Who was Saladin?
Saladin (1137–1193 CE) was a Kurdish Muslim sultan who united Egypt and Syria, recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187, and became legendary in both the Islamic and Christian worlds for his military skill, honor, and generosity — even his enemies admired him as the ideal of chivalric virtue.
Saladin — Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub — was one of the most celebrated military and political figures of the medieval world. A Kurdish Muslim born in Tikrit (modern Iraq) in 1137, he rose to become the Sultan of Egypt and Syria and the man who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders — an achievement that made him a hero across the Islamic world.
Saladin's path to power was strategic and patient. He served as a military officer under the Zengid dynasty before becoming vizier (chief minister) of Fatimid Egypt. He gradually consolidated power, overthrowing the Fatimids and establishing the Ayyubid dynasty. He then spent years unifying the fragmented Muslim states of Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia — understanding that only a united Muslim front could challenge the Crusader states.
His greatest military achievement was the Battle of Hattin in July 1187. By luring the Crusader army into a waterless march during summer, he destroyed their military power in a single afternoon. Jerusalem surrendered three months later. In contrast to the Crusaders' massacre when they captured the city in 1099, Saladin's treatment of Jerusalem's Christians was notably restrained — he allowed them to ransom themselves, protected churches, and treated prisoners with dignity.
This combination of military prowess and personal honor earned Saladin admiration even from his enemies. During the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart reportedly said that Saladin was the greatest prince in the world. Medieval European romances depicted him as the ideal of chivalric virtue — a Muslim knight who embodied the very values Christendom claimed as its own. Saladin died in 1193, having given away so much of his wealth that there was reportedly not enough in his treasury to pay for his funeral.