[Music] It is the 22nd April 1176, outside the village of Tell Sultan, in the modern-day district of Iblid, Syria. The Sultan of Egypt surveys his army, in the shimmering 33-degree heat of the desert, as they advance towards their Zengid opponents, soon the air is filled with the sound of charging footsteps and clashing swords. Then, without warning, the left flank of the Sultan’s forces is pushed back, they retreat and the enemy press home their advantage and charge, rushing toward the heart of the great Ayyubid army. In respose, the Ayyubid commander draws his sword, looks about him, and charges…… his robes billowing, as he screams towards his foes. His name….. Saladin, the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, [Music] The man known to history as Saladin or Salah ad-Din meaning Righteousness of The Faith, was born in 1137 AD in Tikrit, situated on the right bank of the Tigris, between Mosul and Baghdad, in modern day Iraq. Saladin’s father was Najm ad-Din Ayyub, the governor of Tikrit at that time, who was an honourable, honest and good man, whose family were closely related to the Shaddadids dynasty, who ruled parts of Armenia between the 10th and 12th centuries, Saladin was given the birthname Yusuf, and his family ancestry can be traced back, to the Kurdish areas of modern Iraq and Armenia. On the very night of Saladin’s birth, his father evacuated the family from Tikrit, due to the fact that his father had harboured Zengid soldiers, which angered the regional administration, they eventually settled in Damascus, the capital of modern-day Syria, and one of the world’s oldest cities. When he was young, Saladin was said to have shown the qualities needed to lead from an early age, and his education was by all accounts varied, and included disciplines such as Alchemy and arithmetic, as well as religion and of course the Qu’ran, Saladin was also fluent in Kurdish and Arabic, he at first showed greater interest in learning religion, rather than strategy and tactics, but he was placed under the tutelage of his uncle, Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh, who was an important military commander within Damascus. During the First Crusade in the final years of the eleventh century, European Christians had established various kingdoms in the Holy Land, most notably the principality of Antioch and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and because of this, there was a pressing necessity, for the Islamic world in the Middle East, to become more capable militarily, and so the rudiments of military command which Saladin was gaining, during this time, would stand him in good stead, over the coming years and decades. Since its founding in the 6th century, Islam had spread rapidly through various caliphates, which were in essence, areas of the Muslim world, which swore allegiance to religious leaders or Caliphs, these leaders were either chosen in the case of Sunni Muslims or were descended, in the case of Shia Muslims, from the Prophet Muhammed himself. Muslim rulers would reign over their respective territories, but still hold allegiance to their Caliphs either Sunni or Shia, a good comparison would be how medieval France or England, were states in their own right, but still swore allegiance to the Papacy, indeed to understand the balance of power in the Middle East at the time, it is necessary to keep in mind, the power struggle between Sunni and Shia caliphates, as well as the various Muslim states or Empire and the Crusader states. The first crusade had been called, in response to the increasing encroachment of the Seljuk Empire, on the territories held by the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia, and by the time of Saladin’s birth, the Seljuk Empire, which was largely of Turkish origin, ruled over much of the Middle East, while the Fatimid dynasty, ruled over Egypt and eastern North Africa. Saladin was of Turkish origin, and lived his early life, within the borders of an area of modern day northern Iraq, which was ruled by the Zengid dynasty, but overall control of this area was still in the hands of the Seljuk Empire, as Zengid Syria was a vassal of the Seljuk Empire, and the ruler of Syria at the time, was Emir Nur ad-Din. The majority of the events of Saladin’s life, and destiny, would however, take place further south of his birthplace, in modern day Iraq, within Egypt and the Holy Land, where he would found a new dynasty in his own name, and change the course of history in the Middle East and beyond. In 1163, the Vizier, or political ruler to the Egyptian Fatimid Caliph Al-Adid, a man named Shawar, was driven out of Egypt, by a rival named Dirgham, after a power struggle broke out between them, Shawar then asked the ruler of Syria, Nur ad-Din, to aid him in regaining power, he agreed in return for an alliance against the crusaders, and sent his general Shirkuh, along with the 26 year old Saladin, to intervene in Egypt. The expedition was successful and Shawar was reinstated as Vizier, but Shirkuh refused to withdraw his forces from the region, even after the Syrian general had been offered 30,000 dinars for the service of his army by the Vizier subsequently, Syria’s leader Nur ad-din, exploited the Fatimid weakness in Egypt to his advantage, and took de-facto control of the country, effectively making Shirkuh, ruler in Egypt, and so allowing Zengid annexation of the territory. Another source of tension arose because the Fatimids in Egypt were Shia Muslims, who believed that their rulers should be chosen from the direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammed and the Zengids in Syria, were Sunni Muslims, including Saladin, who believed Muhammed’s successors should be chosen from the community of his followers. Shawar felt betrayed by Shirkuh, and the Syrian Sunni forces remaining in his country, and so appealed to the Christian King in Jerusalem, Amalric I, to intervene, this resulted in Shawar and Amalric joining forces, and besieging Shirkuh, in the city of Bilbais, however Shirkuh and Saladin’s leader in Syria, Nur ad-din, in turn moved his own forces against the Crusader state of Antioch, and captured the Count of Tripoli, Raymond III, in the battle of Harimin 1164, before