⚔️ The Rise of Saladin: Warrior of Islam

Imaamentor

After locking down his power in Egypt, Saladin set his sights on Syria His big plan? Unite the Muslim forces under his rule to take on the Crusaders. But it wasn't smooth sailing-he clashed with the Zengid dynasty that ruled Syria, and had to deal with both internal drama and Crusader threats Still, Saladin didn't back .. down and came out on top, gaining control over most of Syria. This win was just the beginning- next up: the liberation of Jerusalem!!

Transcript

00:00:00The Abbasid Caliphate has crumbled.

00:00:07The vast Islamic empire that once stretched from India to Spain has now been fragmented.

00:00:13Spain is beyond Abbasid control, Egypt is taken over by the Fatimid dynasty, and the

00:00:20northern frontiers are under Seljuk control.

00:00:24One part of the Levant and the Holy Land are now lost to the Christian Crusader forces.

00:00:30The unification of all the Muslims under one banner is now a dream long gone.

00:00:36But still today we talk about this era with great interest, as one of the most important

00:00:42turn of events in history.

00:00:44The influence of this era still shapes the idea of chivalry and glory in popular culture.

00:00:52Books are written, comics and games are created.

00:00:56From children to adults, people still reminisce about those days.

00:01:01Even after almost 800 years, the legends of this era influence the geopolitics of the

00:01:07Middle East.

00:01:09And all these are mostly because of the work of one single man, Salah ad-Din, the Righteous.

00:01:16He was the last great Sultan of the Abbasid Caliphate.

00:01:20More than that, he was the last Sultan who had a dream and dared to make it a reality.

00:01:26The dream of a unified Islamic force.

00:01:28The dream of reinstating the legacy and honor of the Caliphate.

00:01:33The dream of a free Jerusalem, free from the Crusaders.

00:01:37Yet Salah ad-Din did not have one swift victory after another, like any other great conqueror.

00:01:43He tried, he failed, he persisted and learnt from his mistakes and came back stronger.

00:01:50He was bold, dutiful and intelligent, yet his reign was filled with setbacks, treachery

00:01:56and disappointments.

00:01:59That is why Salah ad-Din is so beloved.

00:02:02He is not like a hero from ancient mythology with superpowers.

00:02:06Rather, he is more of a human, flesh and bone.

00:02:10He is a hero not because he was the chosen one, rather because he was courageous enough

00:02:15to be one.

00:02:16He chose himself to become the one.

00:02:20As we dive into his life in the next couple of weeks, we will see how this hero was forged

00:02:25in hardship and courage.

00:02:29In the year 1149, a young boy of ten named Yusuf ibn Ayyub was playing in the yard of

00:02:35his home.

00:02:36Suddenly, he heard a call from the minaret of the mosque.

00:02:40The Zengid Sultan Nur ad-Din Zengi has returned victorious after a decisive battle with the

00:02:46Crusaders in Edessa.

00:02:48Edessa is now part of the Islamic Zengid dynasty.

00:02:52Hearing this news people flood the streets in victory procession.

00:02:57The bravery and praise of Nur ad-Din is on everyone's tongue.

00:03:02Young Yusuf joins the rally as well.

00:03:05This event will have an everlasting effect on his young mind.

00:03:10Fighting the Crusaders and bringing back the lost glory of the Muslims will set the course

00:03:14of his life.

00:03:16Young Yusuf will grow up one day to be recognized as Salah ad-Din.

00:03:22At the age of 15, Salah ad-Din moved to Damascus with his family to complete his study.

00:03:28Damascus was then the capital of the Zengid dynasty, seat of Nur ad-Din.

00:03:33Salah ad-Din joined a madrasa in Damascus.

00:03:36We can think of a madrasa like a high school in the modern era.

00:03:40Salah ad-Din started learning about geometry, algebra, geography, as well as the Quran and

00:03:46other fields of Islamic study.

00:03:49At the same time, he was taken under the mentorship of his uncle, Asad ad-Din Shirku.

00:03:54Shirku was a general under Nur ad-Din.

00:03:57He was a man of solid build, a battle-hardened warrior.

00:04:01He lost one of his eyes in a battle and so used to wear a patch.

00:04:05This made him an imposing character.

00:04:08Under the mentorship of Shirku, Salah ad-Din started learning about military tactics and swordsmanship.

