How Palestine was liberated: The birth of a legend
Some figures in history take on an image that becomes larger than life. Tales are written of them; some true, some not. And the truth of the figures themselves, who they were and what they were, becomes hazy amid all the tales and myths that surround them.
Salaah ad-Din (Latinized: Saladin) was one such figure.
Who was Salaah ad-Din?
Salaah ad-Din was born in Tikrit in 532 Hijri to its governor, Ayyub ibn Shadi. Ayyub himself was born in Dvin, a city in medieval Armenia. The family was Kurdish.
“Later it came about that he [Ayyub] was transferred from Tikrit to the city of Mosul, and his child moved with him and there resided until he came of age.”
~ Bahaa ad-Din ibn Shaddad, Salaah ad-Din’s ‘judge of the army’ and biographer
Saladin then moved with his father to Baalbek, where he served under him. He was later summoned by Nur ad-Din Mahmoud, for whom he also served. He fought against the Shawar-Crusader alliance in Egypt and became the Vizier there after his uncle’s death in 564 Hijri. His father died four years later.
The Error of Arrogance and Underestimation
According to Muslim chroniclers, his appointment as Vizier of Egypt was a result of a miscalculation by the Fatimids themselves. Having just recently reclaimed a semblance of real authority over his domain, the Fatimid Caliph al-ʿAdid li-Din Allah sought a vizier and commander who would be more amenable and less ambitious than previous viziers. After listening to petitions from more senior officers who came along with Shirkuh, he spoke with Salaah ad-Din.
“[Fatimid Caliph] Al-Adid sent for Salaah ad-Din…and appointed him to the Vizierate.
What led to him doing that was that his companions told him: There is none in the group weaker nor younger in age than [Salaah ad-Din] Yusuf [ibn Ayyub]. And the advice is that he would take the position, for he will not veer away from our control. Then we’ll place in charge of the armies who will sway them to us…then we’ll take Yusuf or expel him.”
~ ibn al-Athir
Salaah ad-Din, who was initially reluctant to travel to Egypt, had just risen from a general in Nur ad-Din’s army to become the Vizier of all of Egypt, and, soon, its de facto ruler.
Garnering Support
At first, the emirs Nur ad-Din sent with Shirkuh and who remained in Egypt ignored Salaah ad-Din’s orders and commands as they sought to ensure his failure and replace him themselves. Through diplomacy, however, he won over them one by one, save for Ain al-Dawla al-Yarouqi who returned to Nur ad-Din’s court.
Salaah ad-Din then sent word to his family and invited them to Egypt, granting them governorship over segments of Egypt that he confiscated from former Egyptian emirs in exchange for their loyalty and obedience.
And thus began Salaah ad-Din’s reign.
More Conspiracies and Turmoil
Remnants of the old regime continued to conspire to oust Salaah ad-Din and take control of the vizierate of Egypt and the real power it offered. One rider was caught with a letter to the crusaders pleading for their support against Salaah ad-Din and promising them support should they attack him. The eunuch who initiated that plot waited for a reply, but never received it. Fearing that his plan was discovered, he remained in his palace until he could not stand the isolation and monotony any longer and traveled to his village. When Salaah ad-Din heard of this, he sent out a group of his men after him. They captured him and beheaded him and brought his head to Salaah ad-DIn.
In hopes to crush any potential conspiracies against him in the future, Salaah ad-Din removed all former servants of the Fatimid caliph’s palace and replaced them with those loyal to him.
The killing of the black eunuch enraged black units in the Fatimid army. They gathered and attacked Salaah ad-Din’s forces, but were successfully defeated, repelled, chased, and killed.
Having successfully removed the larger internal threats against him in Egypt, Salaah ad-Din would face his first major external challenge as a Crusader force marched on to Damietta. And a new phase in the war for Outremer and its surroundings had begun.