this, Saladin had only played a minor military role, in the siege of Bilbais, although he was soon to ascend to legendary status, in the service of Nur ad-Din. Tripoli was a crusader state, but was also the vassal of Jerusalem at the time, which meant that Amalric and his forces had to race north to aid Raymond, and to secure their northern borders against Syria, Shirkuh also evacuated his forces north into Syria, to aid his master, which meant that, the Fatimid dynasty, and Shawar, remained in power for the time being. However, in 1166 Shirkuh and Saladin returned once again, in order to regain control of Egypt, prompting Shawar, to call on King Amalric, for aid in fighting them, and because Amalric’s naval forces had control of the eastern Mediterranean, he had the initial advantage, and so, he was able to arrive in Cairo and join forces with Shawar and the Fatimids, before Shirkuh and Saladin, could reach the area over land. This resulted in the battle of Al-Babein, in which Saladin commanded the right wing of the Zengid Syrian forces, the confrontation proved to be bloody and inconclusive in its outcome, and eventually the Syrians tried to escape Egypt, via the port of Alexandria, but were blocked by Amalric’s fleet, and so, Shirkuh and Saladin, then agreed a truce, and left Egypt, on condition that King Amalric did the same. This suited Shawar and the Fatimids, as they remained in power, and it also suited Amalric, as he retained a weak, but friendly neighbour on his southern border, in the shape of Egypt, but Amalric then made a mistake, that would eventually prove fatal, to his ambitions of eventually controlling Egypt, and to the success of the crusades as a whole, as instead of continuing to support Fatimid Egypt, he instead chose to invade it, whilst it was weak, and did so, in 1168, taking the city of Bilbais and massacring its inhabitants. Shawar changed sides again in desperation, and appealed to Nur ad-Din in Syria for aid, leading him to once again dispatch his great general, Shirkuh to Egypt, and being faced with an enemy, both in front of him, and behind him, Amalric was forced to withdraw to Jerusalem. Shirkuh then marched into Cairo unopposed, and the Fatimid Caliph Al-Adid, ordered that his untrustworthy subordinate Shawar, be brought before him, and he demanded his execution, Shirkuh then replaced him as Vizier and Zengid Syrian de-facto rule over Egypt began. In 1169 Shirkuh died, after feasting on a particularly large and rich meal, probably of a heart attack, and Saladin was chosen to replace him, as the country’s political ruler, despite him being a Sunni, and the Fatimids being Shia. A great deal of historical debate has surrounded the decision to appoint Saladin as Vizier of Egypt, with some historians claiming that the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Adid, only selected Saladin in the misplaced belief, that he was a naïve and complacent politician, who could be easily influenced. Saladin, now instated as the new Vizier, was in a very tricky position, as not only was he a Sunni, in a Shia controlled land, but he was also effectively a foreign occupier, and now had split loyalties, between his master in Cairo, Caliph Al-Adid, and his other master in Syria, Nur ad-din, and there was great suspicion and resistance to his rule, from all sides. However, Saladin proved himself to be an extremely efficient ruler of Egypt, and started a reform of its governance, as well as foiling an assassination attempt on his life, by a group of soldiers and emirs, which was uncovered by his chief intelligence officer, and so he had the civilian controller of the Fatimid Palace, Naji Mu'tamin al-Khilafa, the chief conspirator, arrested and killed. Indeed, he was also able to further his status as an effective military leader by crushing an uprising of 50,000 Black African soldiers and their co-conspirators, within the Fatimid regime, who opposed Saladin’s new Sunni practises in office. And so with this successful defence against insurrection, Saladin began strengthening his powerbase in Egypt, he placed his own family members in high ranking positions within the region and sought to impose change on the Fatimid dynasty itself, he encouraged the spread of Sunni Islam, as well as gradually gaining and retaining greater control, over the affairs of state through his rule in Egypt. He achieved this in part through the establishment of Sunni legal jurisprudence in Cairo and other areas of Egypt, founding a college for the Maliki branch of Sunni Islam as well as a Shafi’i college, dedicated to the practise and interpretation of his own denomination of Sunni law. His undoubted ability as a ruler, both strengthened his own position, and that of Egypt as a whole, and also meant that the Crusader states were now surrounded by hostile Muslim powers, and so Saladin then increased his reputation and power even further, by defeating a large Crusader-Byzantine naval force, at the Siege of Damietta in 1169, in which his forces, with the help of reinforcements from Nur ad-Din, successfully prevented their Christian enemies from invading Egypt. Amalric had realised that the unification of the formerly opposing forces of Syria and Egypt, would potentially mean doom for the Crusader states, and along with the Byzantines, assembled a massive naval force to invade Egypt, however, Amalric’s army was largely prevented from landing, and with the help of reinforcements, fireships and the weather, Saladin defeated the invasion force. With his power based in Egypt more secure than ever, Saladin now went on the offensive and attacked the heart of Crusader power in the Levant: The Kingdom of Jerusalem, his forces besieging Darum, now Deir al-Balah, in modern day Palestine in 1170. When King Amalric’s forces came to the aid of the town, Saladin evaded them and attacked and sacked part of the city of Gaza instead, maintaining military pressure on the Christian Kingdom, without ever allowing his army to be engaged in a fully-fledged land battle. Then in the summer of 1171, the last Fatimid Shia Caliph, al-Adid fell ill, and shortly afterwards died of natural causes, Saladin quickly saw this opportunity and seized power, realigning Egypt under