Sa‘id Pasha
Sa‘id Pasha (b. 1822, Cairo, Egypt - d. January 18, 1863, Alexandria, Egypt). Khedive of Egypt (r.1854-1863). He relieved the economic position of the people by promulgating an agrarian law, attempted to abolish the slave trade, and in 1856 granted to Ferdinand de Lesseps the permit to construct the Suez Canal. The town of Port Said is named after him.
Sa’id Pasha was the Ottoman viceroy (khedive) of Egypt (1854–63) whose administrative policies fostered the development of individual landownership and reduced the influence of the sheikhs (village headmen).
Saʿīd was the fourth son of Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha, viceroy of Egypt (1805–48). While still a child, he was compelled on orders from his father to make daily rounds of the European consuls residing in Egypt in order to overcome his shyness and improve his French. As a result he befriended Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul. Their friendship would lead to the construction of the Suez Canal years later. During the reign of his father, Saʿīd became head of the navy, a position he retained during the rule of ʿAbbās I (1848–54) despite their mutual enmity.
In 1854, Saʿīd succeeded ʿAbbās as viceroy of Egypt. He was influenced by Western forms of landownership, and, under pressure from Western financiers to change Egypt’s traditional system of land tenure, he enacted, in 1855, a law that permitted the male descendants of a peasant to inherit his land. Three years later, Saʿīd passed another law limiting land inheritance to Muslims, thus considerably reducing the circle of relatives entitled to an inheritance. Few peasants owned land, however, and these provisions had limited applicability. To correct the situation, an article in the second law provided that a peasant who held a plot of land for five consecutive years and paid the taxes on it would acquire irrevocable ownership and the right to sell, mortgage, or exchange his land.
This increase in the property rights of peasants was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the authority of the sheikhs, who lost the right to distribute land among the peasants, either on the death of a peasant or at periodic intervals. Saʿīd abolished the collective responsibility of a village for payment of taxes, a practice that had permitted the sheikhs to divide the village tax burden among the peasants, and he levied taxes directly on individual cultivators. He also confiscated some of the land held by the sheikhs and drafted their sons, who had hitherto been exempt, into the army.
Saʿīd attempted innovations in other areas. In 1861 he established a commission to work out a municipal code for Egyptian cities. Nothing came of this initiative, largely because of the opposition of foreign powers. Saʿīd also unsuccessfully attempted to end the flourishing slave trade by banning the importation of slaves from the Sudan. One of his most momentous acts was to grant a concession to a French company in 1856 for the construction of the Suez Canal. By 1859, both Saʿīd and the Ottoman sultan had come to oppose the plan, and, for the rest of Saʿīd’s reign, work continued on the canal without official permission.
Sa’id Pasha was the Ottoman viceroy (khedive) of Egypt (1854–63) whose administrative policies fostered the development of individual landownership and reduced the influence of the sheikhs (village headmen).
Saʿīd was the fourth son of Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha, viceroy of Egypt (1805–48). While still a child, he was compelled on orders from his father to make daily rounds of the European consuls residing in Egypt in order to overcome his shyness and improve his French. As a result he befriended Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul. Their friendship would lead to the construction of the Suez Canal years later. During the reign of his father, Saʿīd became head of the navy, a position he retained during the rule of ʿAbbās I (1848–54) despite their mutual enmity.
In 1854, Saʿīd succeeded ʿAbbās as viceroy of Egypt. He was influenced by Western forms of landownership, and, under pressure from Western financiers to change Egypt’s traditional system of land tenure, he enacted, in 1855, a law that permitted the male descendants of a peasant to inherit his land. Three years later, Saʿīd passed another law limiting land inheritance to Muslims, thus considerably reducing the circle of relatives entitled to an inheritance. Few peasants owned land, however, and these provisions had limited applicability. To correct the situation, an article in the second law provided that a peasant who held a plot of land for five consecutive years and paid the taxes on it would acquire irrevocable ownership and the right to sell, mortgage, or exchange his land.
This increase in the property rights of peasants was accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the authority of the sheikhs, who lost the right to distribute land among the peasants, either on the death of a peasant or at periodic intervals. Saʿīd abolished the collective responsibility of a village for payment of taxes, a practice that had permitted the sheikhs to divide the village tax burden among the peasants, and he levied taxes directly on individual cultivators. He also confiscated some of the land held by the sheikhs and drafted their sons, who had hitherto been exempt, into the army.
Saʿīd attempted innovations in other areas. In 1861 he established a commission to work out a municipal code for Egyptian cities. Nothing came of this initiative, largely because of the opposition of foreign powers. Saʿīd also unsuccessfully attempted to end the flourishing slave trade by banning the importation of slaves from the Sudan. One of his most momentous acts was to grant a concession to a French company in 1856 for the construction of the Suez Canal. By 1859, both Saʿīd and the Ottoman sultan had come to oppose the plan, and, for the rest of Saʿīd’s reign, work continued on the canal without official permission.
Saint
Saint (Wali) (Wilayah) (Walayah). The word “saint” and “sainthood” are used cross-culturally to describe persons of exceptional spiritual merit and the status attained by such persons. These terms are originally derived from Christian experience. It must not be assumed that all features of Christian sainthood are reproduced in Islam.
The approximate equivalent in Arabic to “saint” is wali (plural, awliya’); wilayah or walayah may be translated as “sainthood.” The literal meaning of wali is “friend,” “helper,” or “patron.” There is no passage in the Qur’an that explicitly recognizes saints or sanctions the institution of sainthood. In fact, the message of the Qur’an regarding wali is quite different. It repeatedly emphasizes that God and God alone is the wali of the believers and that there is no wali or helper but God. {See Suras 2:107, 2:120, 3:68, 9:116; and 18.26.} Humankind is sternly warned against taking “friends” or seeking aid from any but God (see Suras 6:14 and 42:9), as have the wrongdoers who take each other as friends (see Suras 8:73 and 45:19) and those who are the awliya’ of Satan instead of God (see Suras 4:76, 7:30 and 16:63). In addition, the Qur’an disallows intercession (shafa‘ah) by any but God (see Suras 2:48 and 74:48). There is neither wali nor shafi’ (intercessor) except God (see Sura 6:51).
Nevertheless, those who read wali as “saint” have found support in the scriptures. The revelation mentions that the believers may be “friends” to one another (see Suras 5:55 and 9:71), and some Sufi exegetes have interpreted verse 62 of the tenth surah of the Qur’an – “As for the friends (awliya’) of God, no fear shall come upon thme, nor shall they grieve” -- as referring to a class of persons selected by God for special favor, possessing esoteric knowledge, or even guarded from committing major sins. Sufi exegesis has sometimes seized on qualifying phrases in verses banning intercession -- for instance, “There is no intercessor except by His permission” (see Sura 10:3).-- to suggest that there are indeed some granted special favor by God who may intercede on behalf of others. The Sufis also point to a number of hadiths that describe the qualities and privileges of awliya.
Sainthood in Islam is informal. Saints become saints by acclamation. There is no process of canonization and no constituted body to apply it, as in Catholicism. Consequently, there are many types of saints. Popular saints are the focus of local cults emerging from a stratum of pre-Islamic religion. These saints are associated with simple shrines or even natural objects such as springs or trees, and their veneration involves a variety of folk practices. A large number of such saints are found in North Africa, where they are known as murabit (“he who watches [through the night over his soul]” -- in French, marabout). A host of popular saints was once venerated by the Arab population of Palestine, and similar figures are still a focus of folk religious life in present day Lebanon. In Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Anatolia some saints were formerly shared by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim worshipers, but as political events and social developments have separated these religious groups, ecumenical saint-worship has declined.
Sufism has served in the past to absorb local customs and culture and to bring non-Islamic and peasant populations into the fold of Islam. Thus, the majority of popular saints are also Sufi saints. The tombs of such saints often serve as the focal point of the Sufi lodges (khanaqah, ribat, zawiyah, or tekke) in which members of the fraternities reside or meet and Sufi ceremonies are performed. The anniversary of the birth or death of the saint (mawlid) may involve a more elaborate festival featuring songs and processions. Some Sufi shaykhs, unlike Christian saints, are acclaimed as saints while still living. These may be called on to dispense advice and mediate disputes. Sufi sainthood, in any case, has fulfilled and continues to fulfill an important social function, as saintly authority sometimes remains in one family through generations, and tribal and other social structures are reinforced through allegiance to particular saints.
Another category of saints is the past saints of Sufi legend. Most of these are not identified with tombs. Their memorials are contained instead in brief tales of their wise sayings, virtues, and miracles related in the biographical anecdotes that comprise an important part of Sufi literature. (Some contemporary saints have been the subjects of mroe lengthy biographies.) A significant number of popular, Sufi, and legendary saints are women. Muslim women, it seems, have found it easier to gain spiritual fame outside of mainstream Islam.
Finally, Sufi mystical speculation presents an elaborate hierarchy of saints. These awliya’ comprise a divinely elected class, according to some accounts numbering several hundred. Their existence is said to be as necessary as that of the prophets, the chief of them being the “pole” (qutb) around which the very universe revolves.
The mainstream Twelver Shi‘as do not speak of saints, since the spiritual rank of wilayah is already occupied by their imams who, much like the Sufi saints, are God’s elect, sustain the existence of the world, worked miracles in their lifetime, and continue to intercede for their followers with God. Iranian Shiism, however, does allow for a kind of lesser sainthood and absorption of local pilgrimage sites and folk practices by attaching these to relatives of the imams. There are many such imamzadah (“related to the imams”) shrines in Iran, some rather rudimentary and doubtful but nevertheless still active. A large and elaborate shrine has lately been constructed over the remains of Ayatollah Khomeini near the Bihisht-i Zahra cemetery outside Tehran and is already a favorite place of pilgrimage. Khomeini has certainly become a “saint” in a practical, if not theological, sense. His charisma far outweighs that of any other deceased member of the religious hierarchy, and he may well become the only true Shi‘a saint apart from the imams and imamzadahs.
The chief function of the Islamic saints, similar to that of the Christian saints, is to intercede with God on behalf of those who appeal to them. The power the saints are granted to facilitate the affairs of tehir devotees and smooth their way to God is called barakah or “blessing.” The tombs of the saints -- or, during their lives, their residences -- are the object of pilgrimage (ziyarah) by those who hope to obtain this barakah. Barakah is often thought to be transferred by physical touch from the tomb or person of the saint to the petitioner. Some popular saints are noted for dispensing particular kinds of favors: for instance, a female saint may be expert in granting children to the women who specially visit her or otherwise settling domestic matters. Allegiance to saints, saint pilgrimage, and seeking of barakah have lessened with modern times, particularly with the decline of Sufism. These practices, however, do survive, particularly among urban poor and rural populations.
