| image = Al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin). AH 564–589564-589 (1169–11931169-1193 CE) Æ Dirham (30.1mm, 13.28 g, 6h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 586 (AD 1190–911190-91). Sultan sitting facing, cross-legged, on high-backed throne (obverse).jpg

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'''Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub'''{{efn|{{lang-langx|ar|صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب}} / [[ALA-LC]]: ''Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb''; full name: '''al-Malik al-Nāṣir Abūʾl-Muẓaffar Yūsūf ibn Ayyūb'''{{Sfn|Richards|1995|p=910}}}} ({{Circa| 1137}} – 4 March 1193), commonly known as '''Saladin''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|l|ə|d|ɪ|n}}. 'Saladin' is a contraction of an honorific {{transliteration|ar|[[laqab]]}}, from the {{lang-langx|ar|صلاح الدین|lit=Honour of the Faith|translit=Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn}}.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=6}}}} was the founder of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]]. Hailing from a [[Kurds|Kurdish]] family, he was the first [[sultan]] of both [[Egypt in the Middle Ages#Ayyubid period|Egypt]] and [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. An important figure of the [[Third Crusade]], he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the [[Crusader states]] in the [[Levant]]. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, [[Upper Mesopotamia]], the [[Hejaz]], [[South Arabia|Yemen]], and [[Nubia]].

Alongside his uncle [[Shirkuh]], a generalKurdish mercenary commander in service of the [[Zengid dynasty]],<ref name=":1" /> Saladin was sent to [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid Egypt]] in 1164, on the orders of the Zengid ruler [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur ad-Din]]. With their original purpose being to help restore [[Shawar]] as the [[Vizier (Fatimid Caliphate)|vizier]] to the teenage Fatimid caliph [[al-Adid]], a power struggle ensued between Shirkuh and Shawar after the latter was reinstated. Saladin, meanwhile, climbed the ranks of the Fatimid government by virtue of his military successes against Crusader assaults as well as his personal closeness to al-Adid. After Shawar was assassinated and Shirkuh died in 1169, al-Adid appointed Saladin as vizier. During his tenure, Saladin, a [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslim]], began to undermine the Fatimid establishment; following al-Adid's death in 1171, he abolished the [[Cairo]]-based [[Ismailism|Isma'ili]] [[Shia Muslim]] Fatimid Caliphate and realigned Egypt with the [[Baghdad]]-based Sunni [[Abbasid Caliphate]].

Saladin was born in [[Tikrit]] in present-day [[Iraq]]. His personal name was "Yusuf"; "Salah ad-Din" is a ''[[laqab]]'', an honorific epithet, meaning "Righteousness of the Faith".<ref>[[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). p. 563.</ref> His family was of [[Kurds|Kurdish]] ancestry,<ref name="Minorsky">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 the Turks." Minorsky (1957): {{Page needed|date=September 2010}}</ref>{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=4}}<ref>The biographer [[Ibn Khallikan]] wrote, "Historians agree in stating that [Saladin's] father and family belonged to [[Dvin (ancient city)|Duwin]].&nbsp;... They were Kurds and belonged to the Rawādiya [sic], which is a branch of the great tribe al-Hadāniya": Minorsky (1953), p. 124.</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=R. Stephen |last=Humphreys |title=From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260 |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=1977 |page=29 |isbn=0-87395-263-4 |quote=Among the free-born amirs the Kurds would seem the most dependent on Saladin's success for the progress of their own fortunes. He too was a Kurd, after all&nbsp;... }}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saladin|title=Saladin|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|date=7 April 2023 |quote=Saladin was born into a prominent Kurdish family.}}</ref> and had originated from the village of Ajdanakan{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=4}} near the city of [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]] in central [[Armenia]].{{sfn|Baha ad-Din|2002|p=17}}{{sfn|Ter-Ghevondyan|1965|p=218}} He was the son of a Kurdish mercenary, [[Najm al-Din Ayyub|Najm ad-Din Ayyub]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MnhDwAAQBAJ&dq=Ayyubid+Kurdish+tribes&pg=PA166 |title=The Crusader States and Their Neighbours: A Military History, 1099–1187 |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-882454-1 |pages=163 |language=en}}</ref> The Rawadiya tribe he hailed from had been partially assimilated into the Arabic-speaking world by this time.{{sfn|Tabbaa|1997|p=31}}

[[File:Coin of Saladin, Nisibin mint, 578 H (Obverse and reverse).jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Saladin, wearing [[Sasanian crowns|Sasanian-style]] merlon crown,<ref>{{Cite web |title=acsearch.info - Auction research |url=https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=saladin&category=1-2&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&images=1&thesaurus=1&order=0&currency=usd&company= |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=www.acsearch.info}}</ref> dated AH 578 (AD 1182/3).<ref>{{cite web |title=Copper alloy dirham of Saladin, Nisibin, 578 H. |url=https://numismatics.org/collection/0000.999.7979 |website=numismatics.org |publisher=[[American Numismatic Society]] |language=en}}</ref>]]

