SALADIN: BIOGRAPHY, CONQUESTS, BATTLES, DEATH - ARTE - 2024

Saladin (c. 1137-1193) was a political and military leader of Muslim origin. He stood out for achieving the unification of the Middle East, having under his control Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Mesopotamia, Libya and Palestine among other areas.

He reached the post of Sultan of Syria and Egypt and is recognized for having been the founder of the Ayubí dynasty. Saladin was an admired figure in his time, but that sentiment has transcended to the present day among the Islamic community.

Saladino, by Cristofano dell'Altissimo (1525-1605),, via Wikimedia Commons.

His greatest achievement was the one he achieved in the Battle of the Horns of Hattin in 1187, his victory on that occasion was one of the main causes for the Third Crusade to be unleashed, while for the Muslims it was the impulse that allowed them to reconquer Jerusalem.

Saladin was a man extremely devoted to the Muslim religion. He firmly believed in the holy war (jihad), by which he wanted to return to the Muslims the territories that had been taken from them by the Christians.

Early years

An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, better known as Saladin, was born c. 1137 in the city of Tikrit, currently located in the province that was named in his honor "Salah al Din", located in Iraq. He came from a family of Kurdish origin, from Armenia, who held a high rank in society.

His father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub served as governor of the city of Tikrit. Five years before Saladin's birth, Ayubb granted refuge within the city walls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, ruler of Mosul, who was returning defeated from a battle.

For that action Ayyub was severely punished. However, he was allowed to continue serving as governor.

Exile

The fate of Saladin's family changed the same year he was born, when his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh assassinated a close friend of the region's military leader, causing the entire family to be expelled.

According to some historians and biographers of Saladino, they were expelled the same day of his birth, although there are no records of the specific date.

In 1139 the family arrived in Mosul, where they chose to settle because of the sympathy they felt for their leader, who had not forgotten the help that Ayyub gave him one day and appointed him commander of the Baalbek fort.

Zengi controlled both Mosul and Aleppo and after recapturing Edessa, sparking the Second Crusade, he died. So Saladin's father decided to support Zengi's son Nur al-Din, who gave Ayyub the governance of Damascus and Shirkuh the military command.

Education

Saladin is believed to have been much more inclined towards a career as a jurist than a military life. Although there are many records about his academic training, it was common for young people like him to study arithmetic, law, and the thinking of Muslim scholars.

Likewise, Saladino must have received instruction in religion and Arab history, it is believed that he favored the latter, since he was always a very devout man and knew, even, the lineages of the most important horses.

He could also speak at least two languages: Arabic and Kurdish. Although the future sultan seemed not to be destined for military life, he began to venture into that particular from a very young age.

Military beginnings

Asad al-Din Shirkuh, Saladin's uncle, had been entrusted with the armies of Nur al-Din and decided to include his nephew among his men to train him in the area of ​​combat early.

In 1164 Shirkuh was sent by the Emir of Aleppo, Nur al-Din, to assist Shawar, vizier of Egypt. That campaign served the military novice to make his debut on the battlefield under the tutelage of his uncle.

Shirkuh defeated Dirgham, thus fulfilling his mission of restoring Shawar. A short time later the vizier asked the armies of Nur al-Din to withdraw and in return offered them 30,000 dinars.

However, Shirkuh declined Shawar's offer and explained that his lord preferred that they remain in Egypt. That caused the vizier to ally himself with the crusaders, led by Amalarico I, and together crusaders and Egyptians attacked the Syrian camp at Bilbeis.

A second meeting took place on the banks of the Nile, west of Giza, where Saladin was in charge of the right wing, composed of Zenguis; meanwhile the Kurds moved to the left and Shirkuh took a position in the middle and captured Hugo of Caesarea.

Results

With the victory they had achieved in battle, Saladin's name began to stand out. They arrived in Alexandria where they obtained a loot in arms and money, in addition to obtaining a base of operations.

Saladino was left in charge of the fortress, after the departure of his uncle who had been warned of a possible attack. Later, Nur al-Din asked them to withdraw from Egypt since he had reached a momentary peace agreement.

In 1167 there was a new invasion of Egypt commanded by the men of Nur al-Din. In the first battle they managed to once again take control of Alexandria, whose inhabitants supported the Syrian cause with which they had the most cultural similarities.

