I have been doing some reading into the Crusades, mostly about the second half of the XII century- reading books and blog by Helena Schrader helps a lot ( also the Real Crusades History podcasts are very interesting) - when the Latin East stopped growing in territory and begun to shrink due to their Islamic neighbors pressures, their most dangerous foes sultan Saladin was creating a new Muslim empire in the Near East, while the Christian Armenians forged their homeland in Cilicia.
In 2011 Osprey Military Publishing produced a book devoted exclusively to Salah Ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, the famous Kurdish ruler of the period, known in the West as Saladin.
It was authored by dr David Nicolle, Ospreys' most prominent Islamic military historian and scholar, and a prolific writer in his own right.
Dr Nicolle is as usually a bit biased towards his subject matter, or perhaps he has allowed his likes and dislikes to overshadow some of the issues presented and factual events described. But it is not a bad entry into the subject, i.e., the military deeds of Saladin
I must add that the illustration plates painted by Peter Dennis are very fine and actually make this little book much more interesting to peruse and Saladin and his court to imagine.
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| Osprey @ - detail of Dennis' plate showing an attempt on Saladinis life |
'De re militari' website has a very interesting and comprehensive review of this book - I strongly encourage you to read it.
enjoy
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