the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate based in Baghdad, thus ending the control exercised by the Shia Fatimid dynasty over Egypt, and so the Fatimid dynasty ended, making way for the Ayyubids, a dynasty named after Saladin’s father Ayyub. Later the same year, on the 25th September 1171, Saladin embarked on a new conquest against the crusaders, joining once again with his old commander, Nur ad-Din, who attacked from his northern bases in Syria, allowing Saladin to move in from the south-west, they both wished to target Crusader castles, and hence planned to attack fortifications built by the Crusaders at Kerak and Montréal, the former falling to Zengid forces within a matter of days. Before attacking the castle at Montréal, Saladin had to return to Egypt, after hearing of reports that Crusaders were attempting a domestic insurrection against him in his own court, and therefore Nur ad-Din had to attack this last position alone. Following this, in the summer of 1173, Saladin’s territory in Egypt was attacked from the south by a Nubian army, an ethnic group hailing from what is now northern Sudan, who assembled alongside Armenians, in preparation for a siege against the city of Aswan, in Southern Egypt. The emir of the city requested the aid of Saladin, when he learned of the impending attack, and was given additional troops for the defence, under the command of Saladin’s brother, Turan-Shah, the Nubians retreated after they learned of this reinforced army, returning once more later in the year, but were ultimately forced to retreat once again. Saladin soon grew tired of the Nubians, and went on the offensive, advancing south to the Nubian city of Ibrim, and capturing it, in a show of force, for the new administration in Egypt, after his victory against the Nubians, Saladin sent a gift to his former commander and teacher, the Zengid leader, Nur ad-Din, giving him 60,000 dinars, jewels and an elephant. Whilst travelling with these riches to Nur ad-Din’s palace in Damascus, Saladin attacked crusader positions in the countryside, burning crops and homesteads in order to inflict economic damage, although he refrained from attacking castles, he also harboured a wish to drive out the Muslim Bedouins, who acted as guides and aids for the European crusaders, and therefore aimed his attack at the civilian population of this region of the Levant. On the 9th of August, 1173, Saladin was saddened when news arrived that his father, Ayyub, had died following a horse-riding accident, for many years Saladin had received the benefit of his father’s good advice and so when he died, Saladin was well equipped to make the best of the many opportunities, which would present themselves to him, over the coming years. In 1174, Saladin used his position of power, to order his brother, Turan-Shah, to attack Yemen, and he successfully acquired the port of Aden, becoming a significant political leader in the Fatimid Caliphate, and expanding their territories in the process, and later in 1174, Saladin proclaimed himself, Sultan of Egypt, starting his family’s reign in the country, which would become known as the Ayyubid Sultanate or dynasty. However, following this, tensions began rising between, Saladin and his former master, Nur ad-Din, who was greatly concerned by his former servant’s rise to power, he formed a plan to attack him in Egypt, in order to claim the region for himself, but word reached Saladin of the preparations, and he began gathering his forces outside of Cairo. Before any conflict ensued, Nur ad-Din died in Damascus, on the 15th of May 1174 at the age of 56, and he was succeeded by his 11-year-old son, As-Salih Ismail al-Malik, weakening the Zengid dynasty’s rule over Syria, as As-Salih was too young to govern his territories effectively, which caused infighting amongst the Syrian emirs or nobles, further weakening the country. The threat posed to Saladin’s new dynasty was therefore mitigated, and the Zengid Caliphate descended into crisis, decentralising powerbases throughout their Syrian territory, Saladin initially attempted to gain favour with the young king, by writing him an impassioned letter full of grief at the passing of his father, promising to quote: ‘Act like a sword’ against his enemies, thus pledging to remain in the defence and service of the Zengid regime. Following the death of Nur ad-Din, Saladin faced a difficult dilemma, he had originally intended to maintain his campaign against the Crusaders, although knew, that he would be more effectively placed to launch an invasion of Crusader-held land, if he marched from Zengid territory in the north, in Syria, rather than from Egypt. If he waited for the new King As-Salih to call on his help, he could avoid any possible conflict which may have been caused, by acting on his own to acquire Syria, a land which had previously been the territory of his former master, an act which would have been forbidden under Islamic principles. By August 1174, the boy king, As-Salih, had been placed under the guardianship of Gumushtigin, who had formerly been in a powerful position as the Emir of Mosul, and had also been a close adviser to the former King, Nur ad-Din, Gumushtigin had therefore assumed the effective position of regent of the Zengid Kingdom, and used his new position, to remove political rivals throughout Syria. This led to an escalation of existing internal conflicts, and further destabilised the Zengid regime, Saladin seized upon the infighting within Syria, and following a call for aid from the Emir of Damascus, who was threatened by Gumushtigin, he entered Syria with 700 horsemen, passing through al-Kerak, and reaching the city of Bosra, in modern-day Southern Syria. Saladin would later write himself about the masses who joined his force, which included Bedouins, Emirs and soldiers from all over the region, all of whom feared the influence of Gumushtigin, by the 23rd of November, he had arrived in Damascus, and rested at his father’s old home, and the next day, he marched to the gates of the Citadel of Damascus, and requested that he be given access, but the commander of the defence, Raihan, refused. Saladin ordered his brother, Tughtakin ibn Ayyub to besiege the Citadel, and the guard capitulated four days