Synopsis

Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was “like a king.” He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart. He fought Saladin to a standstill, yet retained his respect. Rather than dally with a princess, he married a dowager queen- and founded a dynasty. He was a warrior and a diplomat both: Balian d’Ibelin.

Ibelin has survived the devastating defeat of the Christian army on the Horns of Hattin, and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians now enslaved by the Saracens, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope — but also conflict, as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel. This is Part III of a biographical novel about Balian d’Ibelin.