Saladin

Depiction of Saladin.

Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi (25 December 1138–1193), better known as Saladin, was a famous Kurdish Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria during the Crusades.

A Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin led the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen and other parts of North Africa.

His father, who worked for the Seljuk governor, decided to raise him in Syria where he received his education. Another influential figure in his life was his uncle Shirkuh who was a military leader and later commanded for Saladin during the wars. The Muslim world consider him a hero for defeating the Crusaders over 20 years of battles and capturing their capital, Jerusalem. The Crusades were a series of battles between Christian Europe and Islamic Middle East over holy land in what is now known as Palestine. Saladin’s army protected Egypt from the Crusaders in 1168.

The ruler of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt made him Vizier, meaning prime minister, even though he was not a Shia. Just before the Caliph died, Saladin was crowned Sultan of Egypt and Syria. His greatest victory was at the Horns of Hattin in July 1187 AD, after which Jerusalem fell to the Muslim army (October 1187) and was never again recovered by the Crusaders. He is also remembered for his series of battles and wins and losses against King Richard I of England. These were inconclusive and in the end resulted in a moral victory for Sultan Salah ad-Din, when Richard's Crusade failed and returned to Europe.

He founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for the Northern Mountains), Iraq, Mecca Hejaz and Diyarbakır. Salah ad-Din is a title which translates to The Righteousness of the Faith from Arabic.

Many books were written about Saladin, the things he did and the battles he won. Daastaan Imaan Farooshoon Ki is one book in Urdu written by Althamash that says very good things about Saladin and compares and contrasts him to other kings and princes, in a favourable light.

Saladin Media

• 

  Coinage of Saladin, Naṣībīn mint, dated AH 578 (AD 1182/3).

• 

  Saladin's battles in Egypt

• 

  Experimental crossbow mounted inside a shield, in the Tabṣira by Murḍi Ibn cālī Ibn Murḍi al-Ṭarsūsī written for Saladin, late Fāṭimid or early Ayyūbid Egypt, c.1170 CE (Ms. Hunt.264, f.117, Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK).

• 

  19th-century depiction of a victorious Saladin, by Gustave Doré

• 

  Saladin ended his siege of the Ismaili ("Assassins") fortress of Masyaf, which was commanded by Rashid ad-Din Sinan, under uncertain circumstances in August 1176.

• 

  The Citadel of Cairo was begun by Saladin towards 1176 to serve as Egypt's center of power. Later structures were added to it over the centuries.

• 

  The battlefield at Jacob's Ford, looking from the west bank to the east bank of the River Jordan

• 

  Sculpture of Saladin in the Egyptian Military museum in Cairo

• 

  Saladin's troops, French manuscript, 1337