Then again Saladin was left in charge of the city of Alexandria, while Shirkuh withdrew and the city was besieged by the men of Shawar.

The cessation of hostilities was quickly achieved as well as forgiveness for the inhabitants of the city who had shown their sympathy for the invading army.

Return to egypt

Amalarico betrayed the alliance with Shawar and attacked him in 1168. First he took Bilbeis and when he was about to conquer the capital, Fustat, he found that Shawar had burned it and withdrew to the de facto capital: Cairo.

The caliph of the Fatimine dynasty, al-Adid, decided to go to the Sultan of Syria, Nur al-Din, to help him with the lack of control that the vizier Shawar had caused in Egypt.

Again, Shirkuh was entrusted with the mission, although this time Saladin did not want to participate, although he eventually relented. At the end of 1168 the young Kurd arrived and the presence of the Syrians facilitated the agreement of a truce with Amalarico I.

Then Shawar was sentenced to death and Shirkuh was appointed vizier of Egypt and his nephew came to occupy a place of great importance in his government.

Vizier of Egypt

Shortly after assuming the government of Egypt, Shirkuh passed away. When they found it necessary to seek a replacement, the interests of the caliphate and those of the emir were opposed. However, they decided to accept that Saladin took over as vizier.

Among the hypotheses that have been raised over time about this selection by the caliphate, it is thought that the members of the Fatimid dynasty thought that Saladin, due to his youth, would be highly manipulable.

As of March 26, 1169, Saladino began to exercise his functions in command of Egypt, this posed several challenges for the military man, who was of Kurdish origin, something that was not totally to the liking of the natives of the area, since in their eyes he was a foreigner.

However, contrary to what was thought, Saladino showed great signs of maturity, since when he saw the relevance of his new obligations he became a much more devout man: he stopped consuming alcohol completely and approached religion to establish the example to his people.

Loyalty

Saladin's loyalty was in question, because although the Caliph al-Adid supported him to become vizier, both belonged to different cults within Islam: the first was Sunni and the second Shiite.

On the other hand Nur al-Din, the Sultan of Syria, in whose service the Kurd was from very early in his life, considered him nothing more than an inexperienced boy.

First plot

As Saladin gained control over Egypt, plans to end his power began to emerge everywhere. One of them transcended and was the one that involved a eunuch who was in the service of the Fatimid caliphs.

After discovering the conspiracy against him, the now vizier ordered his execution, which was not to the liking of a large part of the military. The issue resulted in the uprising of 50,000 troops of black ethnic origin, but that Saladino knew how to quickly appease.

However, this allowed the future sultan to carry out major reforms within the army, which had many members who had no sympathy for their leader; they were replaced by a majority of soldiers of Kurdish and Turkish origin.

Dissolution of the caliphate

Saladin knew that although the majority in the domes of power in Egypt were Shiites, the opposite was the case in the people and the majority followed the same current from which he came: Sunni.

So, he institutionalized that preference with the creation of mosques and schools of that current. Likewise, he took other measures such as the creation of universities, the reduction of the bureaucracy with which he achieved a considerable reduction in taxes.

He included a greater number of Egyptians in his government, as well as offered better opportunities to Jews and natural Christians in the area.

In 1170 there was his first attack on Jerusalem, as he passed through Gaza he massacred the local population and managed to take Eilat, as well as the island of Pharaoh, placing himself in a good position.

In this way Saladin managed to consolidate his power within the territory and after the death of al-Adid, who had supported him in his rise to vizier, he decided to dissolve the Fatimid caliphate, with which his popularity increased within Islam.

This is how Saladin became de facto the sole ruler of Egypt, since although he nominally served Nur al-Din, in reality the vizier controlled the territory completely independently of Syria.

Sultan of Egypt

In 1172 Saladin began to exercise his authority in the Egyptian territory. He punished and regulated the behavior of Berber bandits in the area, who were forced to return stolen artifacts and pay taxes.

That same year he organized a confrontation against the Nubians, from which he returned the following year, after having secured control of Ibrim and Northern Nubia.

After the death of Ayyub, Saladin's father, who had moved to his son's lands some time before, Nur al-Din began to feel a certain distrust regarding the loyalty of the ruler of Egypt.

