Saladin

Early life Saladin was born in Tikrit in present-day Iraq. His personal name was "Yusuf"; "Salah ad-Din" is a laqab , an honorific epithet , meaning "Righteousness of the Faith". [ 1 ] His parents were of Kurdish ancestry, [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ excessive citations ] and had originated from the village of Ajdanakan [ 3 ] near the city of Dvin in central Armenia . [ 7 ] [ 8 ] He was the son of a Kurdish mercenary Najm ad-Din Ayyub . [ 9 ] The Rawadiya tribe from which his family hailed were originally of Arab descent but later became Kurdicized. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] In Saladin's era, no scholar had more influence than sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani , and Saladin was strongly influenced and aided by him and his pupils. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] In 1132, the defeated army of Zengi , Atabeg of Mosul , found their retreat blocked by the Tigris River opposite the fortress of Tikrit, where Saladin's father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub served as the warden. Ayyub provided ferries for the army and gave them refuge in Tikrit. Mujahid ad-Din Bihruz, a former Greek slave who had been appointed as the military governor of northern Mesopotamia for his service to the Seljuks , reprimanded Ayyub for giving Zengi refuge, and in 1137 banished Ayyub from Tikrit after his brother Asad ad-Din Shirkuh killed a friend of Bihruz. According to Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad , Saladin was born the same night his family left Tikrit. In 1139, Ayyub and his family moved to Mosul, where Imad ad-Din Zengi acknowledged his debt and appointed Ayyub commander of his fortress in Baalbek . After the death of Zengi in 1146, his son, Nur ad-Din , became the regent of Aleppo and the leader of the Zengids . [ 14 ] Saladin, who now lived in Damascus, was reportedly fond of the city, but information on his early childhood is scarce. [ 14 ] About education, Saladin wrote, "Children are brought up in the way in which their elders were brought up". According to his biographers, Anne-Marie Eddé [ 15 ] and al-Wahrani, Saladin was able to answer questions on Euclid , the Almagest , arithmetic, and law, but this was an academic ideal. It was his knowledge of the Qur'an and the "sciences of religion" that linked him to his contemporaries; [ 16 ] several sources claim that during his studies, he was more interested in religious studies than joining the military. [ 17 ] Another factor which may have affected his interest in religion was that, during the First Crusade , Jerusalem was taken by the Christians. [ 17 ] In addition to Islam, Saladin knew the genealogies, biographies, and histories of the Arabs , as well as the bloodlines of Arabian horses . More significantly, he knew the Hamasah of Abu Tammam by heart. [ 16 ] He spoke Kurdish and Arabic, and knew Turkish and Persian . [ 18 ] [ 19 ] ^ H. A. R. Gibb , "The Rise of Saladin", in A History of the Crusades , vol. 1: The First Hundred Years, ed. Kenneth M. Setton (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969). p. 563. ^ The medieval historian Ibn Athir relates a passage from another commander: "...both you and Saladin are Kurds and you will not let power pass into the hands of the Turks." Minorsky (1957): [ page needed ] ^ a b Lane-Poole 1906 , p. 4. ^ The biographer Ibn Khallikan wrote, "Historians agree in stating that [Saladin's] father and family belonged to Duwin . ... They were Kurds and belonged to the Rawādiya [sic], which is a branch of the great tribe al-Hadāniya": Minorsky (1953), p. 124. ^ Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260 . State University of New York Press. p. 29. ISBN   0-87395-263-4 . Among the free-born amirs the Kurds would seem the most dependent on Saladin's success for the progress of their own fortunes. He too was a Kurd, after all ... ^ "Saladin" . Encyclopædia Britannica . 7 April 2023. Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family. ^ Baha ad-Din 2002 , p. 17. ^ Ter-Ghevondyan 1965 , p. 218. ^ Morton, Nicholas (2020). The Crusader States and Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099–1187 . Oxford University Press. p. 163. ISBN   978-0-19-882454-1 . ^ "RAWWADIDS" . Encyclopaedia Iranica . Retrieved 20 March 2024 . ^ Minorsky, Vladimir (1953). Studies in Caucasian History . Cambridge University Press. ^ 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (20 January 2019). Jamal ad-Din Faleh al-Kilani [in Arabic] (ed.). "Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen")" (in Arabic). وقد تأثر به القائد صلاح الدين الأيوبي، والشيخ معين الدين الجشتي، والشيخ شهاب الدين عمر السهروردي رحمهم الله ^ Azzam, Abdul Rahman (2009). Saladin . Pearson Longman. p. 48. ISBN   978-1-4058-0736-4 . ^ a b Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 3. ^ Eddé 2011 . ^ a b Lyons & Jackson 1982 . ^ a b "Who2 Biography: Saladin, Sultan / Military Leader" . Answers.com . Retrieved 20 August 2008 . ^ Chase 1998 , p. 809. ^ Şeşen 2009 , p. 440.

