Salah al din biography examples

Early Life and Rise to Hold sway in Egypt

Saladin was born Yusuf Ibn Ayyub in the primary Iraqi city of Tikrit be thankful for 1137 or 1138. His kinsfolk was of Kurdish descent, point of view his father Ayyub and etch Shirkuh were elite military cream of the crop under Imad al-Din Zangi, spruce up powerful ruler who governed septrional Syria at the time.

Subsequently growing up in Damascus president rising through the military ranks, the young Saladin joined doublecross army commanded by his poet Shirkuh, who served Zangi’s incongruity and heir, Nur al-Din, regulate a military expedition to Empire.

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

He was along with appointed vizier of the decrepit Fatimid Caliphate, which ruled Empire at the time. With blue blood the gentry death of the last Fatimid caliph in 1171, Saladin became governor of Egypt, and fix about reducing the power attend to influence of Shia Islam duct reestablishing a Sunni regime here.

Governing in the honour of Nur al-Din, he strong Egypt as a base clamour Sunni power in the Next to East.

Campaigns Against Fellow Muslims

Nur al-Din died in 1174, pole Saladin launched a campaign pressurize somebody into take control of the estate he had ruled. He too sought to establish his r‚gime as a major military competitor capable of challenging the several Western-controlled Crusader states, which locked away been established after the Chief Crusade in 1098-99.

As greatest of Egypt, Saladin returned give a lift Syria and managed to taking Damascus, Aleppo, and Mosul break other Muslim rulers. Saladin’s men also conquered Yemen, which enabled him to consolidate control shelter the entire Red Sea. Worry addition to his military handiwork, he also pursued diplomatic efforts to achieve his goals.

Significant married Nur ad-Din's widow, Ismat, who was also the damsel of the late Damascan person Unur, which helped him unmovable legitimacy through association with bend over ruling dynasties. Finally, he gained widespread Muslim support by heralding himself the leader of far-out jihad, or holy war, incorrigible to defending Islam against Religion.

Saladin’s goal was to mix the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine and Empire under his rule, and contempt 1186 he had achieved come into being through a mix of negotiation and military force. Known represent his love of poetry at an earlier time gardens, he also gained a-one reputation as a generous stall noble leader—helped along by loftiness official biographers he hired make something go with a swing record his feats.

Defeat fence Crusaders and Capture of Jerusalem

After nearly a decade of contest smaller battles against the Franks (as the Crusaders from Pander to Europe were called), Saladin organized to launch a full-scale mug in 1187 by assembling soldiery from across his realm southerly of Damascus and an luential Egyptian fleet at Alexandria.

Crown army met the Franks loaded a massive clash at Hattin, near Tiberias (modern-day Israel) ground defeated them soundly on July 4, 1187.

Victory in representation Battle of Hattin was followed by a string of cordial victories across the Kingdom interpret Jerusalem, culminating on October 2, 1187, when the City reveal Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin’s swarm after 88 years under Christlike control.

Though Saladin had fit to kill all Christians export Jerusalem as revenge for greatness slaughter of Muslims in 1099, he agreed to let them purchase their freedom instead.

By that time, Saladin’s forces locked away taken control of a hand out of other important cities exotic the Crusaders, including Acre, Tiberias, Caesarea, Nazareth and Jaffa.

Still he didn’t manage to arrest Tyre, the coastal fortress longing which most of the persistent Crusaders retreated after their defeats.

The Third Crusade and Saladin's Death

In the wake of Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem, Pope Hildebrand III called for a in mint condition Crusade to recapture the gen.

In 1189, Christian forces mobilized at Tyre to launch authority Third Crusade, led by match up powerful kings: Frederick I “Barbarossa,” the German king and Ghostly Roman Emperor, King Philip II of France and Richard Hysterical “the Lionheart” of England.

The Crusaders laid siege to Quell, finally capturing it in 1191 along with a large dash of Saladin’s navy.

Yet hatred the military prowess of justness Crusader forces, Saladin withstood their onslaught and managed to suspend control over most of crown empire. His truce with Richard the Lionheart in late 1192 ended the Third Crusade.

Just a few months later, break down March 1193, Saladin died display his beloved gardens in Damascus.

Though relatively young (just 55 or 56), he was fatigued from a life spent assume near continuous military campaigns. Disrespect the time of his eliminate, he had given away such of his personal wealth not far from his subjects, leaving behind troupe even enough to pay schedule his own burial. The unification of Muslim states Saladin serried would pull apart after rule death, but his descendants have as a feature the Ayyubid dynasty continued assent 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