later, allowing Saladin and his forces to enter through the heavy, arched-shaped gates of the castle, he installed himself in the fortress and received congratulations and homage from the inhabitants of the city, who recognised his authority and influence. Once he had installed Ayyubid authority in Damascus, Saladin left his brother, Tughtakin ibn Ayyub, in command of the city, and moved to take other areas, which had formerly been under the control of Nur-ad Din, but had since descended, into arbitrary law after his death. He conquered the city of Hama, without any significant difficulty, although he avoided attacking the city of Homs, due to the fact that it played host to a powerful fortress, which he knew would be an arduous Citadel to attack. He then laid siege to Aleppo on the 30th of December, where the boy king As Salih was sheltering, the King realised the danger posed by Saladin, and emerged from his palace to personally implore the people and guards of Aleppo, not to capitulate to Saladin, who had proven himself an influential political leader, much-loved by the populations he had thus far conquered. The Zengid Emir of Mosul, Saif al-Din, then sent an army to relieve Aleppo and met Saladin’s forces at the Battle of the Horns of Hama, Gumushtigin was in a state of fear, following Saladin’s latest aggressive actions, and made contact with Rashid ad-Din Sinan, the head of the Assassins of Syria, asking him to kill Saladin whilst he rested in his camp. The assassins were an order founded in 1090, in the Isma’ili doctrine of Shia Islam by Hasan-I Sabbah, a leader of the Nizari Ismaili Shia sect, whose followers were known as the ‘Asasiyyun’, their current leader, Ad-Din Sinan, was opposed to Saladin, as he had taken control of the Fatimid of Egypt, under the command of Caliph al-Adid, which was against the will of his sect. The tactics employed by the Asasiyyun, were centred around secretive, targeted killings, ultimately becoming known in turn as ‘assassinations’, and so, on the 11th of May, 1175, a band of 13 assassins gained access to Saladin’s camp, although they were detected before they could carry out their attack, by Nasih al-Din Khumartekin, one of Saladin’s officers, one of the assassins was killed by another of Saladin’s generals, and the others were forced to flee, when the attention of the camp was drawn to them, Saladin having narrowly escaped an untimely death. Soon after this incident, Saladin learned that Raymond of Tripoli, had gathered his forces to the West, at Nahr al-Kabir, a river which ran into the Mediterranean in modern-day Lebanon, and was strategically well placed for an attack, so Saladin decided to move his forces westward, to the city of Homs, although he was soon forced to retreat back from Homs, when he learned that the cousin of Gumushtigin, Saif al-Din, had sent a relief force to bolster the city against attack. Whilst Saladin was fighting in the Western Levant, his enemies in Syria and Jazira, were in the process of waging a propaganda war against him, his enemies stated, that Saladin had engaged in a war against his former masters’ land, and hence had lost all semblance of religious and moral dignity, Saladin responded to this claim by disengaging near Homs, claiming that he was actually campaigning against the Crusaders, who had gathered to the West. His army returned to Hama, to the north, and engaged with a Crusader force which had landed there, the Crusaders, upon hearing of Saladin’s advance, ordered a pre-emptive retreat, a move which Saladin hailed as quote: ‘a victory opening the gates of men’s hearts’, and so, having salvaged his reputation, with a bloodless attack on Hama, Saladin returned to Homs, and attacked it, conquering the city in March 1175, after a bloody fight with the defenders located in the formidable citadel. Saif al-Din was the head of the Zengids, and was superior even to Gumushtigin, as the regional powerbroker, and when he heard of Saladin’s success he grew fearful, Al-Din regarded Syria and Mesopotamia as his estate, and was therefore angered when he learned of the invasion of his territory by Saladin, from his base in Egypt. And so, Saif al-Din summoned a large army, with the intention of pushing Saladin out of his territory, and dispatched it to Aleppo, the combined forces of Mosul and Aleppo, gathered together against Saladin, and marched on his northern position of Hama, then Saladin, realising that he was far outnumbered, attempted to broker an agreement with the Zengids, stating that he would call off all further incursions north into Syria, if an agreement could be reached, although this was not enough for Saif al-Din, who demanded that Saladin withdraw with all of his forces, back to Egypt. Saladin, in turn, refused, and prepared for a confrontation, realising that no other avenue was open to him, and so he took up a defensive position on the Horns of Hama, a series of hills located near the Orontes River, a dusty and rugged landscape, and on the 13th of April, 1175, the coalition forces of the Zengids, arrived to attack Saladin, although they soon found, that they had been surrounded by Saladin’s forces, and were severely damaged by his attack. During the battle, which became known as the Battle of the Horns of Hama, Zengid forces managed to break through the left flank of Saladin’s army, but were then engaged by the elite troops, who made up Saladin’s personal guard, and Saladin was soon being bolstered, by a significant contingent of reinforcements, who had arrived from his base in Egypt, the battle was largely bloodless, although resulted in a significant victory for Saladin, who pursued his enemies far to the north, until they reached the gates of Aleppo itself. The boy king, al-Malik was subsequently forced to recognise Saladin, as the ruler of several key provinces in Damascus, Homs and Hama, as well as in a number of towns which lay to the south of Aleppo, which had been captured in the pursuit northwards, of Saif al-Din’s Zengid force, after the Battle of the Horns of Hama. After this victory, Saladin proclaimed that he was king, and suppressed the name and hence influence of al-Malik in prayers, popular culture and coinage, indeed, Saladin formed his own coinage and ordered