In 1174, Saladin ordered the arrest of a Sufi mystic, Qadid al-Qaffas ({{lang-langx|ar|قديد القفاص}}), in [[Alexandria]].<ref name=":0" /> In 1191, he ordered his son to execute the Sufi philosopher [[Shihab al-Din Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardi|Yahya al-Suhrawardi]], the founder of the [[Illuminationism|Illuminationist]] current in [[Islamic philosophy]], in [[Aleppo]]. Ibn Shaddad, who describes this event as part of his chapter on the sultan's piety, states that Al-Suhrawardi was said to have "rejected the Holy Law and declared it invalid." After consulting with some of the ''[[ulama]]'' (religious scholars), Saladin ordered al-Suhrawardi's execution.<ref name=":0" /> Saladin also opposed the [[Order of Assassins]], an extremist [[Isma'ili]] [[Shi'i]] sect in Iran and Syria, seeing them as heretics and as being too close with the [[Crusades|Crusaders]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book |author=Caldwell Ames |first=Christine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aPgGBwAAQBAJ |title=Medieval Heresies |date=2015 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1107023369 |page=171}}</ref>

[[File:Palmer_cup_left_attendants_(British_Museum).jpg|thumb|[[Ayyubid]] or [[Zengid]] soldiers in [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]]-type clothes<ref>{{cite book |last1=Behrens-Abouseif |first1=Doris |title=Dress and Dress Code in Medieval Cairo: A Mamluk Obsession |chapter=Chapter 12: Mamluk Dress between Text and Image |isbn=9789004684980 |date=1 January 2024 |pages=172–173 |doi=10.1163/9789004684980_013}}</ref> and ''[[sharbush]]'' hats<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Poetry on Enamelled Glass: The Palmer Cup in the British Museum.' In: Ward, R, (ed.), Gilded and Enamelled Glass from the Middle East |publisher=British Museum Press |date=1998 |pages=58–59 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299579571}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Text and Image on Middle Eastern Objects: The Palmer Cup in Context (in A Rothschild Renaissance: A New Look at the Waddesdon Bequest in the British Museum) |date=2017 |publisher=British Museum Research Publications |page=130 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317006955 |quote=The iconography of its figures is very similar to that on the Palmer Cup, in the design of their robes, in the headgear (sharbūsh) and in the way that walking figures are rendered, with one leg straight and the other slightly bent, with a slim foot slightly raised from the ground. Although the candlestick does not have a date, it is securely datable to the early 13th century, as it clearly belongs to a group of metalwork that has now been established as of that period and coming from the Mosul or North Jaziran area. These elements also confirm the early 13th-century date of the Palmer Cup and further support the region of provenance.}}</ref> on the ''[[Palmer Cup]]'' (1200-12151200–1215)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contadini |first1=Anna |title=Arab Painting: Text and Image in Illustrated Arabic Manuscripts |date=2010 |publisher=BRILLBrill |isbn=978-90-04-18630-9 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HA55sqqsaoQC&pg=PA11 |language=en |quote=A case in point is the Ayyubid enamelled beaker known as the Palmer Cup}}</ref>]]

After the sacking of Bilbais, the Crusader-EgyptianCrusader–Egyptian force and Shirkuh's army were to engage in the [[Battle of al-Babein]] on the desert border of the [[River Nile|Nile]], just west of [[Giza]]. Saladin played a major role, commanding the right-wing of the Zengid army, while a force of Kurds commanded the left, and Shirkuh was stationed in the centre. Muslim sources at the time, however, put Saladin in the "baggage of the centre" with orders to lure the enemy into a trap by staging a [[feigned retreat]]. The Crusader force enjoyed early success against Shirkuh's troops, but the terrain was too steep and sandy for their horses, and commander [[Hugh of Caesarea]] was captured while attacking Saladin's unit. After scattered fighting in little valleys to the south of the main position, the Zengid central force returned to the offensive; Saladin joined in from the rear.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=14}}

The battle ended in a Zengid victory, and Saladin is credited with having helped Shirkuh in one of the "most remarkable victories in recorded history", according to [[Ibn al-Athir]], although more of Shirkuh's men were killed and the battle is considered by most sources as not a total victory. Saladin and Shirkuh moved towards [[Alexandria]] where they were welcomed, given money and arms, and provided a base.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=15}} Faced by a superior Crusader–Egyptian force attempting to besiege the city, Shirkuh split his army. He and the bulk of his force withdrew from Alexandria, while Saladin was left with the task of guarding the city, where he was [[Siege of Alexandria (1167)|besieged]].{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=16}}

