The life and legend of the Sultan Saladin

Introduction: Damascus 2009

The Muslim Near East and the First Crusade

Nur al-Din and the City of Damascus

Nur al-Din and the rise of the Jihad

Shirkuh, Saladin and the conquest of Egypt

Saladin's succession in Egypt

Steps towards independence: the break with Nur al-Din

Saladin's takeover of Damascus: open ambitions

Progress stalls

Victory at Jacob's Ford

Saladin, Cairo and the River Nile

Progress in Syria and Reynald's Red Sea raid

Final preparations: the sieges of Kerak and Mosul

The Battle of Hattin

The capture of Jerusalem

The siege of Tyre

The siege of Acre, part I: 1189-90

The siege of Acre, part II: the threat from the north

The arrival of Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart: the fall of Acre

Battles of sword and words: Arsuf and diplomacy

1192: family feuding, the Battle of Jaffa and the end of the Third Crusade

Peace at last

Saladin's reputation in the west

The view from the east: from the medieval age to the late nineteenth century

Early Arab nationalism expressed through theatre, books and newspapers

Struggles for independence in Syria, Egypt and Palestine

Looking for a new Saladin, c. 1950-2001

Conclusion: Writing the history of Saladin.