the development of prayers in his own style, as was his jurisdiction as King, as well as this, the Syrian-based Abbasid Caliphate, recognised Saladin as one of their allies, and soon proclaimed that he was formally considered by them to be the “Sultan of Egypt and Syria”. The Battle of the Horns of Hama did not end the contest for power, between Saladin’s Ayyubid Kingdom, and the Zengids, which was eventually settled in their final confrontation, in the spring of 1176 at the Battle of Tell Sultan. Troops from Egypt, were used by Saladin, to significantly reinforce his army, and his opponent, Saif al-Din, recruited his forces, from areas such as al-Jazira, Saladin advanced northward, and crossed the Orontes river, although during this first advance, the sun was eclipsed, and the event was taken as an ill-omen of the campaign, he pressed northward, nonetheless, and reached the outskirts of Aleppo, reaching a site located just south of the city, known as the Sultan’s Mound, now the town of Tell Sultan. Saladin’s forces met those of Saif al-Din at the Sultan’s Mound, and the subsequent hand to hand combat was brutal, the left flank of Saladin’s force was driven back, and crossed in front of their commander, as the Zengids advanced, which meant that Saladin himself, was then forced to charge at the Zengids’ guard, causing them to panic and lose their forward momentum. Saif al-Din narrowly escaped capture, with this sudden change of events, and many of his officers were taken prisoner, when they found that their army had entered into a hasty retreat, the Ayyubids managed to seize vast quantities of booty from the Zengids, including horses, armour and jewels, although these were not kept, but were redistributed amongst the captured Zengid soldiers, who were then freed. Saladin is said to have kept none of the booty for himself, and with this victory under his belt, he continued his advance to the north, and reached the gates of the city of Aleppo, on arrival, he found the gates still closed, and so Saladin continued to attack cities located nearby, such as those of Manbij and A’zaz. A few days later, Saladin was resting inside a tent owned by one of his captains, and was attacked by an assassin, who stabbed at his head with a knife, luckily, Saladin was still in his armour, and so the blade was unable to penetrate it, he grabbed the hand of the assailant, and managed to wrestle him to the ground, shortly after which the attacker was killed. The failed attack made it clear to Saladin, that his life was in perpetual danger from Saif-al Din and his friends in the Syrian Assassins, and so he decided to increase his stranglehold on Aleppo, intending to capture the city as soon as possible, the city of A’zaz capitulated on the 21st of June, leaving Saladin with an un-divided army, which he aimed at Aleppo. The city was once again besieged, although it did not yield to Saladin’s ferocious attacks, and after a number of days, both sides managed to come to a mutually convenient arrangement, Saif al-Din pledged to recognize Saladin as the ruler over the territories which he had gained, and in return, Saladin pledged that al-Din would remain in command of Aleppo. This was a significant agreement, and allowed Saladin to be recognised throughout the region, as the King of Syria, and when the treaty was concluded, the younger sister of the boy king, al-Malik, came to Saladin and requested that the town of A’zaz be returned to his control, and Saladin agreed. By mid 1176, Saladin had managed to secure peace treaties between himself, the Zengids and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but despite these alliances, he was still under threat from the Assassins, who, under the command of Rashid ad-Din Sinan, remained opposed to his rule in both Egypt and Syria. The Assassins remained a powerful regional force, who held command of nine castles, they were based in the an-Nusayriyah Mountain Range, located in the west, inland of the Syrian coastline, and their tactics in battle and ability to perform targeted killings were renowned, and it was this, which later led to the term ‘assassination’, and the concept of the ‘assassin’ as a vocation, rather than a geopolitical affiliation. Saladin intended to destroy the Assassins and their influence in the region, and moved his army into the Syrian Coastal Mountains in August 1176, he was forced to retreat the same month, after he failed to capture any of the fortresses held by the Assassins, managing only to mount a scorched-earth campaign against the region. The sudden withdrawal has been the subject of much scrutiny, with some claiming that another assassination attempt on Saladin, ultimately led to the withdrawal, although this is highly contested, it is more likely that Saladin, unable to capture any significant territory, wished to re-direct his attention to other theatres, namely, against the Crusader forces. Saladin knew that the Assassins could prove powerful allies to Christian forces in the region, and wished to recruit them first, moreover, the Crusaders posed a common enemy for Saladin as well as Rashid ad-Din Sinan, and provided the basis of an alliance between the two, later demonstrated when Sinan sent forces to bolster Saladin’s armies. The war with the Assassins was over, and the two forces fostered their cooperative relationship, the peace mediated to a great extent, by Saladin’s uncle, the Emir of Hama, and so, Saladin then returned to Cairo in the late summer of 1177, after being absent for two years, and set about rebuilding the city’s defences, and seeing to the various affairs of state, which had been neglected in his absence, including the construction of a large bridge at Giza, a few miles outside of Cairo. The old King of Jerusalem, Amalric I, had died of dysentery in 1174, which meant that his young son Baldwin IV, was now King of Jerusalem, the young king was only 13 at the time, so his uncle Raymond III of Tripoli, ruled in his stead, until Baldwin was of age, and the following year, Raymond signed a peace treaty with Saladin. Baldwin ascended to the throne, two years after his father’s death, but was not expected to reign for long, as he was a Leper, the disease of Leprosy was a bacterial infection, which