9 Ehrenkreutz, Saladin, 237.
10 Tyerman, Fi^htin^for Christendom, 195.
11 C. Hillenbrand, op. cit., 2.
12 Gibb, 'The achievement of Saladin', 44-60.
• 258 •
A Note on the Arabic Sources
One has to agree with Gibb that historians who have studied the life of
Saladin have given the first place to two Arabic sources; the biography of
Saladin by Ibn Shaddad and the Universal History of Ibn al-Athir. Ibn
Shaddad offers us the most personal insight into Saladin's life, even though
he did not join his service, as judge of the army, undl 1188 when Saladin
was already at the height of his power. Nevertheless from that moment on,
apart from a brief period, Ibn Shaddad did not leave Saladin's side. There
can be no doubt that he was a great admirer of Saladin and one keeps that
in mind as one reads Ibn Shaddad's writings. Clearly the fact that Ibn
Shaddad did not - apart from two occasions - come into contact with
Saladin prior to 1188 effectively meant that for the period up till then he
relied on second hand reports.
The sympathetic portrayal of Saladin that one finds in Ibn Shaddad is in
sharp contrast to the bias that one reads in Ibn al-Athir. Although there is
no evidence that the two men met, there is a clear explanation for Ibn al-
Athir's hostility and that is he was firmly in the Zengid camp and opposed
to the Ayyubid Saladin whom the Zengids viewed as a usurper. Ibn al-
Athir's admiration for Saladin is grudging and he is quick to find fault. One
can give many examples, but one will suffice; when Saladin refused to return
to Egypt from Syria as part of Nur al-Din's third campaign, Ibn al-Athir is
quick to conclude it was because he was holding out for financial induce-
ments. Certainly in every case where Saladin and Nur al-Din are contrasted,
Ibn al-Athir takes the opportunity to darken Saladin's name.
Another invaluable contemporary source which is known to have existed
was the writing of Saladin's secretary Imad al-Din al-Isfahani. Imad al-Din
had been Saladin's personal secretary since 1175 and certainly his proximity
• 259 •
A N O T E O N T H E ARABIC S O U R C E
to and admiration for Saladin was on the same level as that of Ibn Shaddad.
What is of particular interest is that Imad al-Din also served Nur al-Din and
therefore one is offered an insight into the lives of the two great men of
the age.
Imad al-Din's work, al-Barq al-Shami was a seven volume chronicle,
appears to have been utilized by practically all other contemporary chroni-
clers,^ but although it has been lost, it was abridged by Abu Shama in his
work Kitab al-Rawdatain. Al-Barq al-Shami was not the only work which
Imad al-Din devoted to Saladin, for he was also the author of al-Fath al-
Qussi. Imad al-Din al-Isfahani's appointment as Saladin's personal secretary
was largely due to al-Qadi al-Fadil who was Saladin's closest advisor and a
man who exerted tremendous influence over him and we are indebted to
Lyons and Jackson for the work they did in making available some of the
letters - both personal and those drafted in Saladin's name - which demon-
strate clearly the considerable influence that he had over Saladin.
' H. Gibb, 'al-Barq al-Shami': The History of Saladin by the Katib Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, Wiener Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde des Morgenlandes LII, 93.
• 260 •
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• 265 •
Index
c / l x T V )
Abbas Ibn Abd al-Muttalib 9
fortifications at 140-1
Abbasid caliphate 9-21, 34, 40, 42-3, 52-4,
siege of 66-8, 99, 117, 145
59, 63-5, 90-2, 114, 146, 180, 197-8
Alexius Comnenus 150
weakening of caliph 9-19
Ali (the Prophet's son-in-law) 10-13, 92
see also Sunni Revival
alim I I 1
al-Abidin, Zayn 10
'Allahu Akbar' 140, 176-7, 214
Ibn Abi Asrun 119, 181
Almohades 205
Ibn Abi-1 Ashath 38
A
bul Huija die Gross 84, 220, 224
Amalric 40, 51-71, 75, 82, 85-90, 100-7,
Abyssinia 53
137, 146, 149-50, 189, 240
Achilles' heel 197
death of 100-6
Acre 23, 76, 78, 118, 144, 151, 165,
ambiguity 32
184-5, 196, 200-11, 231
Amid 170
fall of 206-11
Amir al-Juyush market 121
siege of 76, 2 0 0 - 4 , 208
Amr Ibn al-As mosque 16, 95, 120-1, 129,
al-Adhrawiyya 131
193
al-Adid 70-2, 75, 80, 85-6, 88-91, 124,
anarchy 107
202
Anatolia 163, 219
al-Adil 48-50, 89, 93, 131, 154, 158-60,
al-Andalusi, Hasan 97
163-5, 185-6, 191, 197-8, 208, 213,
Andronicus Contostephanus 88, 150
217-23, 233, 240
Angevin knights 227
Ibn al-Adim 25
anti-semitism 56 ^
'afada al-nas' 134
Antioch 23, 29, 37, 39, 51, 54, 57, 63,
al-Afdal 80, 90, 164, 168, 179, 185, 194,
106, 143, 167, 198
198, 221, 230, 2 3 3 - 4 , 236, 240
appointment of Saladin as vizier 73-7
Agnes of Courtenay 137
Ibn Aqil 17
ahl al-bayt 57
al-Aqmar mosque 129
Ahmed 141
al-Aqsa mosque 39, 44, 140, 186, 192
al-Barq al-Shumi 117
Arab secular ways 9
Alchemy of Happiness 117
Arab socialism 2
Aleppo 2 1 - 4 , 29, 33-7, 40-3, 46, 6 3 - 4 ,
Arabia 154
68, 75, 101-19,138
Arabic language 4 5 - 6 , 67, 106, 117, 140,
challenge of 109-19
166
siege of 155
Ibn Arabi 96
Alexandria 13, 31, 52, 55-9, 64-8, 71, 75,
Araxes 25
8 1 , 8 4
Archbishop Frederick of Tyre 66
• 266 •
I N D E X
Archbishop of Pisa 204
Baldwin 111 40, 106-7, 138, 150
Armenians 21, 25, 56-7, 84, 87, 99, 122,
Baldwin IV 105-6, 114, 137-43, 145-53,
130, 206
157-62, 165,200, 207, 240
army 170-2, 2 0 4 - 6
death of 160-2
fragmentation of 2 0 4 - 6
Baldwin V 159-61, 165-6
gatliering of 170-2
Balian of Ibelin 168-9, 174, 177, 189-91
arrival of the Crusades in Syria 22-5