The Crusades: Crescent and the Cross

An enigma even in his own time, Saladin became a hero in the West long before his rediscovery in the Muslim world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His famous truce with Richard the Lionheart is the most iconic moment in the entire history of the crusades. But why did Saladin negotiate a truce when he won nearly every battle? This programme will tease out the hidden history of Saladin, Richard and the Third Crusade. Saladin unexpectedly rises to power upon the death of Nur Al-Din. Under him 'jihad', or Islamic counter-crusade, becomes a coherent rallying concept for the Muslim world. Unifying Syria and Egypt, he defeats the crusaders at Hattin to reconquer Jerusalem in 1187.

At the death of Saladin the Crusader kingdom has been reduced to a narrow strip of land and a handful of ports. A fourth crusade never reaches the Holy Land, setting its sights instead on Constantinopole. One crusade after naother is launched to shore up the faltering crusader territories. But finally the crusader settlers are evicted by the Mamluks in 1291. Through the eyes of Mongols, Mamluks and the beleaguered Crusaders we will witness the collapse of an empire of faith.