Some Muslims have been opposed to sainthood as being un-Islamic in both conception and practice; the Qur’anic texts referred to above enter into this controversy. Seeking intercession, belief in miracles, and pilgrimages to saints’ tombs have been particularly disapproved. The dangers in these are thought to be violation of monotheism and setting up others as equal to the Prophet. An effort was made by the theologians to admit sainthood while protecting the position of the prophets by distinguishing the full-blown miracles (mu‘jizat) of the former from the mere “charismata” (karamat) of the latter. Some written creeds even listed belief in the awliya’ as an article of faith. Nevertheless, sainthood and saint worship were frequent targets of the orthodox ‘ulama’. Ibn Taymiyah (d. 1328) was perhaps the most prominent critic of sainthood. He vigorously condemned the visiting of tombs and other popular practices as corruption of the true religion. Ibn Taymiyah has influenced many Islamic thinkers to seek a return to pure, “original” Islam, and they have also followed him in condemning sainthood. The present Saudi regime upholds Wahhabism, a movement originating in the Arabian Peninsula in the eighteenth century that also traces its spiritual descent to Ibn Taymiyah. The government and religious hierarchy of Saudi Arabia thus seek to suppress any manifestation of saint worship. This is particularly significant since the Saudis have great religious influence in the Muslim world. A second type of criticism of sainthood is exclusively modern. This trend of thought sees saint worship as a prime manifestation of the irrationality and obscurantism which has weakened the Muslim world. The Egyptian reformer Muhammad Rashid Rida (d. 1935) was one of those who expressed this opinion. The revered Pakistani thinker Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) and other subcontinental modernists have also considered the numerous local saints (called pirs, “elders”) as founts of superstition and upholders of the feudal system and have thus called for the elimination of “pirism.”
Saints and their shrines have often been centers of political power. Within the context of the modern nation-state, governments have tried either to suppress or to co-opt saintly institutions. The secularizing measures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s included suppression of the Turkish shrines and devaluing of saintly personality. In Pakistan, various regimes have combined programs tending to strike at the economic and spiritual authority of living pirs with a conspicuous effort to make the state the overseer of the shrines and to patronize ceremonies associated with them. The pirs have responded to this by competing in the political system -- for instance by influencing or putting up candidates -- and have thus managed to maintain some independence and defend their interests. The Egyptian government has lately found it useful to patronize the saints and protect pilgrims and festivals in order to counter the Islamists who, in true fundamentalist fashion, abhor saint-worship. Armed soldiers can be seen around some shrines at festival times. It seems that devotion to the saints is considered a politically safe diversion for the urbanizing masses.
Wali see Saint
Wilayah see Saint
Walayah see Saint
Saint (Wali) (Wilayah) (Walayah). The word “saint” and “sainthood” are used cross-culturally to describe persons of exceptional spiritual merit and the status attained by such persons. These terms are originally derived from Christian experience. It must not be assumed that all features of Christian sainthood are reproduced in Islam.
The approximate equivalent in Arabic to “saint” is wali (plural, awliya’); wilayah or walayah may be translated as “sainthood.” The literal meaning of wali is “friend,” “helper,” or “patron.” There is no passage in the Qur’an that explicitly recognizes saints or sanctions the institution of sainthood. In fact, the message of the Qur’an regarding wali is quite different. It repeatedly emphasizes that God and God alone is the wali of the believers and that there is no wali or helper but God. {See Suras 2:107, 2:120, 3:68, 9:116; and 18.26.} Humankind is sternly warned against taking “friends” or seeking aid from any but God (see Suras 6:14 and 42:9), as have the wrongdoers who take each other as friends (see Suras 8:73 and 45:19) and those who are the awliya’ of Satan instead of God (see Suras 4:76, 7:30 and 16:63). In addition, the Qur’an disallows intercession (shafa‘ah) by any but God (see Suras 2:48 and 74:48). There is neither wali nor shafi’ (intercessor) except God (see Sura 6:51).
Nevertheless, those who read wali as “saint” have found support in the scriptures. The revelation mentions that the believers may be “friends” to one another (see Suras 5:55 and 9:71), and some Sufi exegetes have interpreted verse 62 of the tenth surah of the Qur’an – “As for the friends (awliya’) of God, no fear shall come upon thme, nor shall they grieve” -- as referring to a class of persons selected by God for special favor, possessing esoteric knowledge, or even guarded from committing major sins. Sufi exegesis has sometimes seized on qualifying phrases in verses banning intercession -- for instance, “There is no intercessor except by His permission” (see Sura 10:3).-- to suggest that there are indeed some granted special favor by God who may intercede on behalf of others. The Sufis also point to a number of hadiths that describe the qualities and privileges of awliya.
Sainthood in Islam is informal. Saints become saints by acclamation. There is no process of canonization and no constituted body to apply it, as in Catholicism. Consequently, there are many types of saints. Popular saints are the focus of local cults emerging from a stratum of pre-Islamic religion. These saints are associated with simple shrines or even natural objects such as springs or trees, and their veneration involves a variety of folk practices. A large number of such saints are found in North Africa, where they are known as murabit (“he who watches [through the night over his soul]” -- in French, marabout). A host of popular saints was once venerated by the Arab population of Palestine, and similar figures are still a focus of folk religious life in present day Lebanon. In Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Anatolia some saints were formerly shared by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim worshipers, but as political events and social developments have separated these religious groups, ecumenical saint-worship has declined.
Sufism has served in the past to absorb local customs and culture and to bring non-Islamic and peasant populations into the fold of Islam. Thus, the majority of popular saints are also Sufi saints. The tombs of such saints often serve as the focal point of the Sufi lodges (khanaqah, ribat, zawiyah, or tekke) in which members of the fraternities reside or meet and Sufi ceremonies are performed. The anniversary of the birth or death of the saint (mawlid) may involve a more elaborate festival featuring songs and processions. Some Sufi shaykhs, unlike Christian saints, are acclaimed as saints while still living. These may be called on to dispense advice and mediate disputes. Sufi sainthood, in any case, has fulfilled and continues to fulfill an important social function, as saintly authority sometimes remains in one family through generations, and tribal and other social structures are reinforced through allegiance to particular saints.
Another category of saints is the past saints of Sufi legend. Most of these are not identified with tombs. Their memorials are contained instead in brief tales of their wise sayings, virtues, and miracles related in the biographical anecdotes that comprise an important part of Sufi literature. (Some contemporary saints have been the subjects of mroe lengthy biographies.) A significant number of popular, Sufi, and legendary saints are women. Muslim women, it seems, have found it easier to gain spiritual fame outside of mainstream Islam.
Finally, Sufi mystical speculation presents an elaborate hierarchy of saints. These awliya’ comprise a divinely elected class, according to some accounts numbering several hundred. Their existence is said to be as necessary as that of the prophets, the chief of them being the “pole” (qutb) around which the very universe revolves.
The mainstream Twelver Shi‘as do not speak of saints, since the spiritual rank of wilayah is already occupied by their imams who, much like the Sufi saints, are God’s elect, sustain the existence of the world, worked miracles in their lifetime, and continue to intercede for their followers with God. Iranian Shiism, however, does allow for a kind of lesser sainthood and absorption of local pilgrimage sites and folk practices by attaching these to relatives of the imams. There are many such imamzadah (“related to the imams”) shrines in Iran, some rather rudimentary and doubtful but nevertheless still active. A large and elaborate shrine has lately been constructed over the remains of Ayatollah Khomeini near the Bihisht-i Zahra cemetery outside Tehran and is already a favorite place of pilgrimage. Khomeini has certainly become a “saint” in a practical, if not theological, sense. His charisma far outweighs that of any other deceased member of the religious hierarchy, and he may well become the only true Shi‘a saint apart from the imams and imamzadahs.
The chief function of the Islamic saints, similar to that of the Christian saints, is to intercede with God on behalf of those who appeal to them. The power the saints are granted to facilitate the affairs of tehir devotees and smooth their way to God is called barakah or “blessing.” The tombs of the saints -- or, during their lives, their residences -- are the object of pilgrimage (ziyarah) by those who hope to obtain this barakah. Barakah is often thought to be transferred by physical touch from the tomb or person of the saint to the petitioner. Some popular saints are noted for dispensing particular kinds of favors: for instance, a female saint may be expert in granting children to the women who specially visit her or otherwise settling domestic matters. Allegiance to saints, saint pilgrimage, and seeking of barakah have lessened with modern times, particularly with the decline of Sufism. These practices, however, do survive, particularly among urban poor and rural populations.
Some Muslims have been opposed to sainthood as being un-Islamic in both conception and practice; the Qur’anic texts referred to above enter into this controversy. Seeking intercession, belief in miracles, and pilgrimages to saints’ tombs have been particularly disapproved. The dangers in these are thought to be violation of monotheism and setting up others as equal to the Prophet. An effort was made by the theologians to admit sainthood while protecting the position of the prophets by distinguishing the full-blown miracles (mu‘jizat) of the former from the mere “charismata” (karamat) of the latter. Some written creeds even listed belief in the awliya’ as an article of faith. Nevertheless, sainthood and saint worship were frequent targets of the orthodox ‘ulama’. Ibn Taymiyah (d. 1328) was perhaps the most prominent critic of sainthood. He vigorously condemned the visiting of tombs and other popular practices as corruption of the true religion. Ibn Taymiyah has influenced many Islamic thinkers to seek a return to pure, “original” Islam, and they have also followed him in condemning sainthood. The present Saudi regime upholds Wahhabism, a movement originating in the Arabian Peninsula in the eighteenth century that also traces its spiritual descent to Ibn Taymiyah. The government and religious hierarchy of Saudi Arabia thus seek to suppress any manifestation of saint worship. This is particularly significant since the Saudis have great religious influence in the Muslim world. A second type of criticism of sainthood is exclusively modern. This trend of thought sees saint worship as a prime manifestation of the irrationality and obscurantism which has weakened the Muslim world. The Egyptian reformer Muhammad Rashid Rida (d. 1935) was one of those who expressed this opinion. The revered Pakistani thinker Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938) and other subcontinental modernists have also considered the numerous local saints (called pirs, “elders”) as founts of superstition and upholders of the feudal system and have thus called for the elimination of “pirism.”