[[File:Experimental crossbow mounted inside a shield, in the Tabṣira by Murḍi Ibn cĀlī Ibn Murḍi al-Ṭarsūsī written for Saladin, late Fāṭimid or early Ayyūbid Egypt, c.1170 CE (Ms. Hunt.264, f.117, Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK).jpg|thumb|Experimental crossbow mounted inside a shield, in the ''Tabṣira'' by Murḍi Ibn cālī Ibn Murḍi al-Ṭarsūsī written for Saladin, late Fāṭimid or early Ayyūbid Egypt, c.{{circa|1170 CE}} ([[:Commons:Category:Bodleian Library MS Huntington 264|Ms. Hunt.264]], f.117, Bodleian Library, Oxford, UK).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=NIcolle |first1=David |title=The Iconography of a Military Elite (Part II) |journal=Mamluk Studies Review |date=2016 |volume=XIX |page=255, photograph 56 |url=https://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/757/files/MamlukStudiesReview_XIX_2016.pdf}}</ref>]]

[[File:Ayyubids. Egypt. al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin). 1169-1193 CE. Citing Abbasid caliph an-Nasir. Dimashq (Damascus) mint. Dated AH 583 (1187-1188 CE).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Dirham]] of Saladin, 583 AH (1187-881187–88 CE).<br>

[[File:Badr al-Din Lulu frontispiece (guards).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|[[Zengid]] soldiers from [[Mosul]], with swords and the ''[[Qaba|aqbiya turkiyya]]'' coat, ''[[tiraz]]'' armbands, boots and ''[[sharbush]]'' hat. ''[[Kitab al-Aghani]]'', 1218-12191218–1219.<ref name="DSR">{{cite journal |last1=Rice |first1=D. S. |title=The Aghānī Miniatures and Religious Painting in Islam |journal=The Burlington Magazine |date=1953 |volume=95 |issue=601 |page=130 |jstor=871101 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/871101 |issn=0007-6287}}</ref>]]

[[File:Inlaid brass writing box showing 'Scorpio' wearing a mail hauberk, from Mosul AD 1200-1250. (Franks Bequest, British Mus., London).jpg|thumb|left|Detail of inlaid brass writing box, with soldier wearing a [[hauberk]]. [[Mosul]], 1230-12501230–1250 CE, British Museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pen-box British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1884-0704-85 |website=www.britishmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicolle |first1=David |title=Men-at-arms series 171 -– Saladin and the saracens |date=1997 |publisher=Osprey publishing |url=https://www.ghazali.org/saladin/maas-171.pdf |page=14}}</ref>]]

The armies of Saladin engaged in combat with the army of King Richard at the [[Battle of Arsuf]] on 7 September 1191, at which Saladin's forces suffered heavy losses and were forced to withdraw. After the battle of Arsuf, Richard occupied Jaffa, restoring the city's fortifications. Meanwhile, Saladin moved south, where he dismantled the fortifications of Ascalon to prevent this strategically important city, which lay at the junction between Egypt and Palestine, from falling into Crusader hands.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tyerman|first=Christopher|author-link = Christopher Tyerman|title=God's War|url=https://archive.org/details/godswarnewhistor00tyer|url-access=registration|date=2006|publisher=Harvard University Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/godswarnewhistor00tyer/page/460 460–462]|isbn=978-0674023871|edition=First1st}}</ref>

In October 1191, Richard began restoring the inland castles on the coastal plain beyond Jaffa in preparation for an advance on Jerusalem. During this period, Richard and Saladin passed envoys back and forth, negotiating the possibility of a truce.<ref>{{cite book|last=Madden|first=Thomas|title=The New Concise History of the Crusades|date=2006|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|pages=90–91|edition=First1st}}</ref> Richard proposed that his sister [[Joan of England, Queen of Sicily|Joan]] should marry Saladin's brother and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bishop|first=Morris|title=The Middle Ages|year=2001|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|location=Boston|isbn=061805703X|page=[https://archive.org/details/middleages00bish_0/page/102 102]|url=https://archive.org/details/middleages00bish_0/page/102}}</ref> However, Saladin rejected this idea when Richard insisted that Saladin's brother convert to Christianity. Richard suggested that his niece [[Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany]] be the bride instead, an idea that Saladin also rejected.<ref>{{cite book|last=Madden|first=Thomas|title=The New Concise History of the Crusades|date=2006|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers|page=91|edition=First1st}}</ref>