Saladin the Victorious, by Gustave Doré, via Wikimedia Commons

In 1174 there was the conquest of Yemen in which the envoy of Saladin Turan-Shah subdued the Shiite rulers and unified Aden, Sana'a and Zabid, cities that could be the headquarters of great improvements and growth from then on.

With the access he gained to the shores of the Red Sea, Saladin ordered the creation of a new fleet with the purpose of helping him control that passage.

That same year Nur al-Din was having everything necessary to carry out an attack on Egypt when he was surprised by death on May 15, undoing all the plans that the Emir of Syria had.

Syrian succession

The heir to the Nur al-Din territories was barely 11 years old. Although at first Saladin sent him a letter in which he guaranteed that he would protect his territories, that was not the procedure selected by the leader of Egypt.

The boy was transferred to Aleppo, while Gumushtigin proclaimed himself regent of the boy. Saladin assured that to aid the emir he would march to Damascus and he did so. The city received him with great enthusiasm and entrusted the governance to his brother Tughtigin.

Later, Saladin continued his journey to Aleppo, the city from which the little king fled after crying out for the support of his people. Subsequently, Saladino's store was attacked by 13 assassins who failed in their attempt to finish off the military leader.

Conquest of Syria

After standing up to the Zenguis on several occasions, Saladin finally defeated them on April 13, 1175, after the battle he pursued them in their retreat to Aleppo, which caused them to recognize him as the legitimate ruler, as did Damascus, Homs, Hama, and others.

From then on Saladin became king and one of his first measures was to remove the name of as-Salih as-Malik from the prayers in all mosques, and he replaced the young man's face on the coins with his own.

Then, the Abbasid caliphate also recognized Saladin as Sultan of Egypt and Syria.

A year later the hostilities with the Zenguis came to an end after a confrontation near Aleppo in which Saladin won and, after assassinating the leaders, decided to free the soldiers with presents for all.

In May of that year he suffered another attack from a murderer, whom he was able to arrest inside his own room. In June of the same year, Azaz surrendered, and Saladino signed a pact with the regent and with as-Salih who would allow him to keep Aleppo if they recognized his conquests.

Saladin and the Assassins

The word "murderer" refers to a group of Muslims of the Shiite cult, especially related to the Fatimid dynasty whose fame is due to the selective killings of important key political figures.

The real name of the sect is "Nizaris", but their enemies decided to refer to them as "hashshashin", which some say means hashish eaters in Arabic.

In 1175 Saladino had decided to go against the assassins and arrived in the Lebanon area, from which he withdrew without achieving anything, according to some sources because the ruler feared for his integrity after receiving a threat inside his tent.

According to others, his departure was due to the threat posed by some Crusader knights who were approaching his camp. Either way, the treaty was successful and from then on the murderers of Sinan and Saladin united against the Christians.

From then on, Sinan decided to collaborate with Saladino, with whom he sent his men to fight side by side, putting the holy war before internal conflicts.

Times of peace

On his return he passed through Syria, where he left his brother Turan Shah in charge as governor. Finally, after two years of absence, he returned to Egypt, where he devoted himself mainly to supervising projects and strengthening defenses.

"Eagle of Saladin", symbol of Arab nationalism, by OpenClipart-Vectors, via Pixabay

Of the many constructions that took place in this period, some of the most notable were the Cairo Citadel and the Great Bridge in Giza.

At that time he maintained good relations with the members of the Artuchid emirate, whose leader he received with great gifts. The background of his kind and generous behavior was not only to achieve an alliance with the emir, but with the neighboring peoples.

On the other hand, he continued to have conflicts with the Bedouins, whom he forced to abandon their lands, punished them for their constant misdeeds, and confiscated the grain they had collected in their warehouses.

Conquest of Mesopotamia

In 1181, Izz al-Din of the Zenguí dynasty, inherited control of Mosul after the death of his brother Saif al-Din Ghazi II. He also inherited control of Aleppo after the death of the dynasty's leader, Prince as-Salih.

Although Izz al-Din had no problems with the Aleppo warlords, as as-Salih had them sworn allegiance to him, having control of two cities was a heavy burden for the new ruler. Therefore, he exchanged control of Aleppo for that of Sinjar with his brother Imad al-Din.