was spread from person to person, by the ingestion of bodily fluids, these bacteria or Mycobacterium leprae, would produce no initial symptoms, but would eventually lead to the victim suffering from inflammation of the nerve endings and body tissues, often resulting in the loss of feeling, or the ability to feel pain, the result was that the infected person would not notice wounds or infections, leading to the loss of limbs, as well as recurring serious infections. Baldwin, the young King, did not allow the infection to deter him from his duty as monarch however, and sought throughout his reign, to rule his kingdom as best he could, and in late 1177, the Kingdom of Jerusalem moved many of its Christian forces north, to besiege a fortress located above Aleppo at Harim, which meant that Christian territory located in southern Palestine was left with few defenders. Saladin knew that this was an opportunity not to be missed, and marched to the city of Ascalon, now located in southern Israel, breaking the peace treaty he had made with Baldwin’s uncle Raymond III of Tripoli, his 26,000 strong force then dispersed into the surrounding areas, raiding and sacking local settlement as far east as Jerusalem itself. King Baldwin then rode to the aid of Ascalon, and Saladin allowed him to enter the city along with 375 knights, and thinking that he had King Baldwin contained, he left part of his force to hold the Crusaders at the city, whilst he marched towards Jerusalem himself, however, Saladin’s containing force proved to be too weak, as Baldwin’s small force, also contained some highly skilled generals, and Baldwin broke out of Ascalon and pursued Saladin, before catching up with him on the 25th of November 1177, near Ramla, taking the Sultan by surprise. Being unprepared for the attack, the Crusaders quickly destroyed the Muslim army, and Saladin resorted to fleeing the battle of Montgisard, on the back of a camel, heading for Egypt, his forces were pursued for 12 miles after the battle and Saladin reached Cairo by the 8th of December, with only one tenth of his army remaining. This defeat did not deter Saladin from further combat operations against the Crusaders, and the conflict continued over the coming months, Saladin claiming revenge for Montgisard, by defeating Baldwin, in various other engagements during the spring of 1178, when he led skirmishes against the Crusaders from his base at Homs, such as at Hama, and from each encounter, he brought back many treasures and riches as a consequence of the capture of prisoners and spoils of war, at the various engagements. Following the defeat of Baldwin at Hama, Saladin then ordered that all Crusaders whom had been captured, were to be put to death through beheading, he spent the rest of the year in Syria, without any further engagements with his enemies. However, the following year, intelligence reached Saladin that the Crusaders were planning an offensive into Syria, and he therefore ordered one of his generals, Farrukh-Shah, to advance with an army of a thousand men, to the Damascus frontier, to defend the territory from attack, the plan was that, instead of engaging the enemy, Farrukh-Shah’s force would warn the Damascene of the impending attack by lighting fires, following which, Saladin would advance from the city with an army. In April of 1179, Baldwin and his band of knights attacked Muslim herders and civilians in the Golan Heights, expecting no resistance, Baldwin then advanced quickly on Farrukh-Shah and his forces, although he did so, without expecting the volume of Ayyubid troops who met him, and was subsequently defeated, once again, at Quenitra, after this victory, Saladin was enthused, and requested reinforcements from Egypt, which gained him another 1,500 horsemen. The Summer of 1179, saw Baldwin engaged in establishing an outpost on the road to Damascus, which ran north from his position to the city, . he aimed to fortify a passage on the road which spanned the River Jordan, known locally as Jacob’s Ford, Saladin offered Baldwin IV , 100,000 gold pieces to abandon the project, but he declined, and so his attempt at diplomacy having failed, Saladin sought to destroy the Crusaders’ position at their castle, of Chastellet, a Templar fortress In preparation for the attack, Saladin moved his headquarters to the Banias Plain, which ran through the Golan Heights, and located the position south of the fortress, the Crusaders saw this as an opportunity for attack, and charged south, toward the Ayyubid position, although they were rash in their advance, and soon had their cavalry and infantry divisions separated. This gave Saladin the perfect opportunity for a counter-attack, and he charged towards the disorganised band of Crusaders with his army, dealing the Crusader force a heavy defeat, and leaving it in ruin, many significant knights were captured during the fray, and booty was taken in abundance, Saladin then advanced forward and besieged the castle, which fell on the 30th August, 1179. In the Spring of 1180, Saladin travelled to Safad, a city located to the west of the Golan Heights towards the Mediterranean, he intended to launch a full-scale campaign, against the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although this was evidently a source of concern for Baldwin, who sent Saladin a message imploring that he negotiate a peace. Droughts and bad harvests had damaged the fighting ability of Saladin’s army, and so he agreed to Baldwin’s request to cease hostilities, Raymond of Tripoli denounced the truce, and was angered with the capitulation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although he was soon forced to accept the terms of the agreement, when he was raided by the Ayyubids, and Saladin’s navy arrived off the port of Tartus, where Raymond was located. Saladin used the lull in the fighting with the crusaders, to further consolidate his power, and attempted to gain control over Mosul, from the remaining Zengids, but his attempt eventually failed, and the Zengid dynasty would remain in power in the region, until the Mongols overran it in 1250, Saladin did however, secure the capture of Aleppo, making his control over Syria complete. In 1183, King Baldwin had his nephew, who