Saladin
- Salah al-Din Yusuf bin Ayub
Salah
al-Din Yusuf bin Ayub or Saladin as he is popularly
known was born in 1138 C.E. and was of Kurdish descent.
The meaning of his Arabic name is "righteousness
of the faith" As a child Saladin was a scholar who
studied the Koran as well as poetry and his scholarly
ways would continue through his life even when the
thoughts of Holy War -"Jihad" consumed his focus.
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At
the young age of fourteen, he entered into the service
of his uncle Nur ed-Din another great and respected
Arab warrior. Another mentor of the young Saladin
was the Saracen chief Zenghi who in 1144 overthrew
the city of Edessa, an outpost of Western world
for many years prior because of its proximity to
Antioch. Saladin learned his military lessons well
and soon began to stand out among Nur ed-Din's forces.
In several campaigns between the years of 1164 and
1169 C.E. he had made a lasting impression on his
peers.
In
1169 Saladin served with another uncle named Shirkuh
as second to the commander in chief of the Syrian
army. Shirkuh died only two months after Saladin
received his new position. Despite his humble position
and due to the fact that he held little regard for
the Fatimid ruler of Cairo, Saladin turned Egypt
into an Ayyubid powerhouse. He used many Kurds in
important positions in his army and in no time he
had improved the Egyptian economy and trained an
army ready to take on the Frankish
Crusaders.
In
just two years Saladin suppressed the rulers for
which he had little regard and thus united Egypt
with the Abbasid Caliphate. When Nur ed-Din died
in 1174, Saladin began his expansion of territories.
In just twelve years he had Damascus, Syria, Alleppo,
Mawsil and Iraq. After a three-month battle he captured
Jerusalem in 1187 at the Battle of Hattin.
In
February of 1193 Saladin rode out to meet some pilgrims returning
from Mecca. That evening he became bed ridden due to pain
and fever and in a number of days fell into a comma from which
he never returned. Saladin died March 3rd 1193 at the age
of 55.
From: Templar History: http://www.templarhistory.com/head.html