00:04:23After completing the training, Salah ad-Din joined Shirku's battalion and entered regular

00:04:27military service in the Zengid army.

00:04:30The time has come for Salah ad-Din to be of service to his childhood hero, Nur ad-Din.

00:04:36Meanwhile, in Egypt, a power struggle has erupted between two viziers of the Fatimid caliphate.

00:04:41The Fatimids were a Shia dynasty and the Abbasids were Sunni.

00:04:45Sunni and Shia are the major two denominations of Islam.

00:04:49Historically, the two dynasties are rivals of one another.

00:04:53Anyway, back to Egypt.

00:04:55The two viziers trying to capture the de facto rule of Egypt were Sharwan and Durgam.

00:05:01Sharwan was driven out of Egypt by his rival Durgam.

00:05:04Sharwan asked for help from Nur ad-Din.

00:05:07So, in 1163, Nur ad-Din sent in an army under the command of Shirku to Egypt.

00:05:14Salah ad-Din also joined the army under his uncle's command.

00:05:18Salah ad-Din did not play any major role at this point, but the events that are about

00:05:22to unfold will be his first real lesson in military tactics and politics.

00:05:28So, we'll look into these events to understand how the stage was set for Salah ad-Din.

00:05:34With the help of Shirku's military prowess, Sharwan was reinstated as the Grand Vizier

00:05:39of Egypt.

00:05:40Shirku garrisoned his army near Cairo to support Sharwan's rule.

00:05:45But as time passed, the presence of a Sunni army in the heartland of the Shia dynasty

00:05:49started creating political friction in the Fatimid court.

00:05:54Sharwan was under great pressure to drive the Zengid army out of Egypt.

00:05:58But he himself had invited them.

00:06:01And without the support of this army, it would not be possible for him to hold on to power.

00:06:07So Sharwan started shopping for a new ally.

00:06:10Between the border of the Fatimid Egypt and Zengid Levant sat the kingdom of Jerusalem,

00:06:16a crusader state under the reign of the Amalric.

00:06:20Sharwan established a secret alliance with Amalric and plotted to attack the Zengid army

00:06:24from both sides.

00:06:27Shirku and his army were stationed in a palace called Bilbis.

00:06:31They were attacked by Amalric from the northeast and by Sharwan from the southwest.

00:06:36This betrayal put the Zengid army in a critical situation.

00:06:41They were not strong enough to break through the lines of the crusades to retreat to Syria.

00:06:46Neither could they fall back to Cairo because of Sharwan's betrayal.

00:06:50Seeing no other option to save his army, Shirku sent a message to Nur ad-Din for aid.

00:06:56Nur ad-Din was enraged by the betrayal.

00:06:58He had sent his army in good faith to help his ally in Egypt.

00:07:02But that same ally had now plotted to destroy his army by the help of crusaders.

00:07:08How dare Sharwan betray Nur ad-Din's trust?

00:07:12Yet Nur ad-Din was a clever ruler.

00:07:14He did not act in haste.

00:07:16His main goal now was to save one of his most prominent generals and his force.

00:07:21He couldn't let his army be destroyed by the crusaders.

00:07:25If that meant not taking revenge for Sharwan's betrayal now, so be it.

00:07:31There would be a time later to set the balance straight.

00:07:34Nur ad-Din could not send reinforcement to Egypt for Shirku's aid, as that would take

00:07:39a long time and he was afraid that Shirku would not be able to hold off the enemy for

00:07:44long.

00:07:45So, he devised a plan to deter Amalric's campaign in Egypt.

00:07:50Nur ad-Din assembled a strike force and attacked the country of Tripoli.

00:07:56Not related to the current Libyan capital.

00:07:59The country of Tripoli was another crusader state and an ally of Amalric.

00:08:03So, when Nur ad-Din attacked Tripoli, Amalric had to stop his advancement in Egypt and send

00:08:09part of his troops back to defend Tripoli.

00:08:12This gave Shirku a window to move his forces back to Syria and save his army.

00:08:18And he took that opportunity.

00:08:20The Zengid army was safe for now, but Nur ad-Din and Shirku did not forget the betrayal

00:08:25by Sharwan.

00:08:26To plot with the crusaders against fellow Muslims could not go unpunished.

