Like Alexander or Caesar, the name of
Saladin carries a timeless quality. As
famous today as he was when he drove the
Crusaders out of Jerusalem, the historical
Saladin has dissolved into legend with each
generation's retelling of his story. Dante
placed him in the first circle of Hell with
the heroes of Troy and Rome; Rex Harrison
played him as a cad in the film King
Richard and the Crusaders. In Youssef
Chahine's epic film Saladin, he emerged as
a hero of Arab socialism, and he has even
made an appearance in an episode of
Dr Who. Today, Saladin's name continues
to resonate with Osama bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein and Colonel Gaddafi all, at one
stage, claiming to be his military and
spiritual heir.
But who was the real Saladin? To answer
this question, A. R. Azzam argues, it is
essential to appreciate the age Saladin lived
in. The Islamic world had been completely
transformed by the Sunni Revival in the 10th
and 11th centuries, the great intellectual
renaissance, which integrated the different
strands of Islamic thought under one
orthodox umbrella. Saladin was a child of
the Sunni Revival and the movement was
key to his extraordinary success - as it is to
any consideration of the background of
today's Middle East. In that sense, Saladin's
true greatness, Azzam contends, lay not on
the battlefield, as has commonly been
accepted, but in his spiritual and political
vision. An honest and guileless leader,
Saladin baffled his enemies by refusing to
play their political games and succeeded in
uniting an army from all parts of the Muslim
world. Although he was an outsider he
managed - almost seamlessly - to become
the most powerful man in Islam.
The first major biography of Saladin for
twenty years, A. R. Azzam's timely and
fascinating account is essential reading for
anyone interested in the medieval Crusades,
Islamic history and the origins of the
modern Middle East.
Saladin
Saladin
Dr A.R. Azzam
i i >
PEARSON
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First edition published in Great Britain in 2 0 0 9
© Pearson Education Limited 2009
The right of Abdul Rahman Azzam to be identified as author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN: 978-1-4058-0736-4
British Library Catalo^uins in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library
Library of Congress Catalo^in^-in-Publication Data
'Azzam, 'Abd al-Rahman, Dr.
Saladin / A.R. Azzam. - 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4058-0736-4 (hardback)
1. Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, 1137-1193. 2. Egypt-Kings and
rulers-biography. 3. Egypt-Kings and rulers-Biography-Juvenile literature.
4. Syria-Kings and rulers-Biography. 5. Crusades. 1. Tide.
DS38.4.S2A93 2009
956'.0I4092—dc22
[B] 2008026385
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Contents
Glossary of Main Names viii
Map X
Prologue Separating the Man from the Myth 1
Chapter 1 The Weakening of the Abbasid Caliph and
the Sunni Revival 9
Disputes between Sunnis and Shiites 10
Building a new Sunni orthodoxy 14
Chapter 2 The Turning of the Tide 20
The arrival of the Crusades in Syria 22
The establishment of Saladin's father and uncle 25
The rise of Nur al-Din and the spread of madrasas 29
Chapter 3 The Young Saladin 36
The religious milieu in which Saladin grew up 37
The beginning of the Islamic counter-crusade 41
The education of Saladin 44
Chapter 4 The Battie for Egypt 51
The Fatimids: the sick man of the Nile 54
Shirkuh's campaign 62
The emergence of Saladin and the siege of Alexandria 66
C O N T E N T S
Chapter 5 The Unlikely Vizier
69
The death of Shirkuh and the appointment of
Saladin as vizier
73
The rise of al-Qadi al-Fadil
77
Chapter 6 Master of Egypt
82
The crushing of the Sudanese uprising and the
dismantlement of the Fatimid state
84
The establishment of Saladin's authority in Egypt
89
The introduction of Sunni orthodoxy to Egypt
91
Chapter 7 The Prize of Syria
98
The death of Nur al-Din and Amalric
100
The power struggle in Syria
106
Saladin marches into Syria, and the challenge
of Aleppo
109
Chapter 8 The Meddlesome Priest: Saladin and al-Khabushani 120
Madrasa building in Egypt 120
The relationship between Saladin and the ulama 125
The Sunnification of Egypt 132
Chapter 9 Saladin and the Leper King 137