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Early expeditions Ayyubid or Zengid soldiers in Seljuk -type clothes [ 1 ] and sharbush hats [ 2 ] [ 3 ] on the Palmer Cup (1200–1215) [ 4 ] Saladin's military career began under the tutelage of his paternal uncle Shirkuh, a prominent military commander under Nur ad-Din, the Zengid emir of Damascus and Aleppo and the most influential teacher of Saladin. In 1163, Shawar, the vizier to al-Adid, who was the Fatimid caliph at the time, had been driven out of Egypt by his rival Dirgham , a member of the powerful Banu Ruzzaik tribe. He asked for military backing from Nur ad-Din, who complied, and in 1164, sent Shirkuh to aid Shawar in his expedition against Dirgham. Saladin, at age 26, went along with them. [ 5 ] After Shawar was successfully reinstated as vizier, he demanded that Shirkuh withdraw his army from Egypt for a sum of 30,000 gold dinars , but he refused, insisting it was Nur ad-Din's will that he remain. Saladin's role in this expedition was minor, and it is known that he was ordered by Shirkuh to collect stores from Bilbais prior to its siege by a combined force of Crusaders and Shawar's troops. [ 6 ] After the sacking of Bilbais, the Crusader–Egyptian force and Shirkuh's army were to engage in the Battle of al-Babein on the desert border of the Nile , just west of Giza . Saladin played a major role, commanding the right wing of the Zengid army, while a force of Kurds commanded the left, and Shirkuh was stationed in the centre. Muslim sources at the time, however, put Saladin in the "baggage of the centre" with orders to lure the enemy into a trap by staging a feigned retreat . The Crusader force enjoyed early success against Shirkuh's troops, but the terrain was too steep and sandy for their horses, and commander Hugh of Caesarea was captured while attacking Saladin's unit. After scattered fighting in little valleys to the south of the main position, the Zengid central force returned to the offensive; Saladin joined in from the rear. [ 7 ] The battle ended in a Zengid victory, and Saladin is credited with having helped Shirkuh in one of the "most remarkable victories in recorded history" according to Ibn al-Athir , although more of Shirkuh's men were killed and the battle is considered by most sources as not a total victory. Saladin and Shirkuh moved towards Alexandria where they were welcomed, given money and arms, and provided a base. [ 8 ] Faced by a superior Crusader–Egyptian force attempting to besiege the city, Shirkuh split his army. He and the bulk of his force withdrew from Alexandria, while Saladin was left with the task of guarding the city, where he was besieged . [ 9 ] ^ Behrens-Abouseif, Doris (2024). "Chapter 12: Mamluk Dress between Text and Image". Dress and Dress Code in Medieval Cairo: A Mamluk Obsession . pp.  172– 173. doi : 10.1163/9789004684980_013 . ISBN   9789004684980 . ^ Contadini, Anna (1998). Poetry on Enamelled Glass: The Palmer Cup in the British Museum.' In: Ward, R, (ed.), Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East . British Museum Press. pp.  58– 59. ^ Contadini, Anna (2017). Text and Image on Middle Eastern Objects: The Palmer Cup in Context (in A Rothschild Renaissance: A New Look at the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum) . British Museum Research Publications. p. 130. The iconography of its figures is very similar to that on the Palmer Cup, in the design of their robes, in the headgear (sharbūsh) and in the way that walking figures are rendered, with one leg straight and the other slightly bent, with a slim foot slightly raised from the ground. Although the candlestick does not have a date, it is securely datable to the early 13th century, as it clearly belongs to a group of metalwork that has now been established as of that period and coming from the Mosul or North Jaziran area. These elements also confirm the early 13th-century date of the Palmer Cup and further support the region of provenance. ^ Contadini, Anna (2010). Arab Painting: Text and Image in Illustrated Arabic Manuscripts . Brill. p. 11. ISBN   978-90-04-18630-9 . A case in point is the Ayyubid enamelled beaker known as the Palmer Cup ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 6–7. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 8. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 14. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 15. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 16.

