Saladin The Divine Plan Of God - Essay Example

Saladin: The Divine Plan Of God Introduction When history of Egypt and its leadership is studied, the one name that becomes prominent is the name of Saladin. Saladin was a thoughtful, merciful and kind hearted Muslim leader and strategist (Davenport 17). Saladin’s achievement of uniting “Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia and much of North Africa” proves that he was a wise, mature and generous leader (Weir 79). The European religious and political leaders sensed threat from Saladin, as he was successful in uniting the Muslim nations encircling Jerusalem and expanding his kingdom (Grossman 304). Moreover, his victory over the Crusaders in various skirmishes increased his reputation and stature among the Egyptians (Sayyid-Marsot 21). In 1170, Saladin founded three schools, famously called as ‘madrassas’, with the aim of re-educating the Egyptians and bringing them on the path of religion and tradition (Sayyid-Marsot 21). This shows that Saladin was not only a military leader, but also a reformer aiming to improve life of his people through education and religion. While in Cairo, he chose to build a citadel for himself, overlooking the city, rather than living in the lavish and ostentatious palaces built by Fatimi rulers (Sayyid-Marsot 22). Also, Saladin never relaxed as he spent most of his time in campaigning, leaving his brothers to rule Egypt during his absence (Sayyid-Marsot 22). However, Saladin was not a born leader. It was destiny that made him the king of Egypt. Saladin’s life is a picture of how a simple human being, by his fate, virtues and courage, can become an epitome of hope and peace for millions of people, and becomes one of the greatest leaders of the world. Saladin’s entry into Egypt Background of Saladin’s family Saladin was born in Tikrit, Mesopotamia about 1137 and 1138 (Grossman 303). Salah Ad-Din Yusuf Ibn Ayyub was Saladin’s full name, which meant ‘righteousness of the Faith’ (Grossman 303). Saladin’s father Ayyub and his uncle Shirkuh moved their entire family to Aleppo, now in modern Syria, soon after Saladin’s birth (Grossman 303). In Aleppo, Ayyub was given the charge of the citadel of Baalbek by Zangi, the governor of Northern Syria (Lyons and Jackson 3). In 1146, Zangi died and his son Nur al-Din became his successor (Lyons and Jackson 3). Shirkuh continued his service under Nur al-Din, who took over Aleppo (Lyons and Jackson 3). On the other hand, the troops of Damascus attacked and besieged Saladin’s father in Baalbek (Lyons and Jackson 3). Ayyub had no choice but to surrender on favourable terms as no help from force came to his rescue (Lyons and Jackson 3). Ayyub moved to Damascus with his family and started living there (Lyons and Jackson 3). However, in the year 1154, when Nur al-Din attacked the city, Ayyub helped him to victory by making the surrender of Damascus easy (Lyons and Jackson 3). Later, he joined Nur al-Din (Lyons and Jackson 3). It has been noted by the historians that as Saladin’s childhood was spent in Damascus, he was particularly fond of that place (Lyons and Jackson 3). Saladin’s childhood and character Saladin was highly educated human being and was more inclined towards studies than towards military achievements (Lyons and Jackson 3). It was observed that Saladin was not only good at academic subjects like arithmetic and law, but was also knowledgeable of the Quran and the cultural heritage of Arab traditions (Lyons and Jackson 3). Saladin had learnt the values, attitudes, emotions and essence of Arab by learning by heart the anthology of Arab poets called as ‘Hamasa’ (Lyons and Jackson 3). Saladin’s ambitions were very moderate as he never aimed for power or command (Lyons and Jackson 3). However, destiny had something else in store for Saladin. He was destined to enter Egypt and become its king. First expedition to Egypt It can be said that God had destined Saladin to become a king. It was in the year 1163 that the events that led Saladin to Egypt took place. Shawar, the deposed vizier of Egypt, arrived in Cairo to ask Nur al-Din to help him in recovering his lost position by force (Lyons and Jackson 6). In return for his favour, Shawar had promised him land and large amount of money (Lyons and Jackson 6). However, Nur al-Din was warned by Shawar’s supplanter Dirgham not to help him (Lyons and Jackson 7). On the surface, Nur al-Din accepted Dirgham’s proposal but had a secret plan to help Shawar (Lyons and Jackson 7). However, by 1164, he openly declared the expedition as he realized that the advantages of helping Shawar were more than the disadvantages (Lyons and Jackson 7). Nur al-Din appointed Shirkuh the commander of his envoy as he knew that Shirkuh was totally fearless and had never failed any mission that he was sent on (Lyons and Jackson 7). According