The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Part 2: The Years 541–589/1146–1193: The Age of Nur al-Din and Saladin (Crusade Texts in Translation) - Tapa dura

'This is the second of Richards's translations that I have had the good fortune to assess, the first being The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin, and once again I have been struck by Richards's ability to produce a translation that maintains a high level of accuracy while also remaining eminently readable. Richards draws on a extensive vocabulary to enable him to render into English subtleties of Arabic meaning that might have been missed by a less careful translation.' Speculum Journal

The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233 AD), entitled "al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh", is one of the outstanding sources for the history of the mediaeval world. It covers the whole sweep of Islamic history almost up to the death of its author and, with the sources available to him, he attempted to embrace the widest geographical spread; events in Iraq, Iran and further East run in counterpoint with those involving North Africa and Spain. From the time of the arrival of the Crusaders in the Levant, their activities and the Muslim response become the focus of the work. While continuing with the aim of comprehensive coverage, the years in this part are dominated by the careers of Nur al-Din and Saladin, the champions of the Jihad, sometimes called the 'counter-crusade'. Of special interest is the historian's partiality for the House of the former, and his perceived hostility to Saladin.