ABSTRACT
The Muslim sources for Saladin and his deeds are, first, his officials and household retainers ‘Imād ad-Din and Bahā’ ad-Din: the former with his history of the conquest of Jerusalem (which continues in fact up to the death of Saladin). The extremely artificial style overlays an eye-witness account of the events described whose value is being increasingly realized. The latter, the author of a biography of Saladin written in a less flamboyant style, shows a warmth of sympathy and devotion that rarely slips into unctuous apologia. The third and frequently quoted authority on Saladin is Abu Shama, in a section of his Book of the Two Gardens, which is an anthology containing extracts from ‘Imād ad-Din (shorn of the flowers of his style), Bahā’ ad-Din and Ibn al-Athīr. Its only real value lies in the inclusion of other sources now lost (Ibn Abi t-Tayy) and for its selection of acts and documents from the Sultan’s Chancellery. Ibn al-Athīr, although his attitude to Saladin was tainted by his political loyalties, preserves his unusual qualities of clear, informed exposition, using his sources with independent judgment.
