Saladin

Encyclopaedia Iranica describes the Ayyubids as a Kurdish family, and the family’s roots go back to the Dvin region, and indicates the connection of its ancestors with the Rawdiya group of Kurdish Hadhabism. Iranica's study of historian Vladimir Minorsky also indicates that Saladin was Kurdish in origin, while being politically and culturally assimilated into the Arab environment in which he ruled.

Who is Saladin?

Saladin Al-Ayyubi is one of the most famous leaders of the twelfth century. He began his political and military rise in the service of the Zengid state, then became a minister in Egypt in 1169 after the death of his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh. After that, he strengthened his power in Egypt, and with the death of Nur al-Din Mahmoud in 1174, he began expanding his influence in the Levant, until he took control of Aleppo in 1183 and subjected Mosul to his influence in 1186.

From this stage, the state that was later known as the Ayyubid state was formed, and its influence extended during his reign to Egypt and large parts of the Levant, the Peninsula, and other regions.

His family's origins are Kurdish

Encyclopaedia Iranica states that the Ayyubid family was a Kurdish family, and that the family’s grandfather, Shazi, was from the Doyin region, located in the historical region of Armenia, and that he moved to Iraq with his two sons, Najm al-Din Ayyub - Saladin’s father - and Asad al-Din Shirkuh. They settled in Tikrit, before the family later moved to the service of Imad al-Din Zengi.

There are other lineages in historical sources that attempted to trace the Ayyubids back to Arab origins. But Iranica states that some of these lineages appeared after the family came to power, and deals with them with caution, while the family classifies itself as Kurdish. This biography describes him as a member of the Ayyubid family of Kurdish origin, noting the existence of different historical lineage accounts.

From Tikrit to the Levant

Saladin was born in Tikrit, present-day Iraq, around the year 1137 or 1138.

His father, Najm al-Din Ayyub, was in charge of Tikrit Citadel at that stage. After the family left Tikrit, his father and uncle Shirkuh entered the service of Imad al-Din Zengi, and then the family’s position continued during the reign of his son Nour al-Din Mahmoud.

Saladin grew up in a political and military environment linked to important centers such as Baalbek and Damascus, before the stage that would change his life began in Egypt.

The road to Egypt

His uncle, Asad al-Din Shirkuh, was one of the senior commanders in Nur al-Din Mahmud’s army, and Saladin participated with him in the military campaigns to Egypt.

In the year 1169, Shirkuh became the minister of the Fatimid Caliph al-Adid, but he died a few months later, so Saladin succeeded him in the ministry.

From there, Saladin began building an independent power center in Egypt.

By 1171, the Fatimid Caliphate had ended in Egypt and the sermon had returned to the Abbasid Caliph, which was a major political and religious transformation in the history of the region at that time.

Establishment of the Ayyubid power

After the death of Nur al-Din Mahmud in 1174, Saladin gradually expanded into the Levant.

took control of Damascus, then continued to expand his influence, and seized Aleppo in 1183, and in 1186 Mosul became within the scope of his political influence. Thus, Egypt and large parts of the Levant and the Peninsula became linked to a single authority under his leadership.

The Battle of Hattin

The most famous moment in his life came on July 4, 1187.

Saladin's army faced the forces of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem near Hattin in Galilee, and the battle ended with a major victory for his forces and the defeat of the main Crusader army.

The results of the battle were far-reaching, as it opened the way for the fall of a large number of cities and fortresses that were under the control of the Crusaders.

Restoring Jerusalem

After Hattin, Saladin continued his campaign until he reached Jerusalem.

In October 1187, the city passed under his control, about 88 years after it was captured by the forces of the First Crusade in 1099.

The recovery of Jerusalem became the event most associated with the name of Saladin in Islamic historical memory. It was also one of the main reasons for launching the Third Crusade.

Saladin and Richard the Lionheart

The loss of Jerusalem led to a major European Crusade in which a number of European kings participated, the most famous of whom was King Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart.

Saladin and Richard engaged in a series of battles and negotiations during the Third Crusade between 1189 and 1192.

The Crusaders were unable to regain Jerusalem, and the confrontation ended with an agreement in 1192 that kept Jerusalem under the rule of Saladin, with arrangements that allowed Christian pilgrims to reach the holy places. The relationship between Saladin and Richard later became a widespread topic in European literature and novels, and some of the details circulated about it belong to later literary traditions rather than confirmed historical facts.

The Ayyubid state

Saladin's influence was not only military.

He established the political power of the Ayyubid dynasty, whose members later ruled multiple regions in Egypt, the Levant, the Peninsula, and Yemen, and some of the Ayyubid emirates continued long after the dynasty lost its main position. Iranica indicates that Ayyubid rule remained in Hama until 1341 and in Hisn Keyfa until 1462.

It is not correct to describe the Ayyubid state as a “Kurdish national state” in the modern sense. Although the ruling family was of Kurdish origin, the state ruled multiple societies, and its institutions and political culture were part of a broader Islamic world in the twelfth century. Iranica discusses this issue specifically, noting that to characterize the country politically as a “Kurdish” state in the modern sense would be an oversimplification of its historical nature.

His death

Saladin died in Damascus on March 4, 1193, a few months after the end of the Third Crusade.

He was approximately in the mid-fifties, with his year of birth differing between 1137 and 1138 in the sources.

Why is his name still present?

Saladin remained a prominent historical figure for several reasons: his establishment of the Ayyubid power, his unification of Egypt and large parts of the Levant and the Peninsula under his authority, his victory at Hattin in 1187, his recovery of Jerusalem, and then his confrontation with the Third Crusade.

His presence was not limited to Islamic sources; Saladin and Richard the Lionheart became two prominent figures in later European literature, which contributed to the continuation of his name globally until the modern era.