Baldwin IV and the Kingdom of Jerusalem 137
Saladin's defeat at Mont Gisard 140
The death of Nur al-Din's son and the struggle
for northern Syria 148
Chapter 10 Sailing Close to Disaster: Saladin's Illness at Harran 157
The death of Baldwin IV
160
Saladin's march on Mosul
162
Saladin's illness
163
Saladin and al-Qadi al-Fadil: renewed vows
164
C O N T E N T S
Chapter 11 Victory at Hattin 168
Saladin gathers his army 170
Deliberations in the Franks' camp 172
The march to Tiberias 174
The capture of the True Cross 179
Chapter 12 The Return of Jerusalem 184
The collapse of the Latin Kingdom 185
Saladin besieges Jerusalem 190
The triumphant entry into Jerusalem 191
Chapter 13 The Arrival of Richard 196
Conrad fortifies Tyre 196
The siege of Acre 200
The fragmentation of Saladin's army 204
The fall of Acre and the massacre of the 3,000 206
The march towards Jaffa 211
Saladin's defeat at Arsuf 214
Chapter 14 A Bitter Siege of Attrition: Saladin, Richard
and Jerusalem 218
The death of Taqi ul-Din 218
Saladin fortifies Jerusalem 223
The attack on Jaffa and the defiance of Richard 226
Peace negotiations and the departure of Richard 229
Chapter 15 Death in Damascus: Saladin's Last Days 232
The return to Damascus 233
Saladin's illness 234
Saladin's death and the mourning of the people 235
Saladin: an assessment 237
Notes
243
A Note on the Arabic Sources
259
Bibliography
261
Index
266
Glossary of Main Names
Since some of the Muslim names can appear confusing and repetitive, this
is a brief glossary which is by no means comprehensive but which attempts
to distinguish between the names. Names which are distinctive and over
which there can be no confusion (al-Khabushani for example) are omitted.
In addition, the full names of the individuals are not included (Saladin's
brother al-Adil's full name is Saif al-Din Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ayyub) since
the main aim of the glossary is an aide-memoire, and the listing of the full name can add, rather than alleviate, confusion. The names of the most
famous characters have also been simplified so, for example, throughout
the name Zengi is used to refer to Nur al-Din's father and the founder of
the Zengid dynasty. Although his full name was Imad al-Din Zengi, this
was also the name of Nur al-Din's nephew and ruler of Sinjar. Similarly, Nur
al-Din's other nephew Saif al-Din (the ruler of Mosul) was named after
Nur al-Din's brother, Mawdud. So it is important not to confuse Saif al-Din
ibn Mawdud ibn Zengi (Nur al-Din's nephew) with Saif al-Din ibn Zengi
(Nur al-Din's brother). It is precisely to avoid such confusions that the
names have been simplified as much as possible.
Al-Adil, nl-Malik a-l-Adil Brother of Saladin
Al-Afdal, d-Mctlik al-Afdal Saladin's eldest son
Al-Qpidi al-Fadil Head of Saladin's chancery and
one of his closest advisers
Al-Sdlih ibn Nur d-Din Son and successor of Nur al-Din
Al-ZMr, Abu Mansur Ghazi Saladin's son and his favourite
Ayyub, Najm ctl-Din ibn Shadi Saladin's father
GLOSSARY OF M A I N NAMES
Fctrrukh-Shah, Izzal al-Din
Saladin's nephew
Ibn al-Athir
Mosuli historian of Saladin
Ibn al-Muquddam, Shams al-Din
The man who invited Saladin
into Syria, and later the governor
of Damascus
Ibn Mnsnl, Najm cil-Din
Companion of Saladin and one
of his supporters during the
siege of Alexandria
Ibn Shadda-d, Baha ul-Din
Judge of Saladin's army and his
biographer
Imad al-Din al-Isfahani
Nur al-Din and Saladin's
secretary, and biographer of
both men
Imad al-Din Zengi
Nur al-Din's nephew and ruler
of Sinjar
Ismat al-Din Khatun
Wife of Nur al-Din and Saladin
Ka-mal a-l-Din al-Shahmzuri
Scholar, counsellor and qadi for
Zengi, Nur al-Din and Saladin
Keukburi, Muzaffar al-Din
Married to Saladin's sister and
one of Saladin's senior military
commanders
Qutb al-Din al-Nishapuri
Religious scholar and Saladin's
teacher
Saif al-Din Ghazi
Nur al-Din's nephew and ruler
of Mosul
Shirkuh, Asad al-Din ibn Shadi
Saladin's uncle and vizier of
Egypt
Taqi ul-Din al-Malik al-Muzaffar
Nephew of Saladin and one of
his most trusted generals
Turan Shah, al-Malik al-Muazzam Saladin's brother
The Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099-1187
Prologue
Separating the Man
from the Myth
What is true in a, man's life is not what he does, but the legend which£!rows
up around him.