to historian and personal biographer of Saladin, Ibn Shaddad, in the expedition, the Frankish frontier was watched by Nur al-Din and on 15 April 1184, he headed to the Gulf of Aqaba accompanied by twenty six year old Saladin (Lyons and Jackson 7). However, the expedition turned out to be dissatisfactory for Syrians as despite of defeating the advanced force of Dirgham’s brother, at Basta, Shirkuh stayed reserved in the further expedition while Shawar took initiative and battled and destroyed Dirgham’s forces (Lyons and Jackson 7). Finally, Dirgham and his brothers were killed on 24th May while they were trying to flee (Lyons and Jackson 7). The Caliph reinstated Shawar as the vizier on the 25th of May (Lyons and Jackson 7). However, after being reinstated as vizier, he ignored the agreement of land which he had made to Nur al-Din. Shirkuh sent a message to Shawar saying that he was waiting for the promise of land made to Nur al-Din to be fulfilled (Lyons and Jackson 8). Shawar refused to accept this and sent him 30,000 dinars and asked him to leave the country (Lyons and Jackson 8). However, Shirkuh refused to leave and reminded Shawar of the promise of one third of the grain revenues of Egypt that he had made to Nur al-Din and said that Nur al-Din has asked him to stay there (Lyons and Jackson 8). Instead of fulfilling his promise, Shawar asked for help from Amalric, the king of Jerusalem, promising 1000 dinars for every stage of his march intending to uproot Shirkuh, and also indicating to him that the Franks will be threatened if Shirkuh establishes himself in Egypt (Lyons and Jackson 8).Shirkuh retired from Cairo to Bilbais after hearing of this move (Lyons and Jackson 8). Shawar joined Amalric’s forces and in third week of 1164 attacked Shirkuh (Lyons and Jackson 8). Shawar made some manipulative moves and with the intention of hiring Shirkuh’s men for his personal forces, asked Shirkuh to join him and promised him land (Lyons and Jackson 8). However, Sirkuh agreed to Shawar’s proposal of leaving the land with 30,000 dinars and safe conduct, as he could not hold himself against the superior enemies (Lyons and Jackson 8). In this way, the first expedition to Egypt was a failure. Shirkuh’s second attempt to conquer Egypt was also a failure. For two years, Shirkuh made considerable preparations to conquer Egypt (Lyons and Jackson 10). He collected infinite number of men from the East and North with the intention of charging a powerful attack on Shawar (Lyons and Jackson 10). His preparation was not enough to sustain the defense from combined armies of Amalric and Shawar and he fell short of total victory (Lyons and Jackson 16). In fact, historian Ibn Shaddad had recorded that Saladin told him that he has no wish to go to Egypt again as he suffered unforgettable hardship at Alexandria during the second attack (Lyons and Jackson 20). However, Saladin received two estates of ‘Iqtas’ in the land of Aleppo from Nur al-Din in the winter of 1167/68 (Lyons and Jackson 20). Historian Imad al-Din has noted that after getting this grant, Saladin had said that he has got more than he has wished for (Lyons and Jackson 20). This proves that Saladin was a humble human being without any aggressive ambition for power or kingdom. However, destiny had its own plan for him and unfolded the event that led him to become a king. Saladin’s presence In the first expedition to Egypt, there is no mention of Saladin’s role (Lyons and Jackson 9). Saladin’s qualities like patience, control and competence were recognized by Shirkuh as instead of his sons, he chose Saladin as the ‘aide-decamp’ (Lyons and Jackson 10). In the year 1165, Nur al-Din appointed him to the post of Shihna (“police chief”) of Damascus which gave him the experience of administration (Lyons and Jackson 10). It was from this point of life that Saladin rose to power, and his name was getting recognized by people (Lyons and Jackson 10). Even when Saladin was working in the background, while his uncle was laying foundation for his career, his presence and power was attracting great attention and he was being recognized by people (Lyons and Jackson 10). His competence was further proved by his role in the third attack on Egypt The third attack on Egypt The foundation for the third attack on Egypt was laid in the summer of 1168, when an embassy from the Byzantine Emperor Manuel came to Amalric with the proposal of joint attack on Egypt (Lyons and Jackson 20). The emperor had realized that Egypt was being ruled by weak people and if it falls in the hands of their enemies, then their power will be in danger (Lyons and Jackson 20). Hence, to avoid Egypt from getting in hands of his enemies, the emperor planned to make a joint attack on it and capture it (Lyons and Jackson 20). Amalric realized that if Shirkuh came in power in Egypt, then it