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Imperial expansions Campaign against the Franks and War with the Zengids Saladin on a posthumous dirham of the Ayyubid Al-Ashraf Musa , with obverse legend: "The Victorious King, Righteousness of the World and the Faith, Yusuf ibn Ayyub" . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Dated 1215 CE; [ 1 ] similar coins were also minted in Saladin's lifetime. [ 4 ] Saif ad-Din had died earlier in June 1181 and his brother Izz ad-Din inherited leadership of Mosul. [ 5 ] On 4 December, the crown prince of the Zengids, as-Salih, died in Aleppo. Prior to his death, he had his chief officers swear an oath of loyalty to Izz ad-Din, as he was the only Zengid ruler strong enough to oppose Saladin. Izz ad-Din was welcomed in Aleppo, but possessing it and Mosul put too great of a strain on his abilities. He thus handed Aleppo to his brother Imad ad-Din Zangi, in exchange for Sinjar . Saladin offered no opposition to these transactions in order to respect the treaty he previously made with the Zengids. [ 6 ] On 11 May 1182, Saladin, along with half of the Egyptian Ayyubid army and numerous non-combatants, left Cairo for Syria. On the evening before he departed, he sat with his companions and the tutor of one of his sons quoted a line of poetry: "enjoy the scent of the ox-eye plant of Najd , for after this evening it will come no more". Saladin took this as an evil omen and he never saw Egypt again. [ 5 ] Knowing that Crusader forces were massed upon the frontier to intercept him, he took the desert route across the Sinai Peninsula to Ailah at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba . Meeting no opposition, Saladin ravaged the countryside of Montreal , whilst Baldwin's forces watched on, refusing to intervene. [ 7 ] He arrived in Damascus in June to learn that Farrukh-Shah had attacked the Galilee , sacking Daburiyya and capturing Habis Jaldek, a fortress of great importance to the Crusaders. In July, Saladin led his army across the Jordan and into Galilee, where he marched south to sack Bethsan . He was met by a substantial Crusader force in an inconclusive battle near Belvoir Castle ; he was unable to destroy the Christian army, and could not logistically sustain his own army any longer, so he withdrew across the river. In August, he passed through the Beqaa Valley to Beirut, where he rendezvoused with the Egyptian fleet and laid siege to the city. Failing to make any headway, he withdrew after a few days to deal with matters in Mesopotamia . [ 8 ] Kukbary ( Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri ), the emir of Harran , invited Saladin to occupy the Jazira region, making up northern Mesopotamia. He complied and the truce between him and the Zengids officially ended in September 1182. [ 9 ] Prior to his march to Jazira, tensions had grown between the Zengid rulers of the region, primarily concerning their unwillingness to pay deference to Mosul. [ 10 ] Before he crossed the Euphrates , Saladin besieged Aleppo for three days, signaling that the truce was over. [ 9 ] Once he reached Bira, near the river, he was joined by Kukbary and Nur ad-Din of Hisn Kayfa and the combined forces captured the cities of Jazira, one after the other. First, Edessa fell, followed by Saruj , then Raqqa , Qirqesiya and Nusaybin . [ 11 ] Raqqa was an important crossing point and held by Qutb ad-Din Inal, who had lost Manbij to Saladin in 1176. Upon seeing the large size of Saladin's army, he made little effort to resist and surrendered on the condition that he would retain his property. Saladin promptly impressed the inhabitants of the town by publishing a decree that ordered a number of taxes to be canceled and erased all mention of them from treasury records, stating "the most miserable rulers are those whose purses are fat and their people thin". From Raqqa, he moved to conquer al-Fudain, al-Husain, Maksim, Durain, 'Araban, and Khabur—all of which swore allegiance to him. [ 12 ] Saladin proceeded to take Nusaybin which offered no resistance. A medium-sized town, Nusaybin was not of great importance, but it was located in a strategic position between Mardin and Mosul and within easy reach of Diyarbakir. [ 13 ] In the midst of these victories, Saladin received word that the Crusaders were raiding the villages of Damascus. He replied, "Let them... whilst they knock down villages, we are taking cities; when we come back, we shall have all the more strength to fight them." [ 9 ] Meanwhile, in Aleppo, the emir of the city Zangi raided Saladin's cities to the north and east, such as Balis, Manbij, Saruj, Buza'a, al-Karzain. He also destroyed his own citadel at A'zaz to prevent it from being used by the Ayyubids if they were to conquer it. [ 13 ] Fight for Mosul Zengid soldiers