00:08:31They were waiting for the right opportunity.

00:08:34That opportunity came in 1168, when Amalric broke his alliance with Egypt and attacked

00:08:39Cairo.

00:08:40Amalric always had his eyes on Egypt, not only for expansion of his territory but also

00:08:47for the vast riches of Egypt.

00:08:50The weak rule of Sharwan gave him the perfect chance to attack.

00:08:54Amalric assembled his naval force and sailed toward Cairo through the Nile delta.

00:08:59Egypt was too weak to defend itself under Sharwan's rule.

00:09:03So the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Adid, begged Nur ad-Din to come and rescue Egypt.

00:09:10This was the moment that Nur ad-Din was waiting for.

00:09:13All these years of waiting and patience for the sweet taste of revenge had finally paid

00:09:18off.

00:09:20If they'd entered Egypt now as a liberating force, they would have the support of the

00:09:24people of Egypt to depose Sharwan.

00:09:27And as a bonus, they would also be able to defeat the crusaders in yet another battle.

00:09:33So the Zengids under the command of Shirku marched into Egypt.

00:09:37Salah ad-Din joined the expedition as well, this time as the commander of a battalion

00:09:42of the army.

00:09:43The Zengids and the crusaders came face to face at a place called al-Babayn, west of

00:09:48Giza near the desert border of the Nile.

00:09:51The Zengids chose this location intentionally for a strategic advantage which would become

00:09:56obvious later during the battle.

00:09:59For the time being, Salah ad-Din took control of the right wing of the army, and Shirku

00:10:04took the central command.

00:10:06The crusader army was greater in number and stronger in arms than the Zengids.

00:10:11So Shirku and Salah ad-Din started discussing a battle strategy to make those advantages

00:10:16of the crusaders ineffective.

00:10:19They came up with a clever plan.

00:10:21Salah ad-Din would impersonate the central commander of the army and pretend his soldiers

00:10:26were the central contingent.

00:10:29Shirku did not station all of his troops in the battlefield and hid part of them behind

00:10:33the dunes in the desert.

00:10:35As the crusaders did not realize the plan, they charged with full might toward the Zengid

00:10:40central force.

00:10:42This was the moment Salah ad-Din had been preparing for all of his military life.

00:10:48If he couldn't defeat the enemy with sheer strength, he would do it through strategy.

00:10:53As planned, Salah ad-Din staged a feigned retreat.

00:10:56He commanded his army to fall back into the desert.

00:11:00The crusaders chased Salah ad-Din and fell right into his trap.

00:11:04The heavy cavalry of the crusaders lost their advantage in the steep and sandy terrain.

00:11:10They could not move quickly, whereas the lighter Zengid cavalry could move much faster on the

00:11:15same terrain.

00:11:16So the early advantage of the crusaders was lost.

00:11:20Their lines broke down and the battle was fragmented into smaller skirmishes rather

00:11:24than a concentrated central attack.

00:11:27Shirku was waiting for the exact moment.

00:11:29He took his reserve force and returned to the offensive.

00:11:33And at the same time, Salah ad-Din turned back with his force and launched a counterattack

00:11:38from the other side.

00:11:39Stuck between the dual offenses, the crusader army was completely crushed.

00:11:44This was the first sign of Salah ad-Din's military genius.

00:11:48His first taste of victory against the crusaders.

00:11:52From now on, Salah ad-Din is no more a bystander.

00:11:55He now has an active role to play.

00:11:58The young boy, inspired by the tales of defeating the crusaders, is now capable of defeating

00:12:03the crusaders on his own.

00:12:06Join us next time as we explore the early years of Salah ad-Din's administrative and

00:12:12military career.

00:12:13How he becomes the Grand Vizier, protects Egypt from yet another crusader attack, strengthens

00:12:19the nation, and eventually becomes the Sultan of Egypt.

00:12:26Salah ad-Din Part 2 Shifting Tides

00:12:30The main streets of Cairo.

00:12:32People are gathered on both sides to celebrate the victory of the Muslims against the crusaders.

00:12:37The victorious Zengid army is marching toward the royal palace of the Fatimid Caliph.

00:12:42People are screaming with joy and showering the soldiers with flowers.

00:12:46At the head of the marching army is the General Shirku, and just behind him rides Salah ad-Din,

00:12:52the young hero, head held high with pride and honor.