For his part, at the end of 1182 Saladin left Egypt for Syria in order to take the interior lands of Mesopotamia, but respecting the peace treaties that he had made with the Zenguis.

For this, the sultan had half of his army and they were accompanied by numerous merchants and civilians.

Ambush in Petra

His scouts had warned him that Crusader forces were gathered on the Egyptian border near the Dead Sea, so he decided to take the more difficult route.

He crossed the Sinai desert and drove to the southern border of the Montreal countryside, territories of Baudouin IV of Jerusalem, the "Leper King."

Saladin devastated the fields before the gaze of Baldwin who refused to face the Egyptian sultan, since his illness did not allow him to command his armies effectively.

However, from his litter he was able to order his troops in such a way that Montreal Castle itself, near Petra, was not attacked and the Saracens finally chose to continue north.

Arrival in Damascus

Finally, in June 1182, Saladin reached Damascus where he learned that his nephew Farrukh-Shah, viceroy of the city and Emir of Baalbek, had attacked Galilee where he sacked the city of Daburiyya and captured the crusader fortress of Habis Jaldek east of the Jordan.

A month later Saladin ordered his nephew to attack Kawkab al-Hawa, south of Lake Tiberias. In August, he launched a campaign by land and sea to capture Beirut, while his Egyptian army set out to take control of the Bekah Valley, west of Baalbek.

However, the last company was abandoned to concentrate the efforts undertaken in the Mesopotamian territories.

Conquest period

Although Saladin had declared to the Zenguis that he respected the treaties and that he was only waging a jihad against the Christian invaders, he always aimed to control the territory.

It was for this reason that he marched slowly with his troops in front of Aleppo on September 22, 1182, while on his way to the Euphrates.

Finally, Saladin broke the treaties by accepting the invitation of the Emir of Harran to take control of the northern territories of Mesopotamia, or Jazeera.

Saladin statue, by DianneKet78,, via Pixabay

During the winter of 1182 he captured cities in the region: Edessa, Saruj, Raqqa, Quirqesiya and Nusaybin very close to Mosul.

He also captured the villages of al-Fudain, al-Husain, Maksim, Durain, Araban, and Khabur, who did not resist and swore allegiance to him.

First siege of Mosul

With the territories around Mosul under his control, Saladin marched his troops into the city.

His excuse that the march was only a holy war had crumbled before the eyes of the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad who, nevertheless, was trying to keep the peace on his borders.

Thus, in November 1182 when troops arrived and laid siege to Mosul, the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad, al-Násir, dispatched a powerful emissary to mediate between the Zenguis and Saladin.

But the ultimate objective of this was the control of Aleppo and the Zenguis strongly opposed it, thus ending the negotiations.

Despite this, and thanks to the mediation of the Abbasid emissary, Saladin lifted the siege and then marched towards the city of Sinyar which, after a siege of fifteen days, fell and was sacked by the invaders despite the orders received from his commander.

Conquest of Diyarbakir

In Mosul, Izz al-Din managed to form a coalition together with men sent from Aleppo, and the Seljuk armies of Armenia and Mardin to confront Saladin who, in February 1183, marched with his army to confront them in Harran.

Izz al-Din decided to send emissaries to the Ayubi asking for peace, but Saladin remained firm in his claims about Aleppo, while the Zengi did not recognize them. Negotiations ended and the coalition disbanded. For Izz al-Din's allies, that was seen as a defeat.

Meanwhile, attempts to get the caliph to accept Saladin's claims to Mosul as legitimate were unsuccessful.

However, he was given recognition over the Diyarbakir region where the city of Hasankeyf was located, an important stop on the Silk Road.

End of the Seljuk Alliance

This maneuver of an-Násir appeased Saladin, since the region was located in the passage between Armenia and Mardin, and at the same time sent a message to the Seljuks, from where the Zenguí family originally came, since the territory was controlled by them.

Faced with this, Izz al-Din once again convened the coalition he had formed earlier, this time in Harzam. However, after having besieged Amid for weeks, the city succumbed to the Ayubis.

Saladin gave the city to the artuchid Nur al-Din Mohammad, regent of Hasankeyf, who swore loyalty to him and that he would repair the damaged areas of the city, as well as follow him in all his campaigns against the crusaders.