Saints and their shrines have often been centers of political power. Within the context of the modern nation-state, governments have tried either to suppress or to co-opt saintly institutions. The secularizing measures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1920s included suppression of the Turkish shrines and devaluing of saintly personality. In Pakistan, various regimes have combined programs tending to strike at the economic and spiritual authority of living pirs with a conspicuous effort to make the state the overseer of the shrines and to patronize ceremonies associated with them. The pirs have responded to this by competing in the political system -- for instance by influencing or putting up candidates -- and have thus managed to maintain some independence and defend their interests. The Egyptian government has lately found it useful to patronize the saints and protect pilgrims and festivals in order to counter the Islamists who, in true fundamentalist fashion, abhor saint-worship. Armed soldiers can be seen around some shrines at festival times. It seems that devotion to the saints is considered a politically safe diversion for the urbanizing masses.
Wali see Saint
Wilayah see Saint
Walayah see Saint
Sa’iqa
Sa’iqa (As-Sa'iqa) (Al-Saika) (Saika) (Saeqa). Arabic term which means “lightning.” Sa’iqa is the name of a Palestinian-Syrian organization in existence since 1968.
As-Sa'iqa (from Arabic meaning storm or thunderbolt; also known as the Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War) was a Palestinian Baathist political and military faction created and controlled by Syria. It is the Palestinian branch of the Syrian Ba'th Party, and was a member organization of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
As-Sa'iqa was formed as an organization by the Syrian Ba'th Party in September 1966, but was first activated in December 1968, when Syria tried to build up an alternative to Yassir Arafat, then emerging with his Fatah faction as the primary Palestinian fedayeen leader and politician. As-Sa'iqa was initially the second-largest group within the PLO, after Fatah.
As-Sa'iqa was also used in the Ba'thist power struggle then in play in Syria, by President Salah Jadid to counter the ambitions of Defence Minister Hafez al-Assad. When al-Assad seized power in the November 1970 "Corrective Revolution", the organization was purged and its leadership replaced with al-Assad loyalists (although Jadid loyalists held on to the as-Sai'qa branch active in the Palestinian camps in Jordan until mid-1971, when they were arrested). As new Secretary-General (after Mahmud al-Ma'ayta, who had recently succeeded Yusuf Zu'ayyin), al-Assad chose Zuhayr Muhsin, a Palestinian Ba'thist who had come to Syria as a refugee from Jordan. He was repeatedly promoted by Syria as a candidate for the post as Chairman of the PLO, to replace Arafat, but never gained support from other factions.
The organization was, and is, utilized by Syria as a proxy force in the Palestinian movement. While this prevented as-Sa'iqa from gaining widespread popularity among Palestinians, it became an important force in the Palestinian camps in Syria, as well as in Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, Syria built the movement into one of the most important Palestinian fighting units, but also forced it to join in Syrian offensives against the PLO when relations between al-Assad and Arafat soured. This led to as-Sa'iqa's expulsion from the PLO in 1976, but it was re-admitted in December the same year, after the situation had cooled down, and after Syria named this as a condition for further support for the PLO. The attacks on the PLO led to large-scale defections of Syrian-based Palestinians from the movement. As Saiqa was as well responsible of the Damour Massacre in 1976 and many other barbaric mass murders.
After Muhsin's assassination in 1979, 'Isam al-Qadi became the new Secretary-General. The movement remained active during the Lebanese Civil War, and again joined Syria, the Lebanese Shi'a Amal Movement and Abu Musa's Fatah al-Intifada in attacks on the PLO during the War of the Camps in 1984-85, and for the remainder of the Civil War (which lasted until 1990). This again led to mass-defections of Palestinians from the movement, and reportedly its ranks were filled with non-Palestinian Syrian army recruits. After the end of the Civil War, the movement was nearly out of contact with the PLO mainstream, and exerted influence only in Syria and in Syrian-occupied parts of Lebanon. It kept lobbying within the PLO against the various peace proposals advanced by Arafat, and was part of the Syrian-based National Alliance that opposed Arafat.
After the end of the Lebanese Civil War and the 1993 signing of the Oslo Peace Agreement, as-Sai'qa has largely lost its usefulness to the Syrian government, and the state and size of the organization has deteriorated. Today, it is wholly insignificant outside Syria, although it retains a presence in Lebanon (its future is uncertain after the end in 2005 of the Syrian Army's presence in Lebanon). It is extremely weak in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and was not active during the al-Aqsa Intifada. Its importance to Syria lessened, both because the PLO diminished in importance compared to the Palestinian National Authority (which as-Sai'qa boycotted), and because Damascus changed its strategy to supporting the Palestinian Islamist factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
As-Sa'iqa was led by a Secretary-General. It had a representative on the PLO Executive Committee, but he boycotted sessions of the PLO EC. During much of the 1970s, as-Sai'qa's representatives in the PLO EC held the prestigious and sensitive post as Head of the Military Department, which reflected the military importance of the movement in these years.
Syrian backing in the 1970s gave as-Sa'iqa a military weight far greater than its political influence, which had always been small. During the Lebanese civil war, as-Sa'iqa was often the second largest Palestinian faction in fighting strength, after Yassir Arafat's Fatah movement.
Under the name Eagles of the Palestinian Revolution - possibly the name of the armed wing of as-Sa'iqa - the organization committed a number of international terrorist attacks. Among these are the 1979 takeover of the Egyptian embassy in Ankara, Turkey and a kidnapping of Jews emigrating by train through Austria from the Soviet Union to Israel. After the early 1990s, the organization did not commit any known attacks, and was not listed on the United States State Department's List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
As-Sa'iqa's political agenda is identical to that of Ba'thist Syria, i.e. Arab socialist, nationalist and strongly committed to Pan-Arab doctrine. While this reflects its Ba'thist program, it also used Pan-Arabism as a means of supporting the primacy of its sponsor, Syria, over the Arafat-led PLO's claim to exclusive representation of the Palestinian people. Thus, it rejected "Palestinization" of the conflict with Israel, insisting on the necessary involvement of the greater Arab nation. This occasionally went to extremes, with as-Sa'iqa leaders denying the existence of a separate Palestinian people within the wider Arab nation.
The group generally took a hard line stance (reflecting that of Syria) on issues such as the recognition of Israel, the Oslo Accords, and other questions of Palestinian goals and political orientation. It was a member of the 1974 Rejectionist Front, despite supporting the Ten Point Program that initially caused the PLO/Rejectionist Front split.
Saika see Sa’iqa
As-Sa'iqa see Sa’iqa
Al-Saika see Sa’iqa
Saeqa see Sa’iqa
Lightning see Sa’iqa
Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War see Sa’iqa
Sa’iqa (As-Sa'iqa) (Al-Saika) (Saika) (Saeqa). Arabic term which means “lightning.” Sa’iqa is the name of a Palestinian-Syrian organization in existence since 1968.
As-Sa'iqa (from Arabic meaning storm or thunderbolt; also known as the Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War) was a Palestinian Baathist political and military faction created and controlled by Syria. It is the Palestinian branch of the Syrian Ba'th Party, and was a member organization of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
As-Sa'iqa was formed as an organization by the Syrian Ba'th Party in September 1966, but was first activated in December 1968, when Syria tried to build up an alternative to Yassir Arafat, then emerging with his Fatah faction as the primary Palestinian fedayeen leader and politician. As-Sa'iqa was initially the second-largest group within the PLO, after Fatah.
As-Sa'iqa was also used in the Ba'thist power struggle then in play in Syria, by President Salah Jadid to counter the ambitions of Defence Minister Hafez al-Assad. When al-Assad seized power in the November 1970 "Corrective Revolution", the organization was purged and its leadership replaced with al-Assad loyalists (although Jadid loyalists held on to the as-Sai'qa branch active in the Palestinian camps in Jordan until mid-1971, when they were arrested). As new Secretary-General (after Mahmud al-Ma'ayta, who had recently succeeded Yusuf Zu'ayyin), al-Assad chose Zuhayr Muhsin, a Palestinian Ba'thist who had come to Syria as a refugee from Jordan. He was repeatedly promoted by Syria as a candidate for the post as Chairman of the PLO, to replace Arafat, but never gained support from other factions.
The organization was, and is, utilized by Syria as a proxy force in the Palestinian movement. While this prevented as-Sa'iqa from gaining widespread popularity among Palestinians, it became an important force in the Palestinian camps in Syria, as well as in Lebanon. During the Lebanese Civil War, Syria built the movement into one of the most important Palestinian fighting units, but also forced it to join in Syrian offensives against the PLO when relations between al-Assad and Arafat soured. This led to as-Sa'iqa's expulsion from the PLO in 1976, but it was re-admitted in December the same year, after the situation had cooled down, and after Syria named this as a condition for further support for the PLO. The attacks on the PLO led to large-scale defections of Syrian-based Palestinians from the movement. As Saiqa was as well responsible of the Damour Massacre in 1976 and many other barbaric mass murders.
After Muhsin's assassination in 1979, 'Isam al-Qadi became the new Secretary-General. The movement remained active during the Lebanese Civil War, and again joined Syria, the Lebanese Shi'a Amal Movement and Abu Musa's Fatah al-Intifada in attacks on the PLO during the War of the Camps in 1984-85, and for the remainder of the Civil War (which lasted until 1990). This again led to mass-defections of Palestinians from the movement, and reportedly its ranks were filled with non-Palestinian Syrian army recruits. After the end of the Civil War, the movement was nearly out of contact with the PLO mainstream, and exerted influence only in Syria and in Syrian-occupied parts of Lebanon. It kept lobbying within the PLO against the various peace proposals advanced by Arafat, and was part of the Syrian-based National Alliance that opposed Arafat.
After the end of the Lebanese Civil War and the 1993 signing of the Oslo Peace Agreement, as-Sai'qa has largely lost its usefulness to the Syrian government, and the state and size of the organization has deteriorated. Today, it is wholly insignificant outside Syria, although it retains a presence in Lebanon (its future is uncertain after the end in 2005 of the Syrian Army's presence in Lebanon). It is extremely weak in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and was not active during the al-Aqsa Intifada. Its importance to Syria lessened, both because the PLO diminished in importance compared to the Palestinian National Authority (which as-Sai'qa boycotted), and because Damascus changed its strategy to supporting the Palestinian Islamist factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
As-Sa'iqa was led by a Secretary-General. It had a representative on the PLO Executive Committee, but he boycotted sessions of the PLO EC. During much of the 1970s, as-Sai'qa's representatives in the PLO EC held the prestigious and sensitive post as Head of the Military Department, which reflected the military importance of the movement in these years.