00:12:57But little does he know what is about to unfold in the coming months.

00:13:03Once Shirku and his commanders reached the Fatimid court, the Caliph al-Adid greeted

00:13:08them with great joy and generosity.

00:13:11He offered Shirku the role of the Grand Vizier of Egypt.

00:13:15Shirku took this offer without hesitation, but he hasn't forgotten about the betrayal

00:13:19of Shaur.

00:13:21And he knew perfectly well that if he lets Shaur free, he will plot to strike back again.

00:13:27So Shirku's first command was to arrest Shaur and execute him.

00:13:31It was also a warning to everyone.

00:13:34Anyone who dares to side with the crusaders will only meet one end.

00:13:38Death.

00:13:39Shirku was a man who enjoyed food and frequently arranged lavish feasts for his guests.

00:13:45On one such occasion, after feasting on a large meal, Shirku fell ill.

00:13:49The illness soon proved to be fatal.

00:13:52Shirku died only two months after he became the vizier.

00:13:56Salah ad-Din lost his beloved uncle and trusted mentor.

00:13:59Now he had to stand on his own without Shirku's support and guidance.

00:14:06As Salah ad-Din mourned the death of his uncle, Shirku, the leaders or emirs of different factions

00:14:11and military groups from both the Fatimid side and the Zengid side started arguing about

00:14:16who would be the next vizier of Egypt.

00:14:20The Fatimids wanted a weak vizier so that he could not gather much political influence.

00:14:25Electing a strong Sunni vizier wouldn't show particular strength of the Shia caliphate.

00:14:31Whereas the Zengids pushed for a strong leader as the vizier so that they can have a solid

00:14:35influence on the Fatimid caliphate and its inner politics.

00:14:39The arguments went on for days.

00:14:42Then one day a messenger arrived at the court.

00:14:45He brought a letter from Nur ad-Din.

00:14:47In that letter, Nur ad-Din recommended Salah ad-Din as Shirku's successor and requested

00:14:52Caliph al-Adid to appoint Salah ad-Din as the vizier.

00:14:56After all, Salah ad-Din's family had been of great service for many years to both Nur

00:15:01ad-Din and al-Adid.

00:15:03The Fatimid emirs supported this nomination as they thought Salah ad-Din was young and

00:15:08inexperienced.

00:15:09They thought he would easily fall in the role of vizier.

00:15:13On the other hand, the Zengid emirs saw Salah ad-Din's leadership on the battlefield and

00:15:18believed they could put trust in his abilities.

00:15:20So they agreed to the proposal as well.

00:15:24As a result, Salah ad-Din became the de facto ruler of Egypt, the grand vizier of the Fatimid

00:15:28caliphate at the age of 30 in early 1169.

00:15:32Salah ad-Din had never had such power and independence before.

00:15:37But he was still in a tug of war between the Fatimid caliphate and the Abbasid caliphate

00:15:41through Nur ad-Din.

00:15:43And as we have discussed before, these two caliphates, one Shia and the other Sunni,

00:15:48were never on friendly terms.

00:15:50So Salah ad-Din now had the problem of split loyalty.

00:15:54As the vizier, he owed his loyalty to the Fatimid caliphate in Egypt.

00:15:58At the same time, as the general of Nur ad-Din, he owed his loyalty to the Zengid dynasty

00:16:03and thereby to the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad.

00:16:06This actually made it very difficult for Salah ad-Din to do what he wanted to do, help the

00:16:11people, unite the people, and free the holy lands from the crusaders.

00:16:17Soon after his appointment as the vizier, the internal political conflict in Egypt started

00:16:21to weigh heavy on Salah ad-Din.

00:16:23He tried to focus his mind on rebuilding the Egyptian nation.

00:16:28He commissioned several hospitals and madrasas, which are kind of like universities by modern

00:16:32standards.

00:16:33He started investing in improving infrastructure and defense of major Egyptian cities.

00:16:40One evening, Salah ad-Din was busy in his study thinking about his plan for the nation,

00:16:44when there was a sudden knock on the door, followed by several loud knocks.

00:16:49Salah ad-Din ordered the person to come in.

00:16:52It was Ali bin Sufyan, the chief of his bodyguards.