from Mosul , with swords and the aqbiya turkiyya coat, tiraz armbands, boots and sharbush hat. Kitab al-Aghani , 1218–1219. [ 14 ] As Saladin approached Mosul, he faced the issue of taking over a large city and justifying the action. [ 15 ] The Zengids of Mosul appealed to an-Nasir , the Abbasid caliph at Baghdad whose vizier favored them. An-Nasir sent Badr al-Badr (a high-ranking religious figure) to mediate between the two sides. Saladin arrived at the city on 10 November 1182. Izz ad-Din would not accept his terms because he considered them disingenuous and extensive, and Saladin immediately laid siege to the heavily fortified city. [ 16 ] After several minor skirmishes and a stalemate in the siege that was initiated by the caliph, Saladin intended to find a way to withdraw without damage to his reputation while still keeping up some military pressure. He decided to attack Sinjar, which was held by Izz ad-Din's brother Sharaf ad-Din. It fell after a 15-day siege on 30 December. [ 17 ] Saladin's soldiers broke their discipline, plundering the city; Saladin managed to protect the governor and his officers only by sending them to Mosul. After establishing a garrison at Sinjar, he awaited a coalition assembled by Izz ad-Din consisting of his forces, those from Aleppo, Mardin, and Armenia. [ 18 ] Saladin and his army met the coalition at Harran in February 1183, but on hearing of his approach, the latter sent messengers to Saladin asking for peace. Each force returned to their cities and al-Fadil wrote: "They [Izz ad-Din's coalition] advanced like men, like women they vanished." [ 19 ] On 2 March, al-Adil from Egypt wrote to Saladin that the Crusaders had struck the "heart of Islam". Raynald de Châtillon had sent ships to the Gulf of Aqaba to raid towns and villages off the coast of the Red Sea . It was not an attempt to extend the Crusader influence into that sea or to capture its trade routes, but merely a piratical move. [ 20 ] Nonetheless, Imad ad-Din writes the raid was alarming to the Muslims because they were not accustomed to attacks on that sea, and Ibn al-Athir adds that the inhabitants had no experience with the Crusaders either as fighters or traders. [ 21 ] Ibn Jubair was told that sixteen Muslim ships were burnt by the Crusaders, who then captured a pilgrim ship and caravan at Aidab . He also reported that they intended to attack Medina and remove Muhammad 's body. Al-Maqrizi added to the rumor by claiming Muhammad's tomb was going to be relocated to Crusader territory so Muslims would make pilgrimages there. Al-Adil had his warships moved from Fustat and Alexandria to the Red Sea under the command of an Armenian mercenary Lu'lu. They broke the Crusader blockade, destroyed most of their ships, and pursued and captured those who anchored and fled into the desert. [ 22 ] The surviving Crusaders, numbered at 170, were ordered to be killed by Saladin in various Muslim cities. [ 23 ] Detail of inlaid brass writing box, with soldier wearing a hauberk . Mosul , 1230–1250 CE, British Museum. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] From the point of view of Saladin, in terms of territory, the war against Mosul was going well, but he still failed to achieve his objectives and his army was shrinking; Taqi ad-Din took his men back to Hama, while Nasir ad-Din Muhammad and his forces had left. This encouraged Izz ad-Din and his allies to take the offensive. The previous coalition regrouped at Harzam some 140 km from Harran. In early April, without waiting for Nasir ad-Din, Saladin and Taqi ad-Din commenced their advance against the coalition, marching eastward to Ras al-Ein unhindered. [ 26 ] By late April, after three days of "actual fighting", according to Saladin, the Ayyubids had captured Amid . He handed the city to Nur ad-Din Muhammad together with its stores, which consisted of 80,000 candles, a tower full of arrowheads, and 1,040,000 books. In return for a diploma—granting him the city, Nur ad-Din swore allegiance to Saladin, promising to follow him in every expedition in the war against the Crusaders, and repairing the damage done to the city. The fall of Amid, in addition to territory, convinced Il-Ghazi of Mardin to enter the service of Saladin, weakening Izz ad-Din's coalition. [ 27 ] Saladin attempted to gain the Caliph an-Nasir's support against Izz ad-Din by sending him a letter requesting a document that would give him legal justification for taking over Mosul and its territories. Saladin aimed to persuade the caliph claiming that while he conquered Egypt and Yemen under the flag of the Abbasids, the Zengids of Mosul openly supported the Seljuks (rivals of the caliphate) and only came to the caliph when in need. He also accused Izz ad-Din's forces of disrupting the Muslim "Holy War" against the