Superbly researched and enormously entertaining... One of the outstanding books of the year The Times

An epic story of empire-building and bloody conflict, this ground-breaking biography of one of history’s most venerated military and religious heroes opens a window on the Islamic and Christian worlds’ complex relationship.

WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE

When Saladin recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, returning the Holy City to Islamic rule, he sent shockwaves throughout Christian Europe and the Muslim Near East that reverberate today.

It was the...