Stanley Lane-Poole

Saladin, or Salah-al-Din (1138-1193), Sultan of Egypt and Syria, is perhaps best known as the implacable warrior who led his Saracen forces against the third crusade (1189-92) under King Richard I - Richard Lionheart. Resolved to drive out the Christians from Palestine, Saladin had earlier defeated them in battle at Tiberius in 1187. He then went on to capture Acre, Ascalon and Jerusalem. These Holy Wars were among the bloodiest in history, for both sides saw it as a responsibility of their faith to kill as many non-believers as possible. Massacres of women and children, and frightful atrocities to the vanquished, stain the reputation of both sides. Saladin, alone, stands as a manof magnanimous spirit and generosity. Even among his enemies he was regarded as a pattern for chivalric courage and honour. As the author himself states: 'If the taking of Jerusalem were the only known fact about Saladin, it were enough to prove him the most chivalrous and great-hearted conqueror of any age." Stanley Lane-Poole (1854-1931) writes sensitively on his subject and, although first published in 1898, his biography of Saladin remains a primary source for historians. This facsimile of the first edition, complete with original illustrations, will enable a wider readership to acquaint themselves with the life of a remarkable man.

Stanley Lane-Pool - grand-nephew of the Arabic scholar, Edward Lane - was a professor of Arabic at Trinity College, Dublin from 1898 to 1904. His books included several works on Oriental history. The Barbary Corsairs recounts how the expatriation of the Spanish Moors at the end of the fifteenth century led to their taking vengeance from their new settlements in North Africa and elevating the skills of piracy to a fine art. The Barbary Cost had long been a haunt of pirates for its narrow creeks and natural harbours offered shelter to their boats of shallow draught while denying access to larger vessels. Despite commercial treaties between African and European states, piracy was carried on throughout the Middle Ages, chiefly by privateers from Chrisitan states whose rulers were powerless to stop them. It was to this wild and notorious coast the Barbarossa and his brother came in 1504 from the island of Lesbos. There follows an account of their exploits and those of their successors which kept 'all the nations of Europe in perpetual alarm for three centuries'. The subsequent skirmishes drew heads of state and religious leaders alike into the conflict. Although the failure to besiege the Knights of Malta and the defeat at the Battle of Lepanto marked the end of the age of the great Corsairs, piracy continued on a less spectacular scale for a further two hundred years and more, until the last Corsairs were driven from the Barbary Coast by the events of the nineteenth century.