Crusaders, stating "they are not content not to fight, but they prevent those who can". Saladin defended his own conduct claiming that he had come to Syria to fight the Crusaders, end the heresy of the Assassins, and stop the wrong-doing of the Muslims. He also promised that if Mosul was given to him, it would lead to the capture of Jerusalem, Constantinople , Georgia , and the lands of the Almohads in the Maghreb , "until the word of God is supreme and the Abbasid caliphate has wiped the world clean, turning the churches into mosques". Saladin stressed that all this would happen by the will of God , and instead of asking for financial or military support from the caliph, he would capture and give the caliph the territories of Tikrit , Daquq , Khuzestan , Kish Island , and Oman . [ 28 ] Possession of Aleppo Citadel of Aleppo Saladin turned his attention from Mosul to Aleppo, sending his brother Taj al-Muluk Buri to capture Tell Khalid, 130 km northeast of the city. A siege was set, but the governor of Tell Khalid surrendered upon the arrival of Saladin himself on 17 May before a siege could take place. According to Imad ad-Din, after Tell Khalid, Saladin took a detour northwards to Aintab , but he gained possession of it when his army turned towards it, allowing him to quickly move backward another c. 100 km towards Aleppo. On 21 May, he camped outside the city, positioning himself east of the Citadel of Aleppo , while his forces encircled the suburb of Banaqusa to the northeast and Bab Janan to the west. He stationed his men dangerously close to the city, hoping for an early success. [ 29 ] Zangi did not offer long resistance. He was unpopular with his subjects and wished to return to his Sinjar, the city he governed previously. An exchange was negotiated where Zangi would hand over Aleppo to Saladin in return for the restoration of his control of Sinjar, Nusaybin, and Raqqa. Zangi would hold these territories as Saladin's vassals in terms of military service. On 12 June, Aleppo was formally placed in Ayyubid hands. [ 30 ] The people of Aleppo had not known about these negotiations and were taken by surprise when Saladin's standard was hoisted over the citadel. Two emir s, including an old friend of Saladin, Izz ad-Din Jurduk, welcomed and pledged their service to him. Saladin replaced the Hanafi courts with Shafi'i administration, despite a promise that he would not interfere in the religious leadership of the city. Although he was short of money, Saladin also allowed the departing Zangi to take all the stores of the citadel that he could travel with and to sell the remainder—which Saladin purchased himself. In spite of his earlier hesitation to go through with the exchange, he had no doubts about his success, stating that Aleppo was "the key to the lands" and "this city is the eye of Syria and the citadel is its pupil". [ 31 ] For Saladin, the capture of the city marked the end of over eight years of waiting since he told Farrukh-Shah that "we have only to do the milking and Aleppo will be ours". [ 32 ] After spending one night in Aleppo's citadel, Saladin marched to Harim, near the Crusader-held Antioch . The city was held by Surhak, a "minor mamluk ". Saladin offered him the city of Busra and property in Damascus in exchange for Harim, but when Surhak asked for more, his own garrison in Harim forced him out. He was arrested by Saladin's deputy Taqi ad-Din on allegations that he was planning to cede Harim to Bohemond III of Antioch . When Saladin received its surrender, he proceeded to arrange the defense of Harim from the Crusaders. He reported to the caliph and his own subordinates in Yemen and Baalbek that he was going to attack the Armenians. Before he could move, however, there were a number of administrative details to be settled. Saladin agreed to a truce with Bohemond in return for Muslim prisoners being held by him and then he gave A'zaz to Alam ad-Din Suleiman and Aleppo to Saif ad-Din al-Yazkuj—the former was an emir of Aleppo who joined Saladin and the latter was a former mamluk of Shirkuh who helped rescue him from the assassination attempt at A'zaz. [ 33 ] ^ a b Cite error: The named reference BAL was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference DN was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ For a similar coin at the British Museum minted in AH 586/1190 CE: "Saladin coin British Museum" . britishmuseum.org . , and another one also minted in 1190: . ^ a b Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 149. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , pp. 164–165. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , p. 167. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , pp. 168–169. ^ a b c Lane-Poole 1906 , pp. 169–170. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 164. