The Complete History (, al-Kāmil fit-Tārīkh), is a classic Islamic history book written by Ali ibn al-Athir. Composed in ca. 1231AD/628AH, it is one of the most important Islamic historical works. Ibn al-Athir was a contemporary and member of the retinue of Saladin, the Kurdish general who captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders and massively reduced European holdings in the Levant, leaving the Principality of Antioch and County of Tripoli much reduced and only a few cities on the coast to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Format of The Complete History The Complete History is organised into several volumes, years, and subsections. Each volume is divided in chronological order into years. For instance, the year 491 AH starts "then the year one and ninety and four hundred began." Each year has several sections committed to major events, which are not necessarily in chronological order. These subsections may include the deaths, births, and dynastic succession of major states like the Seljuk Empire. Subsections also include major political events, the appearance of groups such as the Franks or the Tatars (Mongols), and major battles like the Siege of Jerusalem of 1099. The Rus Ibn Athir's depiction of the Rūs is not primarily ethnological, and not dealing with particular customs or detailed geography. Rather, he accounts for the military significance of the Rūs as a people who raided the Caspian region and, importantly, who served the Byzantine Empire as mercenaries. Several references to the Rūs in the Kāmil are connected with Byzantine military operations. The strategic significance of the Varangians was recognized by the Arabs as early as the time of al-Muqaddasī (ca. 945–1000), who had described the Rūs as "two kinds of Byzantines" (jinsān min ar-Rūmī). The first reference in the Kāmil to the Rūs are two entries for the year 943 referring to a raid of the Rūs in the Caucasus. The second entry concerns Rūs participation in the battle of Manzikert of 1071. The Crusades A large portion of the history deals with the era of the Crusades; this portion has been translated by D. S. Richards in three volumes, dealing with the arrival of the crusaders up to the time of Imad ad-Din Zengi, Nur ad-Din, and Saladin. In fact, ibn al-Athir's portrayal of the advent of the crusades is especially informative of the Muslim perspective of the beginning of the Crusades. Ibn al-Athir characterizes the advent of the crusades as