will prove fatal to him (Lyons and Jackson 21). Historian Imad al-Din had reported that Nur al-Din had received many letters from Shawar asking for help again (Lyons and Jackson 23). Nur al-Din decided to march within one month of Amalric’s attack (Lyons and Jackson 23). However, it was possible only with the help of Shirkuh and Saladin. According to the records of historian Ibn al-Athir, Saladin was instructed by Nur al-Din to meet Shirkuh one mile from Aleppo to fetch him from Homs and prepare for the attack (Lyons and Jackson 23). Shirkuh, realizing that Saladin did not want to go to Egypt again, asked Nur al-Din to convince Saladin to go (Lyons and Jackson 23). On insistence from Nur al-Din, Saladin agreed to be a part of the expedition on Egypt (Lyons and Jackson 23). The expedition started and with “an innumerable horde of Turks,” Shirkuh reached the Nile by the fourth week of December (Lyons and Jackson 24). Frankish attempt to attack them failed and by January 1169, Amalric finally left Egypt and went off to Faqus (Lyons and Jackson 24). By this time, caliph had realized that Shawar was weak and was willing to join whoever was less threatening to him and hence, caliph was not against the possibility of making Shirkuh the vizier if he was ready to serve (Lyons and Jackson 23). It did not take long for Shirkuh to conquer Egypt as Shawar’s death made his rise to power easy (Lev 46). According to the historian Ibn al-Athir, Saladin and ‘Izz al-Din Jurdik, hatched a conspiracy to kill Shawar in spite of Shirkuh’s refusal to authorize it (Lev 46). The conspirators arrested Shawar when he was on his regular visit to Syrian camp, and put him to death on al-‘Adid’s demand (Lev 47). Saladin’s role in the arrest is praised by historian Ibn Shaddad as according to his records, “when the conspirators approached Shawar only Saladin was bold enough to seize him” (Lev 47). Saladin’s role is depicted in a positive light and hence, his image was not stained by this conspiracy (Lev 47). In this way, Shirkuh was made the vizier of Egypt. However, it was not for long that he remained on the post. From Prince to Vizier Even though Nur al-Din was happy about the conquest of Egypt, he was unable to happily digest the fact that Shirkuh has accepted the position of vizier (Lyons and Jackson 27). He intended to destroy Shirkuh and Saladin but his schemes failed and he was unable to destroy them (Lyons and Jackson 27). With his dreams come true and achievement of power, Shirkuh lost control over his lifestyle and as described by Ibn Shaddad, started indulging lavishly on “coarse meats” (Lyons and Jackson 27). This led to series of illnesses and in three months of enjoying the power, died a sudden death on 23 March (Lyons and Jackson 27). The caliph had the responsibility to choose the next vizier. According to Ibn al-Athir, caliph himself appointed Saladin as vizier as he was told by his advisors to do that (Lyons and Jackson 27).They told him that Saladin is weak and young and hence, caliph will be able to dominate him (Davenport 38). In this way, Saladin was appointed as a vizier of Egypt on 26th March, 1169 (Lyons and Jackson 32). The whole turn of events show that Saladin’s arrival in Egypt, and his getting appointed as vizier, was a will of God. When someone becomes a vizier of a country without having connections by birth or by upbringing, it can be said that it was a hand of destiny and God’s will (Lyons and Jackson 27). At the same time, Saladin had a great challenge ahead of him, and that was to win the hearts and trust of Egyptians. Conquering the rebels Thirty year old Saladin’s rise in stature was not digested easily by his comrades who were more experienced and senior in age to him (Lane-Poole 89). For the comrades and warriors to accept caliph’s decision, Saladin had to use best of his tactics and diplomacy, and support from lawyer al-Haqqari’s strong argument in favour of him (Lane-Poole 89). Several of the warriors were jealous of his promotion and chose to return to Syria instead of staying there and serving him (Lane-Poole 89). However, Saladin sensed the opposition and decided to strengthen his power and hold on Egypt. He sacrificed pleasure and luxury and adopted austerity by becoming stricter on himself (Lane-Poole 90). His strict lifestyle and hard work set an example for his troops and slowly but surely, he started winning the hearts of his people (Lane-Poole 90). However, rebel was still alive in the form of Nur al-din. Saladin was quick to sense the tension, and in order to increase his strength, he gathered his power in Egypt and brought coherence in it (Davenport 38). He was quick enough to realize the threat from Fatimid army and hence, destroyed it and weakened the power of caliph (Davenport 38). Fate was again on the side of Saladin as in 1171, caliph al-Adid died