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , pp. 169–70. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 176. ^ a b Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 177. ^ Rice, D. S. (1953). "The Aghānī Miniatures and Religious Painting in Islam" . The Burlington Magazine . 95 (601): 130. ISSN   0007-6287 . JSTOR   871101 . ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 178. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 179. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 180–181. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , p. 171. ^ Lane-Poole, Stanley (1903). Saladin and the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . Рипол Классик. p. 172. ISBN   978-5-87674-321-3 . {{ cite book }} : ISBN / Date incompatibility ( help ) ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 184. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 185. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 186. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 187. ^ "Pen-box British Museum" . britishmuseum.org . ^ Nicolle, David (1997). Men-at-arms series 171 – Saladin and the saracens (PDF) . Osprey publishing. p. 14. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 188. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 191. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 192–194. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 195. ^ Lane-Poole 1906 , pp. 172–173. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 199. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 198–201. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 202–203.

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Recognition and legacy Muslim world Saladin has become a prominent figure in Muslim, Arab, Turkish and Kurdish culture, [ 1 ] and he has been described as the most famous Kurd in history. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Historian ibn Munqidh mentioned him as the person who revived the reign [ clarification needed ] of Rashidun Caliphs . The Turkish writer Mehmet Akif Ersoy called him the most beloved sultan of the Orient. [ 6 ] In 1898, Wilhelm II , the German emperor , visited Saladin's tomb to pay his respects. [ 7 ] The visit, coupled with anti-imperialist sentiments, encouraged the image in the Arab world of Saladin as a hero of the struggle against the West, building on the romantic one created by Walter Scott and other Europeans in the West at the time. Saladin's reputation had previously been largely forgotten in the Muslim world , eclipsed by more successful figures, [ clarification needed ] such as Baybars of Egypt. [ 8 ] Modern Arab states have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures, often based on the image created of him in the 19th-century west. [ 9 ] A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern-day Iraq is named after him , as is Salahaddin University in Erbil , the largest city of Iraqi Kurdistan . A suburban community of Erbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him. Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175–1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centred on a defensible citadel , and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt. Although the Ayyubid dynasty that he founded would outlive him by only 57 years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab world continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the 20th century, particularly with regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict , Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. Saladin's recapture of Palestine from the European Crusaders is considered an inspiration for modern-day Arabs' opposition to Zionism . Moreover, the glory and comparative unity of the Arab world under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser . For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (the United Arab Republic , Iraq , Libya , the State of Palestine , and Yemen ). Among Egyptian Shias , Saladin is dubbed as "Kharab ad-Din", the destroyer of religion—a derisive play on the name "Saladin." [ 10 ] Western world See also: Ordene de chevalerie Saladinus , by Cristofano dell'Altissimo , ante 1568 Saladin was widely renowned in medieval Europe as a model of kingship, and in particular of the courtly virtue of regal generosity. As early as 1202/03, Walther von der Vogelweide urged the German King Philip of Swabia to be more like Saladin, who believed that a king's hands should have holes to let the gold fall through. [ a ] By the 1270s, Jans der Enikel was spreading the fictitious but approving story of Saladin's table, [ b ] which presented him as both pious and wise to religious diversity. [ 12 ] In The Divine Comedy (1308–1320), Dante mentions him as one of