Saladin is the greatest hero of the Middle East, a legendary figure admired and revered to this day. This is the first serious biography in over 20 years and the first ever by a non-western scholar in English. It shows that Saladin's genius was not in warfare but in giving the people of Middle East a spiritual vision.

"The strength of Azzam's study lies in illuminating Saladin's many connections with Sunni theologians, jurists and teachers, and their mutually reinforcing activities, such as his foundation of numerous madrassas that embedded Sunni orthodoxy among the Egyptian population, but also turned out trained administrators for his growing empire".
Times Higher Education