Mayyafarqin, in the north of the region, also swore allegiance to Saladin. Il-Ghazi of Mardin saw no choice but to join the Ayubid, causing the Izz al-Din coalition to weaken significantly.

Entry into Aleppo

Saladin then prepared to go to Aleppo. The city of Tell Khalid, only 130km from there, surrendered without a fight before the arrival of the Ayubí on May 17, 1183. Ain Tab gave in as soon as the army made its way there.

On May 21 the Ayubid forces arrived in front of the walls of the main Zenguí city. For three days, they offered resistance outside the walls with small clashes in one of which Saladin's younger brother, Taj-al-Mulk Bori, was killed.

But Imad ad-Din was running out of money fast and there was discontent within the troops and the inhabitants. He sent emissaries to Saladin, who in a generous offer offered Sinyar, Nusaybin, and Raqqa, in exchange for Aleppo and military vassalage.

Saladino managed to take control of the city on June 12. Although the inhabitants and defenders were unaware of the negotiations and were taken by surprise to see the Ayubí's banner in the citadel, the terms of the withdrawal were so generous that there was no resistance.

Second siege to Mosul

During the rest of 1183 and all of 1184, Saladin had to secure the borders of his territory in campaigns against the crusaders. He already controlled most of the Zengi territory and a truce signed in 1185 with the Christians allowed him to go to the conquest of Mosul.

Meanwhile, Izz al-Din had made alliances to the east with the Seljuk Pahlavan, ruler of Azerbaijan and part of Persia, and had threatened some populations allied to the Ayubids.

The march of Saladin and his army was unimpeded until it reached Mosul in July 1185.

The men quickly laid siege to the city, but Pahlavan attacked the city of Akhlat, from where an emissary was sent calling for urgent help from the Ayubids.

However, the help left late: Baktimore, the regent of the city, had married one of Pahlavan's daughters.

Disease

Back in Mosul, the siege persisted. However, Saladin fell seriously ill and on December 25 had to leave the walls of Mosul and set out with his army.

Having recovered from his illness, in February 1186 he received ambassadors from Izz al-Din.

Focused on strengthening his positions, Saladino signed a peace treaty on March 3 in which the Zenguí remained as regent of Mosul but lost all the territories south of the city; Furthermore, he became a vassal of the Ayubíes and promised to help the Holy War militarily.

Encounters with Christians

In 1177 Saladin planned a surprise attack against Palestine, since they had broken the truce by entering territories that belonged to Damascus.

The Christians had besieged Harem, located near Aleppo. Then, Saladin went to Ascalón, city that could penetrate with facility. He then continued to the gates of Jerusalem, passing other cities on his way.

However, the men of Balduino IV, along with the crusaders, ambushed them at Tell Jezer and broke the Muslim ranks, causing Saladin to flee the area and take refuge in Egypt.

That confrontation was known according to western sources as the Battle of Montgisard.

Three years later, in 1179, Baudouin again devised a surprise strategy against the Sultan of Egypt, but he found out in time and attacked them unexpectedly at the Battle of Marjayoun.

During that same year, Saladino obtained another victory against the Christians in the Ford of Jacobo, where they took the local fortress.

Battle of Hattin

Background

Reinaldo de Chatillon, also called of Antioch was known to be a troublesome ally for Christendom. Although there was a peace treaty, it was dedicated to attacking travelers and holy places for Muslims. Yet he was respected for being a Montgisard veteran.

In 1187 the ruler of Antioch decided to attack a large Muslim caravan heading to Mecca on a religious pilgrimage.

Guido de Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem began to prepare his troops since he anticipated the reaction that the attack of Reynald would provoke in Saladin.

Indeed, a short time later the Sultan's men were besieging the city of Tiberias, where the wife of Raymond III of Tripoli was, who requested the help of both her husband and Guido de Lusignan.

Saladin and Guido de Lusignan, by Said Tahsine (1904-1985 Syria), via Wikimedia Commons

The king of Jerusalem left the poorly garrisoned city and rushed his men toward Tiberias. He made that decision despite the fact that everyone had advised him otherwise, including Raimundo himself.

Saladin attacked the fortress of Tiberias with a small part of his men. When the city tried to negotiate its surrender, the sultan refused.

They mined one of the city's towers until it collapsed, making way for Muslims, who murdered many and took others as prisoners.