Syrian backing in the 1970s gave as-Sa'iqa a military weight far greater than its political influence, which had always been small. During the Lebanese civil war, as-Sa'iqa was often the second largest Palestinian faction in fighting strength, after Yassir Arafat's Fatah movement.
Under the name Eagles of the Palestinian Revolution - possibly the name of the armed wing of as-Sa'iqa - the organization committed a number of international terrorist attacks. Among these are the 1979 takeover of the Egyptian embassy in Ankara, Turkey and a kidnapping of Jews emigrating by train through Austria from the Soviet Union to Israel. After the early 1990s, the organization did not commit any known attacks, and was not listed on the United States State Department's List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
As-Sa'iqa's political agenda is identical to that of Ba'thist Syria, i.e. Arab socialist, nationalist and strongly committed to Pan-Arab doctrine. While this reflects its Ba'thist program, it also used Pan-Arabism as a means of supporting the primacy of its sponsor, Syria, over the Arafat-led PLO's claim to exclusive representation of the Palestinian people. Thus, it rejected "Palestinization" of the conflict with Israel, insisting on the necessary involvement of the greater Arab nation. This occasionally went to extremes, with as-Sa'iqa leaders denying the existence of a separate Palestinian people within the wider Arab nation.
The group generally took a hard line stance (reflecting that of Syria) on issues such as the recognition of Israel, the Oslo Accords, and other questions of Palestinian goals and political orientation. It was a member of the 1974 Rejectionist Front, despite supporting the Ten Point Program that initially caused the PLO/Rejectionist Front split.
Saika see Sa’iqa
As-Sa'iqa see Sa’iqa
Al-Saika see Sa’iqa
Saeqa see Sa’iqa
Lightning see Sa’iqa
Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War see Sa’iqa
Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk
Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk (Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk Sajah) (Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed). Prophetess and soothsayer of the seventh century. She is said to have joined the forces of the prophet Musaylima ibn Habib and to have married him.
Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed was from the tribe of Taghlib. She was an Arab Christian protected first by her tribe then caused a split within Banu Tamim and finally defended by Banu Hanifa. After the death of Muhammad, Sajah declared that she was a prophetess. Before claiming to be a prophetess, Sajah had a reputation as a soothsayer. Thereafter, 4,000 people gathered around her to march on Medina. Others were forced to join her against Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned of Khalid ibn al-Walid’s army defeating Tulaiha al-Asadi (another self-proclaimed prophet). Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat of Khalid. A mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylimah. Sajah later married Musaylimah and accepted his self-declared prophethood. Khalid then crushed the remaining rebellious elements around Sajah, and then moved on to crush Musaylimah. After the Battle of Yamama where Musaylimah was killed, Sajah turned to Islam.
Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk Sajah see Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk
Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed see Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk
Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk (Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk Sajah) (Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed). Prophetess and soothsayer of the seventh century. She is said to have joined the forces of the prophet Musaylima ibn Habib and to have married him.
Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed was from the tribe of Taghlib. She was an Arab Christian protected first by her tribe then caused a split within Banu Tamim and finally defended by Banu Hanifa. After the death of Muhammad, Sajah declared that she was a prophetess. Before claiming to be a prophetess, Sajah had a reputation as a soothsayer. Thereafter, 4,000 people gathered around her to march on Medina. Others were forced to join her against Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned of Khalid ibn al-Walid’s army defeating Tulaiha al-Asadi (another self-proclaimed prophet). Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat of Khalid. A mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylimah. Sajah later married Musaylimah and accepted his self-declared prophethood. Khalid then crushed the remaining rebellious elements around Sajah, and then moved on to crush Musaylimah. After the Battle of Yamama where Musaylimah was killed, Sajah turned to Islam.
Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk Sajah see Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk
Sajah bint al-Harith ibn Suaeed see Sajah, Umm Sadir bint Aws ibn Hikk
Sajawandi, Abu’l-Fadl al-
Sajawandi, Abu’l-Fadl al- (Abu’l-Fadl al-Sajawandi) (d. c. 1164). “Reader” of the Qur’an. He is mainly known by his work on the recitation of the Qur’an.
Abu’l-Fadl al-Sajawandi see Sajawandi, Abu’l-Fadl al-
Sajawandi, Abu’l-Fadl al- (Abu’l-Fadl al-Sajawandi) (d. c. 1164). “Reader” of the Qur’an. He is mainly known by his work on the recitation of the Qur’an.
Abu’l-Fadl al-Sajawandi see Sajawandi, Abu’l-Fadl al-
Sajawandi, Siraj al-Din al-
Sajawandi, Siraj al-Din al- (Siraj al-Din al-Sajawandi). Hanafi jurist of the thirteenth century. His work on the law of inheritance is regarded as the principal work in this field.
Sajawandi, Siraj al-Din al- (Siraj al-Din al-Sajawandi). Hanafi jurist of the thirteenth century. His work on the law of inheritance is regarded as the principal work in this field.
Sajids
Sajids. Name of a family which ruled in Azerbaijan under the nominal suzerainty of the ‘Abbasid caliph at the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth century. It took its name from the founder of the dynasty, Abu’l-Saj (d. 879) and comprised five rulers.
The Sajid dynasty was an Islamic dynasty that ruled the Iranian region of Azerbaijan from 889-890 until 929.
The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Sogdian's descent. Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abi'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the 9th century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929.
The Sajid rulers were:
* Abdu Ubaydullah Muhammad Ibn Abi'l-Saj (Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad) (899-901)
* Abul Musafir Devdad Ibn Muhammad (901)
* Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj (901-919)
o Subuk (919-922) (a servant of the Sajids and a temporary care-taker)
* Yusuf (restored) (922-928)
* Fath ibn Muhammad ibn Abi 'l Saj (Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath) (928-929)
Sajids. Name of a family which ruled in Azerbaijan under the nominal suzerainty of the ‘Abbasid caliph at the end of the ninth and the beginning of the tenth century. It took its name from the founder of the dynasty, Abu’l-Saj (d. 879) and comprised five rulers.
The Sajid dynasty was an Islamic dynasty that ruled the Iranian region of Azerbaijan from 889-890 until 929.
The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Sogdian's descent. Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abi'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the 9th century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929.
The Sajid rulers were:
* Abdu Ubaydullah Muhammad Ibn Abi'l-Saj (Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad) (899-901)
* Abul Musafir Devdad Ibn Muhammad (901)
* Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj (901-919)
o Subuk (919-922) (a servant of the Sajids and a temporary care-taker)
* Yusuf (restored) (922-928)
* Fath ibn Muhammad ibn Abi 'l Saj (Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath) (928-929)
sajjada nishin
sajjada nishin. Term which means “one who sits on the prayer carpet.” The term sajjada nishin was applied to the successor to the leadership of a khanaqa or the custodian of a Sufi shrine.
sajjada nishin. Term which means “one who sits on the prayer carpet.” The term sajjada nishin was applied to the successor to the leadership of a khanaqa or the custodian of a Sufi shrine.
Sakkaki, Abu Bakr Yusuf al-
Sakkaki, Abu Bakr Yusuf al- (Abu Bakr Yusuf al-Sakkaki) (d. 1160). Turkish rhetorician from Transoxiana. His fame rests upon his Key to the Sciences, the most comprehensive book on rhetoric written up to his time.
Abu Bakr Yusuf al-Sakkaki see Sakkaki, Abu Bakr Yusuf al-
Sakkaki, Abu Bakr Yusuf al- (Abu Bakr Yusuf al-Sakkaki) (d. 1160). Turkish rhetorician from Transoxiana. His fame rests upon his Key to the Sciences, the most comprehensive book on rhetoric written up to his time.
Abu Bakr Yusuf al-Sakkaki see Sakkaki, Abu Bakr Yusuf al-
Sakura
Sakura (Mansa Sakura) (Mansa Sakoura) (d. c. 1300). Ruler of the Mali Empire (1285-c.1300). A freed slave, he usurped the Mali throne and extended the empire as far as Takrur to the west and Songhay to the east. He was killed while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his death, the succession returned to the descendants of Sundjata, founder of the Mali Empire.
Mansa Sakura was the sixth mansa of the Mali Empire. A slave at birth, Sakura was freed and became a general in the army of Sundiata Keita, legendary founder of the Mali Empire. After a debilitating struggle for succession between Sundiata's sons Ouati Keita and Khalifa Keita and his grandson Abu Bakr, Sakura seized control of the throne himself in about 1285. Near-contemporary historian Ibn Khaldun records that under Sakura's leadership, the Empire made a number of new conquests (most notably of Gao), becoming the dominant political, economic, and military force in the Western Sudan. Sakura performed the Hajj but was killed (c. 1300) at Tadjoura near Djibouti by Danakil warriors hungry for his gold. He was succeeded by Sundiata's nephew Gao.
Mansa Sakura see Sakura
Mansa Sakoura see Sakura
Sakura (Mansa Sakura) (Mansa Sakoura) (d. c. 1300). Ruler of the Mali Empire (1285-c.1300). A freed slave, he usurped the Mali throne and extended the empire as far as Takrur to the west and Songhay to the east. He was killed while returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his death, the succession returned to the descendants of Sundjata, founder of the Mali Empire.
Mansa Sakura was the sixth mansa of the Mali Empire. A slave at birth, Sakura was freed and became a general in the army of Sundiata Keita, legendary founder of the Mali Empire. After a debilitating struggle for succession between Sundiata's sons Ouati Keita and Khalifa Keita and his grandson Abu Bakr, Sakura seized control of the throne himself in about 1285. Near-contemporary historian Ibn Khaldun records that under Sakura's leadership, the Empire made a number of new conquests (most notably of Gao), becoming the dominant political, economic, and military force in the Western Sudan. Sakura performed the Hajj but was killed (c. 1300) at Tadjoura near Djibouti by Danakil warriors hungry for his gold. He was succeeded by Sundiata's nephew Gao.
Mansa Sakura see Sakura
Mansa Sakoura see Sakura
Salaan ‘Arrabey
Salaan ‘Arrabey (b. mid-19th century - d. soon after World War II). Somali oral poet. He was known for his versatility and humour and was skilled in influencing important events by composing poems appropriate to the situation. It is said that he could cause an interclan war or stop it. He travelled widely and in his poems numerous innovations and foreign borrowings can be found. His familiarity with English, Swahili, Arabic, and Hindustani brought him success both as a merchant and an interpreter.