unexpectedly, and Saladin’s obstacle was removed without him getting a stain of his death (Davenport 38). However, Nur al-Din was still in his path to total power. Nur al-Din was aware that with the achievement of power in Egypt, Saladin was not going to remain obedient to him (Davenport 38). The suspicion and jealousy created tension between the two (Davenport 38). Saladin devised a strategy to reconstitute the Egyptian around Syrian core to make sure that the Syrian army gives him their total loyalty rather than keeping it for Nur al-Din (Davenport 38). This threatened Nur al-Din to his core and in the spring of 1174, he prepared to gain control over Saladin by force (Davenport 38). He prepared his army for the expedition to conquer Egypt and punish Saladin for his deeds (Davenport 38). However, Saladin was once again protected by the divine intervention and even before leaving Syria, Nur al-Din died (Davenport 38). Saladin was gaining more and more popularity and the news of his generosity was reaching far and wide (Lane-Poole 92). Saladin rewarded every person who came to meet him and his visitors came from all the parts of Egypt to see him (Lane-Poole 92). Saladin gave genuine attention to their pleas and saw to it that their problems were solved (Lane-Poole 92). However, he was not satisfied with less. Saladin wanted to gain all the loyalty and acceptance from people in Egypt as he knew that people in palace and in authority were still against him. He knew he had to act fast and be alert to every move of theirs. The caliph had realized that Saladin was not weak and slave as he had thought, but is powerful and strong (Lane-Poole 92). He decided to destroy him and started hatching plan for Saladin’s destruction (Lane-Poole 92). The conspiracy among the Fatimid dynasty was undertaken by Najah, the chief Black eunuch (Lane-Poole 92). His plan was to join Franks and make them to invade Egypt and entice Saladin out of Cairo and once out of Cairo, take him to the rear and attack him (Lane-Poole 92). However, Saladin came to know of the plan and kept a watch on eunuch till he was sure of his activities, and after being caught spying outside his palace, the eunuch was beheaded (Lane-Poole 92). Fifty thousand Blacks and the caliph’s troops were enraged with the killing of their leader and rose to avenge him (Lane-Poole 92). However, they were defeated in bloody battle and were compelled to beg for mercy after destroying their shelter and camps (Lane-Poole 92). However, Turan Shah, the eldest brother of Saladin, realized that their submission was only temporary and had to fight them again next winter when they rose in rebellion (Lane-Poole 92). In 1174, another of Saladin’s brother, Sayf al-Din, thrashed another strong uprising of the Blacks at Aswan, by killing their leader Kanz al-Dawlah (Lane-Poole 92). Again in 1176, Sayf al-Din had to suppress one more uprising that took place at Kopos (Lane-Poole 92). After these defeats of different uprisings against Saladin, there was no more uprising against him (Lane-Poole 92). The internal uprisings carried on for six years and Saladin was successful in uprooting the villainous Blacks from Cairo (Lane-Poole 92). However, one of the greatest challenges, in form of battle of Hattin, was still ahead of him. The battle OF Hattin Saladin always believed that holy war with the Christians was his destiny and Allah wanted him to have the Holy Land, and not the Christians (Davenport 48). However, the event that led Saladin to wage the Holy war was the provocation from Reginald of Chatillon, who was well known for his habit of breaking the treaties (Lane-Poole 182). He had attacked the caravan passing between Egypt and Syria twice, in 1179 and 1182, during the period of truce (Lane-Poole 182). In 1186, he once again repeated the act and this time, Saladin’s sister was rumored to be the part of the caravan (Lane-Poole 182). Instead of releasing the men and women, he mocked them and said that “since they trusted in Muhammad, let Muhammad come and save them” (Lane-Poole 182). The mockery of their faith and the betrayal of truce enraged Saladin and he took oath to wage a Holy war and kill the “truce-breaker with his own hands” (Lane-Poole 183). These events led to the war which was to become the greatest achievement in Saladin’s life. In March 1187, Saladin declared ‘Jihad,’ not only on the Karak but on the whole Christian kingdom (Lane-Poole 183). His previous two attempts to defeat the crusaders had failed and so this time, he left no stone unturned in preparing himself for a full fledged war with the Christians (Lane-Poole 181). Moreover, Saladin had made allies on the Northern flank and hence, he could use all his troops to march against the Franks (Lane-Poole 181). Troops after troops, from Jazirah, Diyar-Bekr, Syria and Egypt, marched to Damascus and