''The Book of Saladin'' is an historical novel by Pakistani-born British writer

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...

, first published in 1998. The second in Ali’s Islam Quintet, the narrative purports to be the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

of the 12th-century Muslim leader

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

, or Salah al-Din, who famously captured Jerusalem from the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 1187.

Synopsis

Written as part memoir by Saladin and part biography by Jewish scribe Ibn Yakub, who is given permission to interview the great man’s wife and close associates, the novel tells the story of Salah al-Din, a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

warrior who became a hero of the

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

due to his heroics against the Crusaders and was made Sultan of Egypt and Syria as a reward. Parallels are drawn between the Egypt and Syria of the Middle Ages and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

of the present day, with all of the disagreements and strife so familiar today.

External links

Tariq Ali discussing the Third Crusade and Saladin; BBC In Our Time Radio 4, with presenter Melvyn Bragg and Jonathan Riley-Smith, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge University and author of many books on the Crusades, Carole Hillenbrand, Professor of Islamic History University of Edinburgh

Reviews

*https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tariq-ali/the-book-of-saladin/ *https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/184304.The_Book_of_Saladin *http://www.historicalnovels.info/Book-of-Saladin.html

References

1998 British novels Novels set in the Middle East British historical novels Novels by Tariq Ali Novels set in the 12th century Novels set during the Crusades The Book Verso Books books {{1990s-war-novel-stub