Saladin has become a prominent figure in [[Islamic culture| Islamic]], [[Arab culture |Arab]], [[Turkish culture |Turkish]] and [[Kurdish culture]],<ref>''Moors' Islamic Cultural Home souvenir III, 1970–1976'' Islamic Cultural Home, 1978, p. 7.</ref> and he has been described as the most famous Kurd in history.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gunter, Michael M. |title=Historical Dictionary of the Kurds |date=2010 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810875074 |edition=2 |page=xxiii |author-link=Michael M. Gunter}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Hillenbrand, Carole |title=The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives |date=1999 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1579582104 |edition=illustrated |page=594 |author-link=Carole Hillenbrand}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Catherwood, Christopher |title=Making War In The Name Of God |date=2008 |publisher=Kensington Publishing Corp. |isbn=978-0806531670 |page=36 |author-link=Christopher Catherwood}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Dunnigan, James F. |url=https://archive.org/details/quickdirtyguidet00dunn/page/174 |title=A Quick & Dirty Guide to War: Briefings on Present and Potential Wars |date=1991 |publisher=Quill/W. Morrow |isbn=978-0688100339 |edition=3,3rd illustrated, revised |page=[https://archive.org/details/quickdirtyguidet00dunn/page/174 174] |author-link=Jim Dunnigan}}</ref> Historian [[Usama ibn Munqidh|ibn Munqidh]] mentioned him as the person who revived the reign{{clarify |How does one "revive the reign" of long-dead rulers? Maybe the legacy? |date= May 2024}} of ''[[Rashidun Caliph]]s''. The Turkish writer [[Mehmet Akif Ersoy]] called him the most beloved [[sultan]] of the Orient.<ref name="İÂ" />

Although Saladin faded into history after the [[Middle Ages]], he appears in a sympathetic light in modern literature, first in [[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing|Lessing]]'s play ''[[Nathan the Wise]]'' (1779), which transfers the central idea of "Saladin's table" to the post-medieval world. He is a central character in Sir [[Walter Scott]]'s novel ''[[The Talisman (Scott novel)|The Talisman]]'' (1825), which more than any other single text influenced the romantic view of Saladin. Scott presented Saladin as a "modern [19th-century] liberal European gentlemen, beside whom medieval Westerners would always have made a poor showing".{{sfn|Riley-Smith|2008|p=67}} 20th-century French author [[Albert Champdor]] described him as ''"Le plus pur héros de l'Islam"'' ({{lang-langx|en|The purest Hero of Islam}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cahen |first1=Claude |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b7sieLyg-EEC&dq=champdor+historian&pg=PA166 |title=Introduction to the History of the Muslim East: A Bibliographical Guide |last2=Sauvaget |first2=Jean |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1965 |page=166 |language=en |chapter=The Seljuks and Their Descendants – Historical Bibliography}}</ref> Despite the Crusaders' slaughter when they originally conquered Jerusalem in 1099, Saladin granted amnesty and free passage to all common Catholics and even to the defeated Christian army, as long as they were able to pay the aforementioned ransom (the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] Christians were treated even better because they often opposed the western Crusaders).{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Mark Cartwright, the publishing director of ''[[World History Encyclopedia]]'', writes: "Indeed, it is somewhat ironic that the Muslim leader became one of the great exemplars of chivalry in 13th century European literature. Much has been written about the sultan during his own lifetime and since, but the fact that an appreciation for his diplomacy and leadership skills can be found in both contemporary Muslim and Christian sources would suggest that Saladin is indeed worthy of his position as one of the great medieval leaders."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Cartwright |first1=Mark |title=Saladin |date=30 August 2018 |encyclopedia=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Saladin/}}</ref>

* Saladin appears as the leader of the Arabian civilization in several installments of Sid Meier's "''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]"'' video game series.<ref>{{cite web |title=Civilization IV: Civilizations |url=https://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/civilopedia/civilizations/ |website=Civilization Fanatics Center |date=4 August 2009 |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730052110/https://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/civilopedia/civilizations/ |archive-date=30 July 2022 |language=English |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Civilization VI: Saladin Leads Arabia |url=https://civilization.com/en-GB/news/entries/civilization-vi-saladin-leads-arabia/ |website=Civilization® VI – The Official Site |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730052532/https://civilization.com/news/entries/civilization-vi-saladin-leads-arabia/ |archive-date=30 July 2022 |language=English |url-status=live}}</ref> He also appears as the leader of the [[Ayyubids]] in the "Into the Renaissance" scenario from the [[Gods & Kings]] expansion for ''[[Civilization V]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Into the Renaissance {{!}} Scenarios – Sid Meier's Civilization V – Gods & Kings Game Guide |url=https://guides.gamepressure.com/civ5gk/guide.asp?ID=15513 |website=Game Guides |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730053748/https://guides.gamepressure.com/civ5gk/ |archive-date=30 July 2022 |language=English |date=11 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

* The popular real-time strategy video game ''[[Age of Empires II|Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings]]'' features a campaign based on the exploits of Saladin.