The story of Saladin's recapture of the Holy City of Jerusalem from the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. A pivotal battle in the history of the Crusades - and in the subsequent history of the Middle East and the Muslim world.

• 1: Salvation through Slaughter


• 2: Crusade and Jihad


• 3: The Battle of Hattin


• 4: Hattin: Bloody Consequences


• 5: Hattin Today: A Poisoned Heritage


• Notes


• Further Reading


• Index

John France is Professor Emeritus and Director of the Callaghan Centre for Conflict Studies at Swansea University, and a former Visiting Professor at the United States Military Academy, West Point. A specialist on the history of crusading and warfare, he has travelled extensively in the Middle East and is the author of numerous articles and books on the subject, including Victory in the East: a Military History of the First Crusade (1994), Western Warfare in the Age of the Crusades 1000-1300 (1999), The Crusades and the Expansion of Catholic Christendom 1000-1714 (2005), and most recently Perilous Glory: The Rise of Western Military Power (2011).