Islamic historians of the Ayyūbid era and Muslim rulers from the early crusading period: A study in the use of history

This article examines the presentation of Muslim rulers from the early crusading period, 490-540/1097-1146 in six of the main chronicles written during the first half of the seventh/thirteenth century. It discusses the themes, ideas and topoi in each, demonstrating that the historians appear to have been divided into two 'camps' over their presentation of these rulers, based on their personal views of the rulers of their time. The article also examines why this division may have occurred, and considers its ramifications for modern scholarship of Arabic historiography, Islamic history and the history of the Crusades, in both the sixth/twelfth and seventh/thirteenth centuries.