'Arrabey, Salaan see Salaan ‘Arrabey
Salaan ‘Arrabey (b. mid-19th century - d. soon after World War II). Somali oral poet. He was known for his versatility and humour and was skilled in influencing important events by composing poems appropriate to the situation. It is said that he could cause an interclan war or stop it. He travelled widely and in his poems numerous innovations and foreign borrowings can be found. His familiarity with English, Swahili, Arabic, and Hindustani brought him success both as a merchant and an interpreter.
'Arrabey, Salaan see Salaan ‘Arrabey
Saladin
Saladin (al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf) (Salah al-Din) (Yusuf Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub) (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb -- “Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job”) (b. 1137/38, Tikrīt, Mesopotamia [now in Iraq] — d. March 4, 1193, Damascus [now in Syria]). Ayyubid ruler and Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He was a Kurdish Muslim and led the Islamic opposition to the Third Crusade.
At the height of his power, the Ayyubid dynasty he founded, ruled over Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Hijaz, and Yemen. He led Muslim resistance to the European Crusaders and eventually recaptured Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. As such, Saladin is a notable figure in Arab, Kurdish, and Muslim culture.
Saladin was a strict practitioner of Sunni Islam. He did not maim, kill or retaliate against those whom he defeated, with the notable exception of certain events following the Battle of Hattin. His generally chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the siege of Krak in Moab.
Saladin came from a predominantly Kurdish background and ancestry. His family lived in Tikrit, Iraq, where he was born during the Islamic world's Golden Age. His father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, was banned from Tikrit and moved to Mosul where he met Imad ad-Din Zengi, the Turkish atabeg (regent) of Mosul. At the time, Imad ad-Din Zengi, the founder of the Zengid dynasty, was also the leader of Muslim forces against the Crusaders in Edessa. Imad ad-Din Zengi appointed Najm ad-Din as the commander of his fortress in Baalbek. After the death of Imad ad-Din Zengi in 1146, his son, Nur ad-Din, became the regent of Mosul. Saladin received his name from Nur ad-Din and was sent to Damascus to continue his education and this was where he also completed his educational studies. Several sources claim that during his studies he was more interested in religion than joining the military. Another factor which may have affected his interest in religion was that, during the First Crusade in 1099, Jerusalem was taken by force from the Christians by surprise when the Islamic world had done nothing to start the offensive. Muslim culture and the city were pillaged. Much of Muslim culture would lay in ruins for over one hundred years. It would be Saladin who would later rebel against Christian-held Jerusalem to win back the city.
The career of Saladin in the military began when his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh started training him. Shirkuh was an important military commander under the emir Nur al-Din, who was the son and successor of Zengi. Saladin accompanied Shirkuh during three military expeditions led by Shirkuh into Egypt to prevent its falling to the Latin Christian Crusaders who already ruled Jerusalem. In 1154, Saladin went with his uncle Shirkuh to the court of the Zangid Nur al-Din Mahmud at Damascus, accompanied him on his military mission to Egypt in 1164, and again in 1168, when he withstood the siege of Alexandria by Amalric I, king of Jerusalem. When the latter besieged Cairo, the last Fatimid Caliph al-‘Adid li-Din Allah sent for assistance to Nur al-Din, while his vizier Shawar negotiated with Amalric. Shirkuh and Saladin were hailed at Cairo as rescuers, and Saladin had Shawar executed as a traitor. The caliph appointed Shirkuh as vizier and, when the latter died after two months, he appointed Saladin as such and gave him the title “al-Malik al-Nasir.”
Saladin's aims were to secure power for himself and his family, to put down Shi‘ism and to fight the Crusaders to the utmost. He attained these aims to a great degree.
He put down a rebellion of the caliph’s black guards and in 1169 resisted the siege of Damietta by Amalric, who was assisted by a fleet from Constantinople and an auxiliary force from southern Italy. In 1171, Saladin abolished the ineffective Shi'ite Fatimid caliphate and led a return to Sunni Islam in Egypt. When the caliph died in 1171, Saladin had the 'ulama pronounce the name of al-Mustadi bi-Amr Allah, the Sunni -- and, more importantly, 'Abbasid -- caliph in Baghdad at sermon before Friday prayers (salat) instead of the name of the Shi'a Fatimid Caliph. Thus, the Fatimids and Shi‘ism came to an end in Egypt.
Saladin effectively ruled Egypt, but officially as the representative of the Turkish Seljuk ruler Nur ad-Din, who himself conventionally recognized the 'Abbasid caliph. Although he remained for a time a vassal of Nur ad-Din, and although their relationship became strained, the relationship only came to an end in 1174 when Nur ad-Din died.
After the death of Nur ad-Din, Saladin quickly used the emir's rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base. He defeated the Normans of Sicily, who had landed at Alexandria, and captured an enormous booty. He then turned his attention to Syria.
On two occasions, in 1170 and 1172, Saladin retreated from an invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. These had been launched by Nur ad-Din and Saladin hoped that the Crusader kingdom would remain intact, as a buffer state between Egypt and Syria, until Saladin could gain control of Syria as well. Nur ad-Din and Saladin were headed towards open war on these counts when Nur ad-Din died in 1174. Nur ad-Din's heir, as-Salih Ismail al-Malik, was a mere boy in the hands of court eunuchs, and died in 1181.
Immediately after Nur ad-Din's death in 1174, Saladin marched on Damascus and was welcomed into the city. He reinforced his legitimacy there in the time-honored way, by marrying Nur ad-Din's widow Ismat ad-Din Khatun. Aleppo and Mosul, on the other hand, the two other largest cities that Nur ad-Din had ruled, were never taken but Saladin managed to impose his influence and authority on them in 1176 and 1186 respectively. While he was occupied in besieging Aleppo, on May 22, 1176, the shadowy Ismaili assassin group, the Hashshashin, attempted to murder him. They made two attempts on his life, the second time coming close enough to inflict wounds.
While Saladin was consolidating his power in Syria, he usually left the Crusader kingdom alone, although he was generally victorious whenever he did meet the Crusaders in battle. One exception was the Battle of Montgisard on November 25, 1177, where he was defeated by the combined forces of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, Raynald of Chatillon and the Knights Templar. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt.
Saladin spent the subsequent year recovering from his defeat and rebuilding his army, renewing his attacks in 1179 when he defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Jacob's Ford, after which a truce was declared between Saladin and the Crusader States in 1180. However, Crusader counter-attacks provoked further responses by Saladin. Raynald of Chatillon, in particular, harassed Muslim trading and pilgrimage routes with a fleet on the Red Sea, a water route that Saladin needed to keep open. In response, Saladin constructed a fleet of 30 galleys to attack Beirut in 1182. Raynald threatened to attack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In retaliation, Saladin twice besieged Kerak, Raynald's fortress in Oultrejordain, in 1183 and 1184. Raynald responded by looting a caravan of pilgrims on the Hajj in 1185.
Following the failure of his Kerak sieges, Saladin temporarily turned his attention back to another long-term project and resumed attacks on the territory of 'Izz ad-Din (Mas'ud ibn Mawdud ibn Zangi), around Mosul, which he had begun with some success in 1182. However, since then, Mas'ud had allied himself with the powerful governor of Azerbaijan and Jibal, who in 1185 began moving his troops across the Zagros Mountains, causing Saladin to hesitate in his attacks. The defenders of Mosul, when they became aware that help was on the way, increased their efforts, and Saladin subsequently fell ill, so in March 1186, a peace treaty was signed.
In July 1187, Saladin captured most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On July 4, 1187, Saladin faced at the Battle of Hattin the combined forces Guy of Lusignan, King Consort of Jerusalem and Raymond III of Tripoli. In this battle alone, the Crusader army was largely annihilated by the motivated army of Saladin in what was a major disaster for the Crusaders and a turning point in the history of the Crusades. Saladin captured Raynald de Chatillon and was personally responsible for his execution in retaliation for previously attacking Muslim pilgrim caravans. Guy of Lusignan was also captured but his life was spared. However, that night with uncharacteristic cruelty, Saladin ordered the execution of the hundred or so Templar and Hospitaller knights among the prisoners. Because of their religious devotion and rigorous training, they were the most feared of the Christian soldiers. Seated on a dais before his army, Saladin watched as the executions were carried out.
Saladin captured almost every Crusader city. Jerusalem capitulated to his forces on October 2, 1187 after a siege. Before the siege, Saladin had offered generous terms of surrender, which were rejected. After the sieged had started, he was unwilling to promise terms of quarter to the European occupants of Jerusalem until Balian of Ibelin threatened to kill every Muslim hostage, estimated at 5000 and to destroy Islam's holy shrines of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque if quarter was not given. Saladin consulted his council and the terms of the Crusader surrender were again offered. Ransom was to be paid for each Frank in the city whether man, woman or child. Saladin allowed many to leave without having the required amount for ransom for others.
Tyre, on the coast of modern-day Lebanon was the last major Crusader city that was not captured by Muslim forces (strategically, it would have made more sense for Saladin to capture Tyre before Jerusalem -- however, Saladin chose to pursue Jerusalem first because of the importance of the city to Islam). The city was now commanded by Conrad of Montferrat, who strengthened Tyre's defenses and withstood two sieges by Saladin. In 1188, at Tortosa, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan and returned him to his wife, Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem. They went first to Tripoli, then to Antioch. In 1189, they sought to reclaim Tyre for their kingdom, but were refused admission by Conrad, who did not recognize Guy as king. Guy then set about besieging Acre.
Hattin and the fall of Jerusalem prompted the Third Crusade, financed in England by a special "Saladin tithe." Richard I of England led Guy's siege of Acre, conquered the city and executed 3000 Muslim prisoners including women and children. Saladin retaliated by killing all Franks captured from August 28 to September 10.
The armies of Saladin engaged in combat with the army of King Richard I of England at the Battle of Arsuf on September 7, 1191, at which Saladin was defeated. However, all attempts made by Richard I -- Richard the Lionheart -- to re-take Jerusalem failed. Nevertheless, Saladin's relationship with Richard was one of chivalrous mutual respect as well as military rivalry. When Richard became ill with fever, Saladin offered the services of his personal physician. Saladin also sent him fresh fruit and fruit juice, with snow to chill the drink as treatment. At Arsuf, when Richard lost his horse, Saladin sent him two replacements. Richard suggested to Saladin that Palestine, Christian and Muslim, could be united through the marriage of his sister to Saladin's brother, and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift. Ironically, the two men never met face to face and communication was either written or by messenger.
