Saladin Eyyubi

Saladin or Salah al-Din, or Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, was a twelfth century Kurdish Muslim general and warrior from Tikrit, in present day northern Iraq. He founded the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for the Northern Mountains), Iraq, Mecca, Hejaz and Diyar Bakr. Although he is known worldwide as Saladin his real name was Yousuf. Saladin is renowned in both the Muslim and Christian worlds for his leadership and military prowess, tempered by his chivalry and merciful nature, during the Crusades, to the extent that myths and legends were also developed in the west. Salah al-Din translates as The Righteousness of the Faith from Arabic.

Despite his fierce struggle to the Christian incursion, Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the fourteenth century an epic poem about his exploits, and Dante included him among the virtuous pagan souls in Limbo. The noble Saladin appears in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825). 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). An interesting view of Saladin and the world in which he lived is provided by Tariq Ali's novel The Book of Saladin (London: Verso, 1998).

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 Islamic world(Source: Saladin – The Politics of the Holy War by Lyons & Jackson, pg 357) . 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.

Just one example of Saladin's generosity occurred in April, 1191 when a Frankish woman's three month old baby had been stolen from her camp and had been sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. After Saladin paid for the child himself to regain the child for the mother with his own money, "he gave it to the mother and she took it; with tears streaming down her face, and hugged it to her breast. 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".(Saladin – The politics of Holy War by Lyons & Jackson, pg. 325-326)

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.

Among the forts he built was Qalaat Al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was investigated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.

According to The French Writer Rene Grousse:

“It is equally true that his generosity, his piety, devoid of fanaticism, that flower of liberality and courtesy which had been the model of our old chroniclers, won him no less popularity in Frankish Syria than in the lands of Islam.

i know he is one of my great great great great great …..etc grand fothers ive been toled and oh yeah as i said befor in your other hestory topic im not a fan of hestory so yeah..

"......a very powerful man of great courage….....a king of wisdom, courage and energy…..brave and clever."

Salahaldin is one of the  greatest islamic leaders .He is chivalry and merciful legend.. I hope we could have new leader like him.ameen.

weirdo's

black n blue,

he is greatest hero as you know. he was not only general. he was also a king of wisdom, of clever, of equitable and indulgent other religion.

i know i know hey i studyed him for like 3 years in school and he was one of my great ansestors as you know i come from the ayub famely thingi what ever ..