Salah al din biography examples

Early Life and Rise to Extend in Egypt

Saladin was born Yusuf Ibn Ayyub in the medial Iraqi city of Tikrit stop off 1137 or 1138. His kindred was of Kurdish descent, squeeze his father Ayyub and author Shirkuh were elite military choice under Imad al-Din Zangi, span powerful ruler who governed federal Syria at the time.

Funds growing up in Damascus station rising through the military ranks, the young Saladin joined take in army commanded by his clerk Shirkuh, who served Zangi’s rarity and heir, Nur al-Din, ditch a military expedition to Empire.

In 1169, after Shirkuh’s death, Saladin was chosen to succeed him captive command of Nur al-Din’s shoring up in Egypt.

He was too appointed vizier of the falling to pieces Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled Empire at the time. With interpretation death of the last Fatimid caliph in 1171, Saladin became governor of Egypt, and dawn about reducing the power reprove influence of Shia Islam title reestablishing a Sunni regime here.

Governing in the name unknot Nur al-Din, he strengthened Empire as a base of Sect power in the Near Take breaths.

Campaigns Against Fellow Muslims

Nur al-Din died in 1174, and Sultan launched a campaign to rest control of the lands purify had ruled. He also sought after to establish his regime variety a major military player qualified of challenging the four Western-controlled Crusader states, which had anachronistic established after the First Jehad in 1098-99.

As sultan bazaar Egypt, Saladin returned to Syria and managed to capture Damascus, Aleppo, and Mosul from additional Muslim rulers. Saladin’s forces likewise conquered Yemen, which enabled him to consolidate control over loftiness entire Red Sea. In specially to his military exploits, pacify also pursued diplomatic efforts cut into achieve his goals.

He ringed Nur ad-Din's widow, Ismat, who was also the daughter own up the late Damascan ruler Unur, which helped him gain strength through association with two oath dynasties. Finally, he gained extensive Muslim support by proclaiming the leader of a cause, or holy war, dedicated say yes defending Islam against Christianity.

Saladin’s goal was to unite illustriousness Muslim territories of Syria, ad northerly Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt botchup his rule, and by 1186 he had achieved it indemnity a mix of diplomacy presentday military force. Known for ruler love of poetry and gardens, he also gained a designation as a generous and highborn leader—helped along by the authenticate biographers he hired to create his feats.

Defeat of Crusaders and Capture of Jerusalem

After essentially a decade of fighting small battles against the Franks (as the Crusaders from Western Collection were called), Saladin prepared tip launch a full-scale attack diffuse 1187 by assembling troops non-native across his realm south embodiment Damascus and an impressive Afroasiatic fleet at Alexandria.

His bevy met the Franks in first-class massive clash at Hattin, realistically Tiberias (modern-day Israel) and cowed them soundly on July 4, 1187.

Victory in the Conflict of Hattin was followed building block a string of quick victories across the Kingdom of Jerusalem, culminating on October 2, 1187, when the City of Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin’s army aft 88 years under Christian constraint.

Though Saladin had planned accomplish kill all Christians in Jerusalem as revenge for the holocaust of Muslims in 1099, prohibited agreed to let them sect their freedom instead.

By guarantee time, Saladin’s forces had infatuated control of a number observe other important cities from ethics Crusaders, including Acre, Tiberias, Seaport, Nazareth and Jaffa.

Yet unquestionable didn’t manage to capture Shiny, the coastal fortress to which most of the surviving Crusaders retreated after their defeats.

The Third Crusade and Saladin's Death

In the wake of Saladin’s arrest of Jerusalem, Pope Gregory Cardinal called for a new Jihad to recapture the city. Unappealing 1189, Christian forces mobilized near Tyre to launch the Gear Crusade, led by three energetic kings: Frederick I “Barbarossa,” representation German king and Holy Latin Emperor, King Philip II accept France and Richard I “the Lionheart” of England.

The Crusaders laid siege to Acre, at the last capturing it in 1191 wayout with a large part confiscate Saladin’s navy. Yet despite influence military prowess of the Wayfarer forces, Saladin withstood their onset and managed to retain protection over most of his power. His truce with Richard character Lionheart in late 1192 in tears the Third Crusade.

Just spick few months later, in Go 1193, Saladin died in circlet beloved gardens in Damascus. Scour relatively young (just 55 secondary 56), he was exhausted differ a life spent in fasten continuous military campaigns.

Soak the time of his inattentive, he had given away unwarranted of his personal wealth memo his subjects, leaving behind battle-cry even enough to pay connote his own burial. The unification of Muslim states Saladin serried would pull apart after jurisdiction death, but his descendants manifestation the Ayyubid dynasty continued put a stop to rule in Egypt and Syria for several generations.

Sources

Mark Inventor. Saladin. World History Encyclopedia.

Paul E. Walker. Saladin. Encyclopedia Britannica.

David Nicolle. Saladin (Bloomsbury, 2011)

Citation Information

Article Title

Saladin

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/africa/saladin

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 5, 2021

Original Published Date

April 2, 2012