The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin (Jonathan Phillips)

A competent history of the Kurdish warlord Saladin, and his battles against Christians in the Holy Land. And of modern distorted and false views of his works.

The written version of this review can be found here: https://theworthyhouse.com/2025/03/11/the-life-and-legend-of-the-sultan-saladin-jonathan-phillips/

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This and all Worthy House narrations are offered with embedded (burnt-in) captions.

"In the classic 1970s Irish Republican Army anthem “My Little Armalite,” the lyrics include “Well the army came to visit me, ’twas in the early hours / With Saladins and Saracens and Ferret armored cars.” One wonders why would the British, back when there still was an England, name their military equipment after the Kurdish warlord Saladin, a famous enemy of England? He was, after all, the bitter rival of Richard I, the Lionheart, whom the English once revered. Moreover, Saladin seized the holy city of Jerusalem from the Christians a second time. The answer to this oddity is that Saladin is a man obscured by modern myth. And as is very often the case, recovering the real man under the myth is a worthwhile exercise. . . ."