were posted against Frank frontier in order to wage the Holy war (Lane-Poole 183). To protect the caravan of pilgrims coming from Makkah, Saladin himself marched towards Karak (Lane-Poole 183). He destroyed Karak and on 28th of May, led his squadrons to carry out the great campaign of destroying the Christian kingdom (Lane-Poole 183). This time, Saladin was powerful, aided with huge army and had the mental strength to fight the Franks. The Franks were weak as they were going through internal conflict of power and jealousy (Lane-Poole 183). Moreover, the knights of Franks, due to their rash attack on Saracens, suffered brutal death at the hands of the Saracens (Lane-Poole 186). This was the first disaster for the Franks (Lane-Poole 186). The first camp of the Saracen army was at the southern end of the Lake Galileo, at al Ukhuwanat where Saladin waited to get the information on the enemy’s position from his scouts (Lane-Poole 188). Scots brought the news that Franks were at Saffuriyyah and were in “great martial spirit” (Lane-Poole 188). On 1st July, Saladin decided to burn the city of Tiberias as he decided to wait for the Franks to attack (Lane-Poole 188). He captured the castle and a plea for help from Eschiva, Count Raymond’s wife, reached the Franks at Saffuriyyah (Lane-Poole 188). They immediately advanced to attack Saladin and hearing the news of the Frank’s immediate advance, Saladin prepared for the battle by hurrying up to the main army on hills, leaving a small force to defend the castle (Lane-Poole 188). The Franks made a vital error by deciding to attack rather than waiting for Saladin and defending the attack from Saladin (Lane-Poole 191). The Franks began their disastrous advance towards Tiberias on Friday the 3rd of July by breaking their camp at Saffuriyyah (Lane-Poole 191). They were attacked by a small body of Saracen troops as soon as they started towards Tiberias (Lane-Poole 191). The Frank troops were harassed by the Saracens and with scorching sun, no shades or shelter on the glaring limestone road and not even a drop of water to quench their thirst, they became drained of energy and spirit to fight (Lane-Poole 191). Saladin’s army had surrounded them and had cut off their connection with water bodies (Lane-Poole 192). Raymond realized that the whole army was demoralized and declared to his army that they were defeated (Lane-Poole 192). Without water, food and shelter, Franks were left crying with thirst, food and hunger, while Saladin’s Saracen army celebrated the victory with the cries of “Allahu Akbar!” (Lane-Poole 192). Finally, the two armies met face to face and realizing the weakness of the Franks, Muslims had a hand to hand fight with the Franks (Lane-Poole 193). The thirst, burning sun and the smoke of the bush that Muslims had fired, made the Franks lose their sanity (Lane-Poole 194). In desperation to reach the lake for water, Franks neglected the combination with their knights and by doing so, lost their only chance to victory (Lane-Poole 194). The Saracens eventually attacked all of them and killed them and captured the rest (Lane-Poole 194). Many of the soldiers surrendered and even the knights begged Saladin to kill them instead of leaving them to live a torturous life (Lane-Poole 195). It is believed that 30,000 Christians lost their lives in the battle, which is famously known as the battle of Hattin (Lane-Poole 198). Conclusion Saladin was one of the greatest Muslim warriors who unified the Muslim countries for the first time and brought together all the Muslim armies and transformed them into one army. Saladin was successful in winning the Holy war against the crusaders and restoring the Muslim rule on the Holy Land. Among all of his achievements, the victory of battle of Hattin was one of his greatest, and it made clear that Saladin’s rule in Egypt and his conquest of the Holy Land was nothing less than the plan of God. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that Saladin was not only the king of Egypt, but was also a hand of God. Works Cited Davenport, John. Saladin. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Print. Grossman, Mark. World Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Print. Lane-Poole, Stanley. Saladin And The Fall Of The Kingdom Of Jerusalem. Kuala Lumpur: The Other Trust And Islamic Book Trust, 2007. Print. Lev, Yaacov. Saladin In Egypt. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill Nv, 1999. Print. Lyons, Malcolm, and D.E.P. Jackson. Saladin: The Politics Of The Holy War. Cambridge : Cambridge University  Press, 1982. Print. Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf. A Short History of Modern Egypt. Cambridge : Cambridge  University  Press, 1995. Print. Weir, William. 50 Military Leaders Who Changed The World. Franklin Lakes: The Career Press, Inc., 2007. Print. Read More