Din and the Crusades

SALAH AD-DIN
AND THE CRUSADES
QAISER M. TALIB
CONTENTS
Introduction
1
The Rise of Islam
2
The Decline of Christianity
3
The Madness of Al-Hakim
4 Death to the Muslims!
5 Urban II Leads Crusade I
6
Death to the Jews!
7 Christian Tensions Mount
8 Crusaders, Craziness and Cannibalism
9 The Bloodbath of Jerusalem
10 The Taking of Tripoli
0208 2 5
12
17
26
11 Second Crusade, Anyone?
12 Enter Salah ad-Din
13 The Rise and Rise of Salah ad-Din
14 Watch out! The Hashashin are About! 15 Crusading Against the Crusaders
16 The Holy City Back in Muslim Hands 17 Oh Brother! The Rise of Richard
65
71
74
79
83
92
103
34
18 Richard in the Holy Land
108
40
19 The Death and Legacy of Salah ad-Din
115
42
20 Salah ad-Din vs. Richard
125
46
54
The Life of Salah ad-Din: A Timeline Bibliography
128
130
61
BA
الله الرحمن الرحيم
INTRODUCTION
When I was a small boy, I would watch television. I had seen adults around me, fascinated by this blinking, blaring cube in the corner of the room. However, my mother never wanted me to become a couch potato. She explained to me the difference between the various programmes. She told me that soaps and films were not real and that news and documentaries were real. She urged me to think more about what is real and less on everything else.
For this reason, I was interested in history from a very early age. Whether I saw it on television, or whether I read about it in books, I was always fascinated by people, events and stories from the past. I knew they were real, that they had really happened. You know, just about everybody and everything has a history, including you!
Once upon a time, you couldn't do much but drink milk, make gurgling noises, dirty your nappy and sleep. Then, there was a point in your personal history when you began to crawl and eventually, you began to walk, alhamdulillah.
What were the Crusades? Who were the heroes? Who were the villains? What can we learn from it all? How long did the King of England actually spend in England during his reign and what was Salah ad-Din's favourite food?
You'll find the answers to all these questions as well as lots of fascinating facts in this story of kings and peasants, conquests and losses, compassionate leaders and dishonest scoundrels...
ISBN 978-1-84200-121-9
Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd
Unit 4, The Windsor Centre Windsor Grove London, SE27 9NT www.tahapublishers.com
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