As leaders of their respective factions, the two men came to an agreement in the Treaty of Ramla in 1192, whereby Jerusalem would remain in Muslim hands but would be open to Christian pilgrimages. The treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a strip along the coast from Tyre to Jaffa. This treaty was supposed to last three years.
Saladin died of a fever on March 4, 1193, at Damascus, not long after Richard's departure. When they opened Saladin's treasury they found there was not enough money to pay for his funeral. He had given most of his money away in charity.
Saladin is buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new marble sarcophagus to the mausoleum. The body of Saladin, however, was not placed in it. Instead, the mausoleum, which is open to visitors, now has two sarcophagi: one empty in marble and one in wood containing the body of Saladin.
Despite his fierce struggle against the crusades, Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the fourteenth century an epic poem about his exploits, and Dante included him among the virtuous pagan souls in Limbo. Saladin is portrayed in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825). Despite the Crusaders' slaughter of Muslims 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 a ransom. Indeed, Greek Orthodox Christians were treated even better, because they often opposed the western Crusaders.
Notwithstanding the differences in beliefs, the Muslim Saladin was respected by Christian lords, especially Richard the Lionheart. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful leader in the Islamic world. Saladin, in turn, stated that there was not a more honorable Christian lord than Richard. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect, even though they never met face to face.
In April 1191, a Frankish woman's three month old baby had been stolen from her camp and had been sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. After Saladin used his own money to buy the child, he gave the child to its mother. She took the child and with tears streaming down her face, she suckled the child to her breast. The Muslim people watched her with her child and they wept. The woman suckled the child for some time and then Saladin ordered a horse to be fetched for her and she went back to the Christian camp.
The name Salah ad-Din means "Righteousness of Faith," and through the ages Saladin has been an inspiration for Muslims in many respects. Modern Muslim rulers have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures. A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern day Iraq, Salah ad-Din Governorate, is named after Saladin, as is Salahaddin University in Arbil. A suburb community of Arbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him.
Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175-1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centered on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt.
Among the forts Saladin constructed was Qalaat al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was excavated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.
Although the Ayyubid dynasty he founded would only outlive him by fifty-seven years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab World continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the Twentieth Century, particularly with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. The glory and comparative unity of the Arab World under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser. For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (Iraq, Palestine, and Yemen).
A brief chronology of Saladin reads as follows:
Saladin was born in Tikrit in Iraq, the son of the Kurdish chief Ayyub in 1138. In 1152, he began to work in the service of the Syrian ruler, Nur ad-Din (Nureddin).
In 1164, he started to show his military and strategical qualities under three campaigns against the Crusaders who were established in Palestine, with the first campaign this year.
In 1169, Saladin served as second to the commander in chief of the Syrian army, his uncle Shirkuh. Shirkuh became vizier of Egypt, but died after only two months. Saladin then took over as vizier. Despite the nominal limitations to the vizier position, Saladin took little regard to the interests of his superiors, the Fatimid rulers. He turned Cairo into an Ayyubid power base, where he used Kurds in leading positions.
In 1171, Saladin suppressed the Fatimid rulers of Egypt, whereupon he united Egypt with the Abbasid Caliphate. However, he was not as eager as Nur ad-Din to go to war against the Crusaders, and relations between him and Nur ad-Din became very difficult.
In 1173, Saladin sent his brother, Turan-Shah, to Yemen, which was subjugated.
In 1174, Nur ad-Din died, and Saladin used the opportunity to extend his power base. Saladin defeated the Normans of Sicily, who had landed at Alexandria, and captured an enormous booty. Saladin turned his attention to Syria, where he defeated the troops of Nur ad-Din’s son al-Salih Isma‘il (r. 1174-1181) at Qurun Hamat, but left al-Salih Isma'il in the possession of Aleppo and gave Hamat, Homs and Ba‘albek, which had surrendered, to relatives as fiefs. In 1175, he was granted by the caliph rule over Egypt, Nubia, Yemen, North Africa from Egypt to Tripoli, Palestine and Central Syria. After a final attempt by the Zangids against him in 1176, he made peace with them. He was however unable to take the fortress of Masyad in central Syria from Shaykh Rashid al-Din al-Sinan, the leader of the Syrian branch of the Isma‘ilis and known to the West as “the Old Man of the Mountain.” The latter promised Saladin that he would not attack him.
In 1175, the Syrian Assassin leader Rashideddin’s men made two attempts on the life of Saladin, the leader of the Ayyubids. The second time, the Assassin came so close that wounds were inflicted upon Saladin.
In 1176, Saladin besieged the fortress of Masyaf, the stronghold of Rashideddin. After some weeks, Saladin suddenly withdrew, and left the Assassins in peace for the rest of his life. It is believed that he was exposed to a threat of having his entire family murdered.
In 1177, he met at Ramla the troops of Baldwin IV, reinforced by many Knights under the leadership of Raynald de Chatillon of al-Karak. Saladin suffered a crushing defeat. But the next year (1178) he was able to defeat Baldwin, and again in 1179. In the following years, he gained suzerainty over Mesopotamia.
In 1183, Saladin signed a four years’ peace with Baldwin V, who was soon succeeded by Guy de Lusignan. But when Raynald de Chatillon fell upon a large caravan and refused to give any satisfaction, fight became inevitable.
In 1183, Saladin conquered the important north Syrian city of Aleppo.
In 1186, Saladin conquered Mosul in northern Iraq.
In 1187, with his new strength, he attacked the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and after three months of fighting he seized control of the city. On July 4, 1187, at the Battle of Hattin (Hittin), the Crusaders were utterly defeated. Saladin gave Guy de Lusignan a friendly reception, but slew Raynald with his own hand, and hall the Templars and Knights of St. John executed. He now was master of Palestine, including Tiberias, Nazareth, Samaria, Sidon, Beyrouth, Acre, Ramla, Gaza. Hebron also fell into his hands, and on October 2, 1187, Jerusalem was conquered. The inhabitants who could not pay the ransom were sold into slavery, but many were released at the intercession of Muslim and Christian persons of standing, as were a large number of poor people by Saladin himself. Only Antioch, Tripolis, Tyre and a number of smaller towns and castles remained in the possession of the Christians. At the siege of Tyre, Saladin suffered a severe reverse. He had Acre rebuilt, and in 1188 went to Damascus from where he captured many places.
In 1189, a third Crusade managed to enlarge the coastal area of Palestine, while Jerusalem remained under Saladin’s control.
In 1192, with The Peace of Ramla, an armistice agreement with King Richard I of England, a strip of land along the coast was defined as Christian land, while the city of Jerusalem remained under Muslim control.
Saladin died of a fever on March 4, 1193, at Damascus, not long after Richard's departure.
Since Saladin had given most of his possessions and money away for charity, when they opened his treasury, they found there was not enough money to pay for his funeral.
Saladin was buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.
Seven centuries later, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new marble sarcophagus to the mausoleum. Saladin was, however, not placed in it. Instead the mausoleum, which is open to visitors, now has two sarcophagi: one, empty made of marble and the original, which holds Saladin, which is made of wood. The reason why Saladin was not placed in the tomb was most likely respect and a desire to not disturb his body.
According to Imad al-Din, Saladin had fathered five sons before he left Egypt in 1174. Saladin's eldest son, al-Afdal was born in 1170 and Uthman was born in 1172 to Shamsa who accompanied Saladin to Syria. Al-Afdal's mother bore Saladin another child in 1177. A letter preserved by Qalqashandi records that a twelfth son was born in May 1178, while on Imad al-Din's list, he appears as Saladin's seventh son. Mas'ud was born in 1175 and Yaq'ub in 1176, the latter to Shamsa. Nur al-Din's widow, Ismat al-Din Khatun, remarried to Saladin in September 1176. Ghazi and Da'ud were born to the same mother in 1173 and 1178, respectively, and the mother of Ishaq who was born in 1174 also gave birth to another son in July 1182.
His fierce struggle against the crusaders was where Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the fourteenth century an epic poem about his exploits. Though Saladin faded into history after the Middle Ages, he appears in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman (1825). It is mainly from this novel that the contemporary view of Saladin originates. 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 Greek Orthodox Christians were treated even better, because they often opposed the western Crusaders). An interesting view of Saladin and the world in which he lived is provided by Tariq Ali's novel The Book of Saladin. Though contemporary views on Saladin are often positive, Saladin's qualities are often exaggerated, mainly under influence of the image created during the 19th Century.
Notwithstanding the differences in beliefs, the Muslim Saladin was respected by Christian lords, Richard especially. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful leader in the Islamic world. Saladin in turn stated that there was not a more honorable Christian lord than Richard. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect, but never met face to face.
In April 1191, a Frankish woman's three month old baby had been stolen from her camp and had been sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. According to Bahā' al-Dīn, Saladin used his own money to buy the child back:
In 1898 German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Saladin's tomb to pay his respects. The visit, coupled with anti-colonial sentiments, led nationalist Arabs to reinvent the image of Saladin and portray him as a hero of the struggle against the West. The image of Saladin they used was the romantic one created by Walter Scott and other Europeans in the West at the time, as Saladin had been a figure entirely forgotten in the Muslim world. This was mainly because of Saladin's short-lived "quasi-empire" and evident lack of commitment to religion, plus his eclipse by more successful figures such as Baybars of Egypt.
Modern Arab states have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures, often based on the false image created of him in the 19th century west. A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern-day Iraq, Salah ad Din Governorate, is named after him, as is Salahaddin University in Arbil. A suburb community of Arbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him.
Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175–1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centered on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt.
Among the forts he built was Qalaat al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was investigated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.
Although the Ayyubid dynasty that he founded would only outlive him by 57 years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab World continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the Twentieth Century, particularly with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. Saladin's liberation of Palestine from the European Crusaders was put forth as the inspiration for the modern-day Arabs' opposition to Zionism.
Moreover, the glory and comparative unity of the Arab World under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser. For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (Iraq, the Palestinian Territory, and Yemen).
Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf, al- see Saladin
Salah al-Din see Saladin
Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub see Saladin
Yusuf Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub see Saladin
Saladin (al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf) (Salah al-Din) (Yusuf Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub) (Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb -- “Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job”) (b. 1137/38, Tikrīt, Mesopotamia [now in Iraq] — d. March 4, 1193, Damascus [now in Syria]). Ayyubid ruler and Sultan of Egypt and Syria. He was a Kurdish Muslim and led the Islamic opposition to the Third Crusade.
At the height of his power, the Ayyubid dynasty he founded, ruled over Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Hijaz, and Yemen. He led Muslim resistance to the European Crusaders and eventually recaptured Palestine from the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. As such, Saladin is a notable figure in Arab, Kurdish, and Muslim culture.
Saladin was a strict practitioner of Sunni Islam. He did not maim, kill or retaliate against those whom he defeated, with the notable exception of certain events following the Battle of Hattin. His generally chivalrous behavior was noted by Christian chroniclers, especially in the accounts of the siege of Krak in Moab.
Saladin came from a predominantly Kurdish background and ancestry. His family lived in Tikrit, Iraq, where he was born during the Islamic world's Golden Age. His father, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, was banned from Tikrit and moved to Mosul where he met Imad ad-Din Zengi, the Turkish atabeg (regent) of Mosul. At the time, Imad ad-Din Zengi, the founder of the Zengid dynasty, was also the leader of Muslim forces against the Crusaders in Edessa. Imad ad-Din Zengi appointed Najm ad-Din as the commander of his fortress in Baalbek. After the death of Imad ad-Din Zengi in 1146, his son, Nur ad-Din, became the regent of Mosul. Saladin received his name from Nur ad-Din and was sent to Damascus to continue his education and this was where he also completed his educational studies. Several sources claim that during his studies he was more interested in religion than joining the military. Another factor which may have affected his interest in religion was that, during the First Crusade in 1099, Jerusalem was taken by force from the Christians by surprise when the Islamic world had done nothing to start the offensive. Muslim culture and the city were pillaged. Much of Muslim culture would lay in ruins for over one hundred years. It would be Saladin who would later rebel against Christian-held Jerusalem to win back the city.
The career of Saladin in the military began when his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh started training him. Shirkuh was an important military commander under the emir Nur al-Din, who was the son and successor of Zengi. Saladin accompanied Shirkuh during three military expeditions led by Shirkuh into Egypt to prevent its falling to the Latin Christian Crusaders who already ruled Jerusalem. In 1154, Saladin went with his uncle Shirkuh to the court of the Zangid Nur al-Din Mahmud at Damascus, accompanied him on his military mission to Egypt in 1164, and again in 1168, when he withstood the siege of Alexandria by Amalric I, king of Jerusalem. When the latter besieged Cairo, the last Fatimid Caliph al-‘Adid li-Din Allah sent for assistance to Nur al-Din, while his vizier Shawar negotiated with Amalric. Shirkuh and Saladin were hailed at Cairo as rescuers, and Saladin had Shawar executed as a traitor. The caliph appointed Shirkuh as vizier and, when the latter died after two months, he appointed Saladin as such and gave him the title “al-Malik al-Nasir.”
Saladin's aims were to secure power for himself and his family, to put down Shi‘ism and to fight the Crusaders to the utmost. He attained these aims to a great degree.
He put down a rebellion of the caliph’s black guards and in 1169 resisted the siege of Damietta by Amalric, who was assisted by a fleet from Constantinople and an auxiliary force from southern Italy. In 1171, Saladin abolished the ineffective Shi'ite Fatimid caliphate and led a return to Sunni Islam in Egypt. When the caliph died in 1171, Saladin had the 'ulama pronounce the name of al-Mustadi bi-Amr Allah, the Sunni -- and, more importantly, 'Abbasid -- caliph in Baghdad at sermon before Friday prayers (salat) instead of the name of the Shi'a Fatimid Caliph. Thus, the Fatimids and Shi‘ism came to an end in Egypt.
Saladin effectively ruled Egypt, but officially as the representative of the Turkish Seljuk ruler Nur ad-Din, who himself conventionally recognized the 'Abbasid caliph. Although he remained for a time a vassal of Nur ad-Din, and although their relationship became strained, the relationship only came to an end in 1174 when Nur ad-Din died.
After the death of Nur ad-Din, Saladin quickly used the emir's rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base. He defeated the Normans of Sicily, who had landed at Alexandria, and captured an enormous booty. He then turned his attention to Syria.
On two occasions, in 1170 and 1172, Saladin retreated from an invasion of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. These had been launched by Nur ad-Din and Saladin hoped that the Crusader kingdom would remain intact, as a buffer state between Egypt and Syria, until Saladin could gain control of Syria as well. Nur ad-Din and Saladin were headed towards open war on these counts when Nur ad-Din died in 1174. Nur ad-Din's heir, as-Salih Ismail al-Malik, was a mere boy in the hands of court eunuchs, and died in 1181.
Immediately after Nur ad-Din's death in 1174, Saladin marched on Damascus and was welcomed into the city. He reinforced his legitimacy there in the time-honored way, by marrying Nur ad-Din's widow Ismat ad-Din Khatun. Aleppo and Mosul, on the other hand, the two other largest cities that Nur ad-Din had ruled, were never taken but Saladin managed to impose his influence and authority on them in 1176 and 1186 respectively. While he was occupied in besieging Aleppo, on May 22, 1176, the shadowy Ismaili assassin group, the Hashshashin, attempted to murder him. They made two attempts on his life, the second time coming close enough to inflict wounds.
While Saladin was consolidating his power in Syria, he usually left the Crusader kingdom alone, although he was generally victorious whenever he did meet the Crusaders in battle. One exception was the Battle of Montgisard on November 25, 1177, where he was defeated by the combined forces of Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, Raynald of Chatillon and the Knights Templar. Only one tenth of his army made it back to Egypt.
Saladin spent the subsequent year recovering from his defeat and rebuilding his army, renewing his attacks in 1179 when he defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Jacob's Ford, after which a truce was declared between Saladin and the Crusader States in 1180. However, Crusader counter-attacks provoked further responses by Saladin. Raynald of Chatillon, in particular, harassed Muslim trading and pilgrimage routes with a fleet on the Red Sea, a water route that Saladin needed to keep open. In response, Saladin constructed a fleet of 30 galleys to attack Beirut in 1182. Raynald threatened to attack the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In retaliation, Saladin twice besieged Kerak, Raynald's fortress in Oultrejordain, in 1183 and 1184. Raynald responded by looting a caravan of pilgrims on the Hajj in 1185.
Following the failure of his Kerak sieges, Saladin temporarily turned his attention back to another long-term project and resumed attacks on the territory of 'Izz ad-Din (Mas'ud ibn Mawdud ibn Zangi), around Mosul, which he had begun with some success in 1182. However, since then, Mas'ud had allied himself with the powerful governor of Azerbaijan and Jibal, who in 1185 began moving his troops across the Zagros Mountains, causing Saladin to hesitate in his attacks. The defenders of Mosul, when they became aware that help was on the way, increased their efforts, and Saladin subsequently fell ill, so in March 1186, a peace treaty was signed.
In July 1187, Saladin captured most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On July 4, 1187, Saladin faced at the Battle of Hattin the combined forces Guy of Lusignan, King Consort of Jerusalem and Raymond III of Tripoli. In this battle alone, the Crusader army was largely annihilated by the motivated army of Saladin in what was a major disaster for the Crusaders and a turning point in the history of the Crusades. Saladin captured Raynald de Chatillon and was personally responsible for his execution in retaliation for previously attacking Muslim pilgrim caravans. Guy of Lusignan was also captured but his life was spared. However, that night with uncharacteristic cruelty, Saladin ordered the execution of the hundred or so Templar and Hospitaller knights among the prisoners. Because of their religious devotion and rigorous training, they were the most feared of the Christian soldiers. Seated on a dais before his army, Saladin watched as the executions were carried out.
Saladin captured almost every Crusader city. Jerusalem capitulated to his forces on October 2, 1187 after a siege. Before the siege, Saladin had offered generous terms of surrender, which were rejected. After the sieged had started, he was unwilling to promise terms of quarter to the European occupants of Jerusalem until Balian of Ibelin threatened to kill every Muslim hostage, estimated at 5000 and to destroy Islam's holy shrines of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque if quarter was not given. Saladin consulted his council and the terms of the Crusader surrender were again offered. Ransom was to be paid for each Frank in the city whether man, woman or child. Saladin allowed many to leave without having the required amount for ransom for others.
Tyre, on the coast of modern-day Lebanon was the last major Crusader city that was not captured by Muslim forces (strategically, it would have made more sense for Saladin to capture Tyre before Jerusalem -- however, Saladin chose to pursue Jerusalem first because of the importance of the city to Islam). The city was now commanded by Conrad of Montferrat, who strengthened Tyre's defenses and withstood two sieges by Saladin. In 1188, at Tortosa, Saladin released Guy of Lusignan and returned him to his wife, Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem. They went first to Tripoli, then to Antioch. In 1189, they sought to reclaim Tyre for their kingdom, but were refused admission by Conrad, who did not recognize Guy as king. Guy then set about besieging Acre.
Hattin and the fall of Jerusalem prompted the Third Crusade, financed in England by a special "Saladin tithe." Richard I of England led Guy's siege of Acre, conquered the city and executed 3000 Muslim prisoners including women and children. Saladin retaliated by killing all Franks captured from August 28 to September 10.
The armies of Saladin engaged in combat with the army of King Richard I of England at the Battle of Arsuf on September 7, 1191, at which Saladin was defeated. However, all attempts made by Richard I -- Richard the Lionheart -- to re-take Jerusalem failed. Nevertheless, Saladin's relationship with Richard was one of chivalrous mutual respect as well as military rivalry. When Richard became ill with fever, Saladin offered the services of his personal physician. Saladin also sent him fresh fruit and fruit juice, with snow to chill the drink as treatment. At Arsuf, when Richard lost his horse, Saladin sent him two replacements. Richard suggested to Saladin that Palestine, Christian and Muslim, could be united through the marriage of his sister to Saladin's brother, and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift. Ironically, the two men never met face to face and communication was either written or by messenger.
As leaders of their respective factions, the two men came to an agreement in the Treaty of Ramla in 1192, whereby Jerusalem would remain in Muslim hands but would be open to Christian pilgrimages. The treaty reduced the Latin Kingdom to a strip along the coast from Tyre to Jaffa. This treaty was supposed to last three years.
