Historical Figures Codexery

Saladin

Founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and sultan of Egypt and Syria.

Saladin, a Kurdish leader born in Tikrit, became sultan of both Egypt and Syria during the 12th century.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Reign
May 1174 – 4 March 1193
Coronation
1174
Predecessor
Al-Adid (as Fatimid caliph)
Successor
Al-Aziz Uthman (Egypt); Al-Afdal (Syria)
Spouse
Ismat ad-Din Khatun
Issue
  • Al-Afdal
  • Al-Aziz Uthman
  • Az-Zahir Ghazi
  • Al-Mu'azzam Turanshah

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Saladin was born in Tikrit in present-day Iraq to a Kurdish family from the Rawadiya tribe, which originally had Arab descent.[1] Saladin began his military career under his uncle Shirkuh, a commander for the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din.[3][4] In 1164, Saladin accompanied Shirkuh to Egypt to aid the vizier Shawar against a rival.[4] He defeated a Zengid coalition at the Horns of Hama in 1175, securing control over Syria.[2]

His father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, served as warden of Tikrit and later, after moving to Mosul in 1139, was appointed commander of Zengi's fortress in Baalbek.[5][4] He suppressed a revolt by Black African soldiers and Egyptian emirs, with the uprising quelled by 23 August.[4] Following Nur ad-Din's death on 15 May, Saladin conquered Damascus and later proclaimed himself king.[4][6][2]

What the cited sources add

The same source records that a Kurdish lieutenant urged a candidate to step aside by arguing that both he and Saladin were Kurds who should not let power pass to Turks.[7][8] A 2015 book on medieval heresies states that Saladin ordered the execution of the Sufi philosopher Yahya al-Suhrawardi in 1191.[9][10] That source also describes Saladin as a pious Muslim who hated philosophers and materialists, and as a supporter of Sufism and jihad.[9][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: H. A. R. Gibb, "The Rise of Saladin", in A History of the Crusades, vol. 1: The First Hundred Years, ed. Kenneth M. Setton (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969); The medieval historian Ibn Athir relates a passage from another commander: "...both you and Saladin are Kurds and you will not let power pass into the hands of ; Lane-Poole 1906, p. 6; The biographer Ibn Khallikan wrote, "Historians agree in stating that [Saladin's] father and family belonged to Duwin. ... They were Kurds and belonged to ; Humphreys, "From Saladin to the Mongols: en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lane-Poole 1906, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Morton, "The Crusader States and Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099–1187", Oxford University Press, 2020, p. 163 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lyons Jackson 1982, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, "Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen")", 20 January 2019; Azzam, "Saladin", Pearson Longman, 2009, p. 48 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lyons Jackson 1982, p. 3; Lane-Poole 1906, p. 6; Lyons Jackson 1982, p. 3; Lane-Poole 1906, p. 6 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Open Library record, ISBN 9780300247060 ("Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Phillips, "The life and legend of the Sultan Saladin", 2019, p. 58; Lyons Jackson 1982, p. 3 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Open Library record, ISBN 9781107023369 ("Medieval Heresies"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Caldwell Ames, "Medieval Heresies", Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 171 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Saladin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Caldwell Ames, "Medieval Heresies", Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 171; Michael Haag, "The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States", Profile Books, 2012, p. 158; Caldwell Ames, "Medieval Heresies", Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 171; "Arab Historians of the Crusades", University of California Press, 1984, p. 99–100 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Saladin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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