ABSTRACT
The Islamic world was slow to acknowledge the spiritual natureof crusading, and the first crusaders were regarded as just another invading force on an already fragmented map. Despite some military successes against the northern Crusader States, the political disunity of Islamic Syria meant that there was no concerted attempt to drive the Franks out. Under a succession of rulers from the 1130s-90s, however, there was a revival of the jihad ideal in Islam, which resulted in both political unification and a new religious spirit. This chapter examines the careers of Zengi, Nur ad-Din and Saladin as jihad leaders.