Saladin died of a fever on March 4, 1193, at Damascus, not long after Richard's departure. When they opened Saladin's treasury they found there was not enough money to pay for his funeral. He had given most of his money away in charity.
Saladin is buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new marble sarcophagus to the mausoleum. The body of Saladin, however, was not placed in it. Instead, the mausoleum, which is open to visitors, now has two sarcophagi: one empty in marble and one in wood containing the body of Saladin.
Despite his fierce struggle against the crusades, Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the fourteenth century an epic poem about his exploits, and Dante included him among the virtuous pagan souls in Limbo. Saladin is portrayed in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825). Despite the Crusaders' slaughter of Muslims 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 a ransom. Indeed, Greek Orthodox Christians were treated even better, because they often opposed the western Crusaders.
Notwithstanding the differences in beliefs, the Muslim Saladin was respected by Christian lords, especially Richard the Lionheart. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful leader in the Islamic world. Saladin, in turn, stated that there was not a more honorable Christian lord than Richard. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect, even though they never met face to face.
In April 1191, a Frankish woman's three month old baby had been stolen from her camp and had been sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. After Saladin used his own money to buy the child, he gave the child to its mother. She took the child and with tears streaming down her face, she suckled the child to her breast. The Muslim people watched her with her child and they wept. The woman suckled the child for some time and then Saladin ordered a horse to be fetched for her and she went back to the Christian camp.
The name Salah ad-Din means "Righteousness of Faith," and through the ages Saladin has been an inspiration for Muslims in many respects. Modern Muslim rulers have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures. A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern day Iraq, Salah ad-Din Governorate, is named after Saladin, as is Salahaddin University in Arbil. A suburb community of Arbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him.
Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175-1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centered on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt.
Among the forts Saladin constructed was Qalaat al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was excavated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.
Although the Ayyubid dynasty he founded would only outlive him by fifty-seven years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab World continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the Twentieth Century, particularly with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. The glory and comparative unity of the Arab World under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser. For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (Iraq, Palestine, and Yemen).
A brief chronology of Saladin reads as follows:
Saladin was born in Tikrit in Iraq, the son of the Kurdish chief Ayyub in 1138. In 1152, he began to work in the service of the Syrian ruler, Nur ad-Din (Nureddin).
In 1164, he started to show his military and strategical qualities under three campaigns against the Crusaders who were established in Palestine, with the first campaign this year.
In 1169, Saladin served as second to the commander in chief of the Syrian army, his uncle Shirkuh. Shirkuh became vizier of Egypt, but died after only two months. Saladin then took over as vizier. Despite the nominal limitations to the vizier position, Saladin took little regard to the interests of his superiors, the Fatimid rulers. He turned Cairo into an Ayyubid power base, where he used Kurds in leading positions.
In 1171, Saladin suppressed the Fatimid rulers of Egypt, whereupon he united Egypt with the Abbasid Caliphate. However, he was not as eager as Nur ad-Din to go to war against the Crusaders, and relations between him and Nur ad-Din became very difficult.
In 1173, Saladin sent his brother, Turan-Shah, to Yemen, which was subjugated.
In 1174, Nur ad-Din died, and Saladin used the opportunity to extend his power base. Saladin defeated the Normans of Sicily, who had landed at Alexandria, and captured an enormous booty. Saladin turned his attention to Syria, where he defeated the troops of Nur ad-Din’s son al-Salih Isma‘il (r. 1174-1181) at Qurun Hamat, but left al-Salih Isma'il in the possession of Aleppo and gave Hamat, Homs and Ba‘albek, which had surrendered, to relatives as fiefs. In 1175, he was granted by the caliph rule over Egypt, Nubia, Yemen, North Africa from Egypt to Tripoli, Palestine and Central Syria. After a final attempt by the Zangids against him in 1176, he made peace with them. He was however unable to take the fortress of Masyad in central Syria from Shaykh Rashid al-Din al-Sinan, the leader of the Syrian branch of the Isma‘ilis and known to the West as “the Old Man of the Mountain.” The latter promised Saladin that he would not attack him.
In 1175, the Syrian Assassin leader Rashideddin’s men made two attempts on the life of Saladin, the leader of the Ayyubids. The second time, the Assassin came so close that wounds were inflicted upon Saladin.
In 1176, Saladin besieged the fortress of Masyaf, the stronghold of Rashideddin. After some weeks, Saladin suddenly withdrew, and left the Assassins in peace for the rest of his life. It is believed that he was exposed to a threat of having his entire family murdered.
In 1177, he met at Ramla the troops of Baldwin IV, reinforced by many Knights under the leadership of Raynald de Chatillon of al-Karak. Saladin suffered a crushing defeat. But the next year (1178) he was able to defeat Baldwin, and again in 1179. In the following years, he gained suzerainty over Mesopotamia.
In 1183, Saladin signed a four years’ peace with Baldwin V, who was soon succeeded by Guy de Lusignan. But when Raynald de Chatillon fell upon a large caravan and refused to give any satisfaction, fight became inevitable.
In 1183, Saladin conquered the important north Syrian city of Aleppo.
In 1186, Saladin conquered Mosul in northern Iraq.
In 1187, with his new strength, he attacked the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, and after three months of fighting he seized control of the city. On July 4, 1187, at the Battle of Hattin (Hittin), the Crusaders were utterly defeated. Saladin gave Guy de Lusignan a friendly reception, but slew Raynald with his own hand, and hall the Templars and Knights of St. John executed. He now was master of Palestine, including Tiberias, Nazareth, Samaria, Sidon, Beyrouth, Acre, Ramla, Gaza. Hebron also fell into his hands, and on October 2, 1187, Jerusalem was conquered. The inhabitants who could not pay the ransom were sold into slavery, but many were released at the intercession of Muslim and Christian persons of standing, as were a large number of poor people by Saladin himself. Only Antioch, Tripolis, Tyre and a number of smaller towns and castles remained in the possession of the Christians. At the siege of Tyre, Saladin suffered a severe reverse. He had Acre rebuilt, and in 1188 went to Damascus from where he captured many places.
In 1189, a third Crusade managed to enlarge the coastal area of Palestine, while Jerusalem remained under Saladin’s control.
In 1192, with The Peace of Ramla, an armistice agreement with King Richard I of England, a strip of land along the coast was defined as Christian land, while the city of Jerusalem remained under Muslim control.
Saladin died of a fever on March 4, 1193, at Damascus, not long after Richard's departure.
Since Saladin had given most of his possessions and money away for charity, when they opened his treasury, they found there was not enough money to pay for his funeral.
Saladin was buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.
Seven centuries later, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new marble sarcophagus to the mausoleum. Saladin was, however, not placed in it. Instead the mausoleum, which is open to visitors, now has two sarcophagi: one, empty made of marble and the original, which holds Saladin, which is made of wood. The reason why Saladin was not placed in the tomb was most likely respect and a desire to not disturb his body.
According to Imad al-Din, Saladin had fathered five sons before he left Egypt in 1174. Saladin's eldest son, al-Afdal was born in 1170 and Uthman was born in 1172 to Shamsa who accompanied Saladin to Syria. Al-Afdal's mother bore Saladin another child in 1177. A letter preserved by Qalqashandi records that a twelfth son was born in May 1178, while on Imad al-Din's list, he appears as Saladin's seventh son. Mas'ud was born in 1175 and Yaq'ub in 1176, the latter to Shamsa. Nur al-Din's widow, Ismat al-Din Khatun, remarried to Saladin in September 1176. Ghazi and Da'ud were born to the same mother in 1173 and 1178, respectively, and the mother of Ishaq who was born in 1174 also gave birth to another son in July 1182.
His fierce struggle against the crusaders was where Saladin achieved a great reputation in Europe as a chivalrous knight, so much so that there existed by the fourteenth century an epic poem about his exploits. Though Saladin faded into history after the Middle Ages, he appears in a sympathetic light in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Talisman (1825). It is mainly from this novel that the contemporary view of Saladin originates. 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 Greek Orthodox Christians were treated even better, because they often opposed the western Crusaders). An interesting view of Saladin and the world in which he lived is provided by Tariq Ali's novel The Book of Saladin. Though contemporary views on Saladin are often positive, Saladin's qualities are often exaggerated, mainly under influence of the image created during the 19th Century.
Notwithstanding the differences in beliefs, the Muslim Saladin was respected by Christian lords, Richard especially. Richard once praised Saladin as a great prince, saying that he was without doubt the greatest and most powerful leader in the Islamic world. Saladin in turn stated that there was not a more honorable Christian lord than Richard. After the treaty, Saladin and Richard sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect, but never met face to face.
In April 1191, a Frankish woman's three month old baby had been stolen from her camp and had been sold on the market. The Franks urged her to approach Saladin herself with her grievance. According to Bahā' al-Dīn, Saladin used his own money to buy the child back:
In 1898 German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Saladin's tomb to pay his respects. The visit, coupled with anti-colonial sentiments, led nationalist Arabs to reinvent the image of Saladin and portray him as a hero of the struggle against the West. The image of Saladin they used was the romantic one created by Walter Scott and other Europeans in the West at the time, as Saladin had been a figure entirely forgotten in the Muslim world. This was mainly because of Saladin's short-lived "quasi-empire" and evident lack of commitment to religion, plus his eclipse by more successful figures such as Baybars of Egypt.
Modern Arab states have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures, often based on the false image created of him in the 19th century west. A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern-day Iraq, Salah ad Din Governorate, is named after him, as is Salahaddin University in Arbil. A suburb community of Arbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him.
Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175–1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centered on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt.
Among the forts he built was Qalaat al-Gindi, a mountaintop fortress and caravanserai in the Sinai. The fortress overlooks a large wadi which was the convergence of several caravan routes that linked Egypt and the Middle East. Inside the structure are a number of large vaulted rooms hewn out of rock, including the remains of shops and a water cistern. A notable archaeological site, it was investigated in 1909 by a French team under Jules Barthoux.
Although the Ayyubid dynasty that he founded would only outlive him by 57 years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab World continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the Twentieth Century, particularly with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. Saladin's liberation of Palestine from the European Crusaders was put forth as the inspiration for the modern-day Arabs' opposition to Zionism.
Moreover, the glory and comparative unity of the Arab World under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser. For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (Iraq, the Palestinian Territory, and Yemen).
Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf, al- see Saladin
Salah al-Din see Saladin
Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub see Saladin
Yusuf Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub see Saladin
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