was also named Baldwin, crowned, as joint Monarch of Jerusalem, the boy was the son of King Baldwin’s sister Sibylla of Jerusalem, whose first husband William of Montferrat had died in 1177, after which, in 1180, Sibylla fell in love and married, Guy de Lusignan, an ambitious French knight, with whom she had become infatuated. Baldwin distrusted both his sister and de Lusignan, and greatly feared for the future of the succession, trying to have their marriage annulled, they remained together however, and their marriage and rise to power, would prove to have disastrous consequences, for both them, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem as a whole. King Baldwin finally succumbed to his Leprosy, and died on the 16th of March 1185, aged just 24, making his nephew, Baldwin V King of Jerusalem, but the kingdom was once again placed under the regency, of the ever present Raymond of Tripoli, the boy king was poorly himself, and died a little after a year after his predecessor, leaving his mother Sibylla as next in line, and so, on the boy’s death, Guy de Lusignan then ascended the throne. Over the coming years, both the Crusader armies, and Saladin’s forces, faced off against each other, both waiting for the other to make a mistake, and then in 1187, one of Guy de Lusignan’s followers, a knight named Raynald of Chatillon, raided a Muslim Caravan, despite a truce being in place between the Crusaders and Saladin, and some accounts claim, that the Sultan’s own sister, was raped during the raid, prompting Saladin to swear he would kill Chatillon. The Sultan then sent his son, with a small army, to raid the area around Acre, resulting in him winning a notable victory at the battle of Cresson, Saladin then laid siege to the city of Tiberias, which provoked the more blood thirsty members of Guy de Lusignan’s entourage, to advise the King to engage Saladin in open battle, and despite the fact that his own wife was trapped in Tiberias, Raymond of Tripoli advised De Lusignan not to engage the Muslims, but Guy ignored him, and assembled the combined crusader forces, numbering in the region of 20,000 troops, including 1200 knights. Saladin had also assembled a massive force, of around 30,000 troops and cavalry, and had hoped to provoke a response from the crusaders, with his incursions into their territory, and after holding a war council, the Crusaders did make the decision, to leave their supply base at La Saphorie, and attack Saladin at Tiberias. Along the way, the Crusaders were continually harassed by Muslim archers, and Saladin’s forces placed themselves between the crusaders and local water supplies, meaning that after a matter of days, the army lay despondent, dying of thirst, whilst Saladin’s forces were themselves supplied with water, by regular caravans from lake Tiberias. Then on the 4th of July 1187, under the cover of a smoke screen, caused by the Muslim army burning dry grass around the Crusaders, Saladin amassed his forces into formation, and what followed was not a battle, but was rather a rout and slaughter, as by this time, the Crusader army had been driven half mad with thirst, and were exhausted by the long hot marching, as well as demoralised by the fires and smoke and constant skirmishing. Instead of forming a battle line and concentrating on attacking the Muslims, the crusader army was more concerned with reaching lake Tiberias to take on water, this resulted in the complete collapse of the army as an organised force, and many fled the field when they could, and the remainder were forced to either beg the Muslims for death, or put up whatever meagre defence they could, with the little remaining energy they could still muster, then, after a series of increasingly desperate charges, the Crusaders were forced back, and Guy de Lusignan himself was captured. And so, the battle of Hattin was an apocalyptic disaster for the Christians, with as few as 3000 nobles, knights and troops, surviving the confrontation, and the survivors forced to leave the corpses of their comrades, to rot and fester in the sun, covered by egg laying flies, maggots and carrion birds. After the battle, Guy de Lusignan and Raynald of Castillon, along with other high ranking nobles, were brought to Saladin’s tent, the Sultan offered Guy a drink, which was a sign that he was to be spared, but instead of accepting the gracious gesture, Guy handed the drink to Raynald, Saladin then struck it from Castillon’s hand, stating that he did not offer the drink to him. What happened next, differs from account to account, some say Saladin decapitated Raynald with a single sword stroke, whilst others say he struck Raynald, which was a sign for his guards to execute him immediately, whatever the truth, both Raynald, and all the high ranking nobles in the Crusader army, were beheaded, along with the captured knights Templar and Hospitaler. Guy assumed he would be next, but the Sultan spared him, stating that Kings do not kill Kings, he was then taken as a prisoner to Damascus, but was released by Saladin in 1187, the Sultan’s forces then took each crusader stronghold in turn, as there was no army left, strong enough to oppose them, his aim was to take Jerusalem itself without conflict, as a prolonged battle for the city would risk the lives of Muslims living within its walls, and also risk the destruction of Muslim holy places. The defenders led by Queen Sybilla and Balian of Ibelin knew this, but also knew that they would be slaughtered or enslaved, if the city was taken by force, . so eventually terms were agreed, for the occupants of Jerusalem, to leave the city unmolested, in return for a small ransom per head to be paid to the Sultan, but enough money was raised to pay for the freedom of only around 18,000 of the city’s 30,000 inhabitants, and the remainder were taken into slavery, whilst the lucky few made their way to the coastal city of Tyre, which was the last stronghold held by the Christians in the Holyland The fall of Jerusalem sent shockwaves throughout Europe, and it is even said that Pope Urban III collapsed and died, upon hearing the news of the defeat, the new Pope Gregory VIII stated, that the capture of Jerusalem was punishment for the sins of Christianity, and a call to arms went out, across the continent. