He would cause the Franks in general, and the Templars in particular, more trouble than they had experienced in seven decades of occupation. To his admirers he was “one of the great heroes, mighty in spirit, strong in courage and of great firmness, terrified of nothing.”18 To those who suffered the worst of his wrath he was “the rod of [the Lord’s] fury,” sent “to rage and exterminate the obstinate people.”19 His name was Saladin.
