Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War, by Malcolm Cameron Lyons and D. E. P. Jackson, remains the best history of Saladin’s rise to power and his reign. There are numerous biographies of Saladin, but I would recommend the following books: Saladin, by Anne-Marie Eddé, translated by Jane Marie Todd; Saladin: Empire and Holy War, by Peter Gubser; Saladin, by Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz; and Saladin and the Fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, by Stanley Lane-Poole. There are no biographies of al-‘Ādil, but his reign is covered by R. Stephen Humphreys in From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyūbids of Damascus, 1193–1260. I also recommend The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives, by Carole Hillenbrand. There are many books about medieval Islam and the role of women in Islamic society; others dealing with medieval medicine, slavery in their world, even Muslim cookbooks, which were very useful in chapter eight. There are too many to include here, but I promise to list them on my website.
Now . . . the battle of Haṭṭīn. Let me begin with the best, two accounts by military historians: Piercing the Fog of War: Recognizing Change on the Battlefield: Lessons from Military History, 216 BC Through Today, by Brian L. Steed, and The Battle of Haṭṭīn, 1187, a master’s thesis by Eric W. Olson, presented to the faculty of the US Army Command and General Staff College. Steed and Olson have studied the battle with a soldier’s eye, and the results are well worth reading. Another excellent account is God’s Warriors: Knights Templar, Saracens, and the Battle for Jerusalem, by Helen Nicholson and David Nicolle. So are Haṭṭīn, by John France; and Haṭṭīn, 1187: Saladin’s Greatest Victory and Saladin: Leadership, Strategy, Conflict, both by David Nicolle; “The Battle of Haṭṭīn: A Chronicle of a Defeat Foretold?” by Michael Ehrlich, in Journal of Medieval Military History, volume 5, edited by Clifford J. Rogers, Kelly DeVries, and John France; Crusading Warfare, 1097–1193, by R. C. Smail; and Lionhearts: Richard I, Saladin, and the Era of the Third Crusade, by Geoffrey Regan, which has a detailed description of the siege of Jerusalem and Balian’s efforts to save the city.
Other recommended books include Encounter Between Enemies: Captivity and Ransom in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, by Yvonne Friedman; Noble Ideals and Bloody Realities: Warfare in the Middle Ages, edited by Niall Christie and Maya Yazigi; Crusader Warfare, volume I: Byzantium, Western Europe, and the Battle for the Holy Land, by David Nicolle; Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades, 1000–1300, by John France; and Malcolm Barber’s The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple.
Lastly, the chronicles. We are fortunate to have three contemporary accounts of Saladin’s reign, written by men who knew him, two of whom were members of his inner circle. Bahā’ al-Dīn ibn Shaddād wrote The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, translated by D. S. Richards; he did not join Saladin’s service until 1188, so he never appears in this novel, but his chronicle does touch upon events prior to that date. The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr for the Crusading Period from “al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh,” Part 2, The Years 542–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nūr al-Dīn and Saladin, translated by D. S. Richards, is a compelling account of history in the Levant written by a man who had a more balanced view of Saladin than Bahā al-Dīn or ‘Imād al-Dīn, who idolized him. ‘Imād al-Dīn’s history of the sultan is available only in French, Conquête de la Syrie et de la Palestine par Saladin, translated from Arabic by Henri Massé. However, you can find excerpts in Arab Historians of the Crusades, edited by Francesco Gabrieli, and in Jerusalem: The City of Herod and Saladin, by Walter Besant. Some of the events in the novel are also covered in a later chronicle, A History of the Ayyūbid Sultans of Egypt, by Ahmad ibn’ al-Maqrizi, translated from Arabic by R. J. C. Broadhurst.
William of Tyre’s history is perhaps the most famous chronicle of the Middle Ages, but it ends in 1184. Balian d’Ibelin’s squire Ernoul wrote a continuation of William’s history, but it has not survived. All we have are versions of it, sometimes garbled, that appear in chronicles written in the thirteenth century. I discuss this at greater length in the author’s note. You can find portions of these continuations in Peter W. Edbury’s The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade.
William’s history of the Saracens was lost after his death. His chronicle about the Kingdom of Jerusalem, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, has long been out of print. I was fortunate, for my friend Valerie LaMont was able to secure a copy for me when I was researching Lionheart. But I have good news for those of you interested in reading William’s history. It is available now from Amazon and Amazon.UK as an ebook, very reasonably priced. There are two huge volumes and not all of it will be relevant to readers. But I’m sure you’ll find William’s personal account of the last years of the kingdom to be as fascinating as I did.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon Kay Penman is the author of ten previous historical novels and four mysteries. A lawyer by training, she was a full-time novelist by her mid-thirties. Penman lives in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
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The Land Beyond the Sea Page 91