the virtuous non-Christians in limbo , [ 13 ] and he is also depicted favorably in Boccaccio's The Decameron (1438–53). [ 14 ] Although Saladin faded into history after the Middle Ages, he appears in a sympathetic light in modern literature, first in Lessing 's play Nathan the Wise (1779), which transfers the central idea of "Saladin's table" to the post-medieval world. He is a central character in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman (1825), which more than any other single text influenced the romantic view of Saladin. Scott presented Saladin as a "modern [19th-century] liberal European gentlemen, beside whom medieval Westerners would always have made a poor showing". [ 15 ] 20th-century French author Albert Champdor described him as "Le plus pur héros de l'Islam" (English: The purest Hero of Islam ). [ 16 ] Despite the Crusaders' slaughter when they originally conquered Jerusalem in 1099, Saladin granted amnesty and free passage to all common Catholics and even to the defeated Christian army, as long as they were able to pay the aforementioned ransom (the Greek Orthodox Christians were treated even better because they often opposed the western Crusaders). [ citation needed ] Notwithstanding the differences in beliefs, the Muslim Saladin was respected by Christian lords, Richard especially. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was, without doubt, the greatest and most powerful leader in the Muslim world. [ 17 ] Saladin, in turn, stated that there was not a more honorable Christian lord than Richard. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect but never met face to face. In April 1191, a Frankish woman's three-month-old baby had been stolen from her camp and sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. According to Ibn Shaddad, Saladin used his own money to buy the child back: He gave it to the mother and she took it; with tears streaming down her face, and hugged the baby to her chest. The people were watching her and weeping and I (Ibn Shaddad) was standing amongst them. She suckled it for some time and then Saladin ordered a horse to be fetched for her and she went back to camp. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] Mark Cartwright, the publishing director of World History Encyclopedia , writes: "Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the Muslim leader became one of the great exemplars of chivalry in 13th century European literature. Much has been written about the sultan during his own lifetime and since, but the fact that an appreciation for his diplomacy and leadership skills can be found in both contemporary Muslim and Christian sources would suggest that Saladin is indeed worthy of his position as one of the great medieval leaders." [ 20 ] ^ Moors' Islamic Cultural Home souvenir III, 1970–1976 Islamic Cultural Home, 1978, p. 7. ^ Gunter, Michael M. (2010). Historical Dictionary of the Kurds (2 ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. xxiii. ISBN   978-0810875074 . ^ Hillenbrand, Carole (1999). The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives (illustrated ed.). Psychology Press. p. 594. ISBN   978-1579582104 . ^ Catherwood, Christopher (2008). Making War in the Name of God . Kensington Publishing Corp. p. 36. ISBN   978-0806531670 . ^ Dunnigan, James F. (1991). A Quick & Dirty Guide to War: Briefings on Present and Potential Wars (3rd illustrated, revised ed.). Quill/W. Morrow. p.  174 . ISBN   978-0688100339 . ^ Cite error: The named reference İÂ was invoked but never defined (see the help page ). ^ The Kaiser laid a wreath on the tomb bearing the inscription, "A Knight without fear or blame who often had to teach his opponents the right way to practice chivalry." Grousset 1970 ^ Riley-Smith 2008 , pp. 63–66. ^ Madden, Thomas F.: The Concise History of the Crusades ; 3rd edition, Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. pp. 201–204. ^ "How Saladin became a hero in the West" . The Economist . 30 May 2019. ^ Wapnewski 1962 , p. 138. ^ a b Dunphy 2003 . ^ Inferno, Canto IV , line 129 ^ " 'Saladin' (in full, 'Salah ad-din yusuf ibn ayyub,' meaning 'righteousness of the faith, Joseph, son of Job') (c. 1137–1193)" . Decameron Web . Brown University. ^ Riley-Smith 2008 , p. 67. ^ Cahen, Claude; Sauvaget, Jean (1965). "The Seljuks and Their Descendants – Historical Bibliography" . Introduction to the History of the Muslim East: A Bibliographical Guide . University of California Press . p. 166. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , p. 357. ^ Baha ad-Din 2002 , pp. 147–148. ^ Lyons & Jackson 1982 , pp. 325–326. ^ Cartwright, Mark (2018). "Saladin" . World History Encyclopedia . Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page ).

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