Usāmah ibn Munqidh

…a lively Arabic autobiography by Usāmah ibn Munqidh (died 1188), which sheds much light upon the life and cultural background of a Syrian knight during the Crusades. A number of mystics, too, had written their spiritual autobiographies in a variety of languages, with varying degrees of artistic success. Bābur’s book,…

…of Reflection”), the memoirs of Usāmah ibn Munqidh (1095–1188). Born in Syria, he was a small boy when the first generation of Franks controlled Jerusalem. As an adult, he fought with Saladin (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb) and lived to see him unite Egypt with Syria and restore Jerusalem to…