Encyclopedia of Islam

Saladin

 

(Al Malik al Nasir Abu’l Muzaffar 

Yussuf ibn Ayyub, better known by his title, 

Salah al-Din)

 

(1138–1193)  Muslim soldier 

and leader of Kurdish descent, who became the ruler 

of Egypt and Syria and led the Arab Muslim jihad 

against the Crusaders

Saladin was born in Takrit, north of b

aghdad

 in 

Iraq, where his father was governor. But Saladin’s 

family transferred their loyalty to Nur al-Din ibn 

Zangi, the ruler of Aleppo and d

amascUs

. Sala-

din began his career as a member of the military 

machine marshaled by Nur al-Din to combat the 

Christian crusaders in the latter half of the 12th 

century. Nur al-Din’s first task was to unify the 

Muslims and it was with this aim that Saladin was 

sent as part of an expeditionary force to defeat the 

Shii Fatimid rulers of e

gypt

. The campaign was 

successful and shortly thereafter Saladin was rec-

ognized as the ruler of Egypt. In this role, Saladin 

undertook numerous building projects to fortify 

the country’s defenses, most notably the citadel that 

still has a prominent place on the c

airo

 skyline.

Saladin’s ambitions placed him in conflict with 

Nur al-Din, but before they could settle the matter 

in battle, Nur al-Din died in 1174. Saladin spent 

the next 12 years continuing Nur al-Din’s program 

of unifying the Muslim princes of s

yria

 and p

ales

-

tine

, this time under his own 

aUthority

 and lead-

ership. Once he had accomplished this—either by 

treaty or by force—Saladin focused his efforts on 

expelling the crusaders from the region.

He began his offensive campaign with a deci-

sive victory in 1187 at the Battle of Hattin. Saladin 

then led his troops in retaking, with little resistance 

or bloodshed, most of the c

rUsade

 cities and for-

tresses. Saladin’s primary objective, however, was 

J

erUsalem

, which he besieged in 1189. Unable to 

adequately defend themselves, the city’s inhabitants 

quickly came to terms with Saladin, who allowed 

them to ransom themselves as prisoners of war. 

This action stood in sharp contrast to the crusader 

conquest of the city almost a century earlier. Indeed 

Saladin was famous for his generosity and honor. 

He often allowed crusader prisoners to go free with 

the simple promise not to take up arms against him 

again—a promise that was not always kept.

The highpoint of Saladin’s career came with 

restoration of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem. 

The last years of his life were spent battling the 

Christian forces in the Third Crusade, which ended 

in stalemate. Richard the Lion-Heart led many rein-

forcements from Europe to Palestine through the 

crusader stronghold of Tyre, securing cities on the 

coast but never gaining a foothold inland nor enter-

ing Jerusalem. Although Richard requested to meet 

K  600  

Saladin

---

Saladin on many occasions, Saladin always refused, 

stating: “Kings meet together only after the conclu-

sion of an accord, for it is unthinkable for them to 

wage war once they know one another and have 

broken bread together.” They eventually did sign a 

five-year peace treaty, but they never met, as Rich-

ard left immediately thereafter for England. Saladin 

died a few months later in 1193 in Damascus.

In European sources Saladin is regarded as a 

worthy opponent of generous and noble character. 

In Muslim sources he is praised for his commit-

ment to unifying Muslims, waging 

Jihad

 against 

the crusaders, and strengthening Sunni Islam in 

all the territories under his control by enforcing 

justice and supporting religious institutions. His 

descendants formed the Ayyubid dynasty that 

ruled s

yria

 and Egypt until 1250.

See also c

hristianity

 

and

 i

slam

.

Heather N. Keaney