Oscar Wilde
1 •^o understand the man we first must confront the legend. No historian
can approach the task of writing about Saladin without first having to
confront, acknowledge and ultimately dismiss the multitude of stories which
have, over the centuries, enraptured readers but which have equally blurred
the line between legend and evidence. This task, noble in intent, onerous
to implement, is complicated by one simple fact: people prefer the legend.
I was struck by this fact while researching and writing this book. AVhether I
was in company of Muslims or non-Muslims, as soon as people found out
about the subject of my book, I was regaled by anecdotes about Saladin.
What was striking about those stories and anecdotes was that they were
more often than not historically impossible, geographically improbable and
factually inconceivable. At first with the zealousness of a new biographer
I attempted to correct them; no, Saladin did not meet Richard, and no,
he could not have had an affair with Richard's mother. But to my initial
amazement and subsequent amusement I discovered that my comments
were neither accepted nor welcome. But then again I myself had once fallen
• 1
SALAD I N
in love with a fable. My first memory of Saladin was from a Ladybird book
which, as a child, I had read and reread. One drawing had stood out in
particular: Saladin and Richard wei'e standing side by side, and both men
were demonstrating their strength. Richard struck an iron bar with tremen-
dous force with his sword and the bar broke in two. Saladin, in return,
threw a silk scarf in the air then gently sliced it as it landed. Years later I dis-
covered that the two had never met, but the legend had served a purpose
and an apocryphal story had captured my imagination and drawn me to
search for a deeper historical truth.
The liberator of Jerusalem, a chivalrous laiight, a generous benefactor,
a political upstart - the character of Saladin has undergone so many trans-
formations as each generation created him in its image. Lane-Poole saw
Saladin's chivalry towards the Christians as the 'good breeding of a gentle-
man',' while Dante placed him in the first circle of Hell with the heroes
of Troy and Rome. Rex Harrison played him as a cad, while, in Yusuf
Chachine's 1963 epic film, he emerges as a hero of Arab socialism. Nothing,
it seems, was spared, as Saladin even makes an appearance in a Dr Who tele-
vision episode. The case of a military commander having his name used both
for a battalion of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's army and for a
battle tank of the British army is surely unique in history.^ So many Saladins.
And even more tumble out of the drawers of history as we delve deeper
through the centuries. A multitude of Saladins: chivalrous, patient, gener-
ous, cruel. There is, it seems, a Saladin story to illuminate every sin to be
found in the human soul, and for eveiy virtue there are two. That these
fables bear no link to the historical character is irrelevant; Saladin was too
valuable to be left to the historians. But Saladin did exist, and for the histor-
ian such fables are irrelevant, at most a nuisance. And yet, such is the num-
ber of sightings of Saladin's name in literature, art and popular media that
it would be careless not to ask why. AVhy so many stories?
Within months of his victory at Hattin and his conquest of Jerusalem,
poems were being written in the West about Saladin. One particular anony-
mous poem composed in 1187 represents as contemporary a Western view
as possible. Focusing on Saladin's rise to power, it is unsparing in its vitriol.
Saladin is illegitimate, of low rank, who rose to power by raping his master's
wife and then took over Egypt by poisoning his master, Nur al-Din.^ This
portrayal of Saladin is far away from the more familiar chivalrous one, with
good reason. In 1187 Saladin was still alive and posed not just a formidable
• 2 •
P R O L O G U E : S E P A R A T I N G T H E MAN F R O M T H E M Y T H
military threat but an ideological one. In 1187 the West was confronted by
an enemy with an equally persuasive claim to the sacred and whose victories
on the battlefield seemed, to the baffled Christians, to validate this claim.
Could God really be on the side of the infidel? The loss of Jerusalem was a
tremendous blow and one that had to be rationalised. In July 1187, for
example, a letter from several German princes reached Emperor Frederick