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, after whom Adolf Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was named, then raised an army, and advanced through Anatolia towards the Holy land, but whilst crossing a river, his horse slipped and the elderly king drowned, the new King of England Richard I, then sought to raise an army himself, taking the Cross, and joining the Crusades and so he joined King Phillip II of France, meanwhile, Guy de Lusignan, who had been released by Saladin, returned to Tyre, and mustered an army with which, he laid siege to the city of Acre, but for two long years, neither side were able to bring about a decisive defeat on the other. Then in June 1191, Richard I’s 17,000 strong army arrived at Acre, replenishing the Crusader forces, and consolidating their stranglehold over the city, Richard had brought with him prefabricated siege engines, which were now deployed against the walls, but Saladin countered this, by using Greek Fire, a type of ancient flame thrower, setting them ablaze and reducing them to ashes. Richard then offered gold to his men, for every stone they could remove from the base of one of the cities towers, soon the tower collapsed, and the crusaders charged through the gap, finally capturing the city in July 1191, whilst taking nearly 3000 prisoners, Richard then attempted to negotiate the prisoners’ release, in exchange for money, as well as the return of the True cross, which had been captured by the Muslims at the battle of Hattin, Saladin began to arrange payment for them, but after certain nobles were not released, Richard ordered the execution of all the Muslim Prisoners, prompting Saladin to execute his own Christian prisoners. Richard knew that he would be unable to capture Jerusalem, without taking the port of Jaffa to the south, and so in August 1191, he set out with his army along the coast, so that he could be easily supplied from the sea, Richard also knew that his army depended on regular supplies of water, and rested his troops at water sources, and also commanded his army to halt during the heat of the day. Saladin closely shadowed the Crusaders, all the time harassing their rear guard, until on the 7th of December 1191, he attacked Richard’s army, the Muslim forces effectively surrounded the Crusaders, and began to pepper them with arrows, in order to provoke a response in the shape of a charge, Richard knew what Saladin was trying to do, and gave strict orders for his troops not to break formation, then the Knight’s Hospitaler broke ranks, and flung themselves at the Muslim forces, Saladin committed more troops to the fight, but Richard had kept his heavy cavalry in reserve, and then used them to flank the Muslims, causing their army to rout. Richard had secured another famous victory over Saladin at the battle of Arsuf, and he then occupied Jaffa and rebuilt the defences around the city, after which he advanced towards Jerusalem, however they were unable to take the city, as divisions arose between the army’s leaders, about whether they should attack Egypt, and force Saladin to surrender Jerusalem, or instead take the city by force directly, this combined with extended supply lines, forced the Crusaders to withdraw from within sight of Jerusalem, and they would never again, have a greater opportunity to capture the Holy city. Saladin then attacked Jaffa itself, but was again defeated by the Crusaders, which forced both sides to realise that neither could defeat the other conclusively, and peace negotiations started, resulting in the treaty of Jaffa, in which both sides agreed a truce for three years, and Christians were also allowed to travel to Jerusalem as unarmed pilgrims. Richard then left the Holy Land shortly afterwards, in October 1192, and returned home, ending the third crusade, although he had not won the war decisively, as Saladin kept the vast majority of his gains over the Christians, and most importantly held Jerusalem, but the Sultan was not destined to live for much longer, and less than six months after Richard’s departure, Saladin fell ill with a fever, and died in Damascus, on the 4th of March 1193. He had given away the majority of his wealth to his poorer subjects, and there was not enough left to pay for his funeral, but he was eventually laid to rest in a mausoleum in Damascus, in the Umayyad Mosque, which is named after his dynasty, and Saladin’s tomb can still be seen in Damascus to this very day. Within a few decades, Saladin rose from total obscurity, to become the most powerful leader in the Muslim world, and arguably the most powerful man in the world, until the rise of Genghis Khan, and without him, the Crusaders may well have gained greater control over the Holy Land, it is also fair to assume, that without the unification of Egypt and Syria, it is doubtful there would have been a regional power strong enough, to withstand the Mongol invasion in the following decades. Saladin’s personal standard, the so-called ‘Saladin’s Eagle’ can still be seen on the state flag of Egypt, and is incorporated, into the national coats of arms for Iraq, Somaliland and Yemen, demonstrating the prominence of his legacy, within Middle Eastern political culture. However, Saladin was not necessarily the saint like figure, he is sometimes portrayed to be, it must be remembered that during the crusades, both sides committed atrocities and massacres, but no one can deny Saladin’s brilliance as a military commander and leader, and his effectiveness as a ruler, he, more than any other person arguably, was responsible for the defeat of the crusaders, and stands today as a colossus of the medieval middle east, he is rightly revered and respected throughout the Christian and Muslim world by many, and is considered a legendary figure to this very day. What do you think of Saladin? Was he merely fortunate to capitalise on the weakness of the Crusader states in re-taking Jerusalem? Or was he one of the Islamic world’s greatest leaders, who united Islam against the Christian invaders, and reclaimed the Holy City for the children of the Prophet? Please let us know in the comments section, and in the meantime, thank you very much for watching.