Confrontation

When Saladin had news of the success that had resulted from his plan in which he tried to draw the Christians into the open country, he quickly reunited with his troops.

All cataloged Raymond as a coward for suggesting that he give himself up to Tiberias, where his wife was, in exchange for keeping his other possessions. Guido no longer consented to return and continued his march to meet the Muslims.

Along the way, the Christians were repeatedly attacked by Muslim archers. The scarcity of water began to take its toll on the skill and disposition of the soldiers for whom their leaders did not find a sufficient spring.

As they marched towards the horns of Hattin to supply themselves with water, they were surprised with a barrier of Muslims between them and the water. Finally, Saladin's men surrounded them and exacerbated their dehydration with large bonfires.

Although Raymond and some of his knights managed to escape, many of the soldiers deserted and were killed or taken prisoner by the Muslims. Finally, the Christians were easily defeated by Saladin.

Conquest of jerusalem

The results obtained by Saladin in the Battle of Hattin became a key piece of his strategy to reconquer the traditionally Muslim territories. He quickly and without resistance occupied cities like Galilee and Samaria, then took Acre, Arzuf and Tiberias.

This is how all the cities in the area began to fall to the Saladin pass: Nazareth, Sepphoris, Caesarea, Haifa are some of the sites that he managed to secure before the support fleet arrived, with which he took Sidon, Beirut, Byblos and Torón.

Siege and capture

Communication and supply lines with Egypt had then been secured, allowing Saladin to prepare the siege of Jerusalem with the assurance that his men could comfortably resist it.

During the siege of Bailán de Ibelín, an important and noble Christian knight asked Saladino to allow him to enter the city to be able to remove his family who was there and the Muslim granted it, on the condition that he not defend the city.

Upon reaching the interior of the city, the defenseless population asked him to stay and defend them from the infidels. So he wrote to Saladin who understood the situation and excused him from his promise.

The siege was harsh and when the Christians finally decided to give in and hand over the city, Saladin no longer wanted to negotiate. Despite this, he accepted the surrender of the city and spared the lives of those who paid a sum set by him.

Third crusade

Faced with the loss of the holy city of Christianity, Pope Urban III decided to unite peoples in a new crusade, in which the goal was clear: to take Jerusalem and the other Catholic territories that had been taken by Saladin.

The first to leave this call was Federico Barbarroja, who had great experience in battle and one of the best organized armies in Europe. However, he never made it to the Holy Land as he drowned in Anatolia and his army dispersed.

Then the French sovereign, Philip Augustus, the King of England Richard the Lionheart and Leopold of Austria appeared by sea. This coalition was very effective in its beginnings, but it soon lost the north with the quarrels between its leaders.

They managed to reconquer the city of Acre, although a short time later Felipe Augusto withdrew disgusted by the bad treatment that the English had given him by keeping the best palace for himself.

Other insults were also perpetrated by Richard of England to the Austrian duke who did not take much longer to return to Europe.

Final

Saladino tried to carry out an exchange of prisoners to save all the Muslims who had been imprisoned in Acre, in exchange he offered the Christians the True Cross, that is, the authentic cross on which Christ died and the Christian prisoners he kept.

Saladino, by Tobias Stimmer, via Wikimedia Commons

Ricardo on the contrary decided to assassinate all the Muslim prisoners, which provoked the anger of Saladino, who was insulted and powerless before his people. The English managed to secure some victories like that of Jaffa.

Without having achieved much, Ricardo Corazón de León accepted peace. A cessation of hostilities was agreed for three years with Saladino, after which he was able to go to troubled England, although he did not arrive there soon because he was kidnapped on the way.

Death

Saladin died in Damascus on March 4, 1193 at the age of 56. The reason for his death is unknown, although it is known that he suffered from a fever in the days prior to his death.

At the time of his death he had practically no possessions since he bequeathed everything to the poor.

He was buried in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and his remains still lie there and his mausoleum is open to visitors. He was succeeded by his son Al-Afdal who was the second member of the Ayubí dynasty.

References

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3. Cartwright, M. (2018). Saladin. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Available at: ancient.eu.
4. Stevenson, W. (1907). The crusaders in the East. Cambridge University Press.
5. Rickard, J. (2013). Saladin's Conquest of Syria, 1174-1185. Historyofwar.org. Available at: historyofwar.org.