00:16:56He brought grave news.

00:16:58Some emirs of Egypt had decided to stage a revolt and assassinate Salah ad-Din in the

00:17:02dark of the night.

00:17:04Salah ad-Din suspected that he would not have the full support of the emirs of Egypt, who

00:17:08did not like a Sunni vizier under the Shia Fatimid caliphate, but he never expected that

00:17:13they would plot to kill him.

00:17:15Salah ad-Din was saddened.

00:17:17He had just started a few months ago.

00:17:19What had he done to deserve such treachery?

00:17:22But he had to control his emotions.

00:17:24He had to act fast before the rebels could strike first.

00:17:28He ordered his own bodyguards to capture the main conspirator, a high official for the

00:17:32Fatimid palace.

00:17:34He was immediately arrested and executed.

00:17:37Yet it was not sufficient to completely stop the rebellion.

00:17:40The following day, several other Fatimid emirs with almost 50,000 soldiers started a revolt

00:17:46in different parts of Egypt.

00:17:48Salah ad-Din now had a civil war on his hands.

00:17:53As the civil war continued, the number of the wounded and the corpses piled up.

00:17:58After several months of fighting, the rebel emirs started to fall one after another.

00:18:03It took Salah ad-Din almost six months to completely quell the uprising.

00:18:07No mercy was shown to the rebel leaders.

00:18:09They either fell in battle or were executed.

00:18:13It was a hard lesson for the Egyptian emirs.

00:18:15Never again would anyone dare to rise against Salah ad-Din in Egypt.

00:18:20Salah ad-Din's swift and resolute actions saved Egypt from a long and bloody civil war.

00:18:27And he learned his lesson well.

00:18:29He started to rebuild his court, appointed trustworthy family members and friends in

00:18:34important roles of state.

00:18:36Besides this, he also started appointing people based on their skills and merits and not because

00:18:41of their lineage and influence.

00:18:44This way, Salah ad-Din gradually created a strong and trusted inner council of his own.

00:18:49This solidified Salah ad-Din's political position in the Fatimid court.

00:18:54Now he could again focus on rebuilding the nation.

00:18:59Only three months had passed in peace, then disaster struck again.

00:19:03Towards the end of 1169, the crusader states of the Byzantine Empire joined forces and

00:19:08sent a massive naval fleet to invade Egypt.

00:19:12They were approaching fast to attack an Egyptian port city, Demietta.

00:19:16Salah ad-Din had actually been working to strengthen the fortification of different

00:19:20parts of Egypt since he came to power, expecting an attack from the crusaders.

00:19:25But he did not expect the attack to come from the Mediterranean Sea.

00:19:29He thought the crusaders would invade on land through the Sinai Peninsula, as they had done

00:19:33before.

00:19:34So, Salah ad-Din's main defense force was stationed much further south than Demietta.

00:19:39This meant it would take some time to send reinforcements to the port city.

00:19:43So, he had to find a way to delay the invasion.

00:19:47He sent a messenger to the governor of Demietta asking him to block the entrance from the

00:19:52so that the naval fleets could not come inside the defensive line.

00:19:56He wrote to them that the reinforcements were already on their way.

00:19:59Simultaneously, he commanded his army to march towards Demietta.

00:20:04Upon receiving news from Salah ad-Din, the defenders in Demietta strengthened the city

00:20:08defense and raised an iron chain across the city's branch of the Nile.

00:20:13This prevented the crusader ships from entering the harbor from the sea and launching the

00:20:17attack.

00:20:18The crusaders decided to blockade the city from the sea.

00:20:22This is exactly what Salah ad-Din anticipated.

00:20:25He could now send supplies easily to the city through the Nile and reinforcements could

00:20:29reach the city from the southern side without confronting the enemy.

00:20:35The crusaders realized they couldn't take the city as easily as they had thought.

00:20:39They began regular siege tactics and started deploying siege weapons to attack the city

00:20:43defense.

00:20:44They built catapults, siege towers, and ballistae.

00:20:48But the defenders of Demietta were able to defend one wave of crusader attack after another.

00:20:53This was possible as they were getting regular supplies of food, arms, and men.

00:20:58From time to time, the defenders even went offensive to put pressure on the crusader

00:21:02front lines.

00:21:03On one occasion, they even sent a fire ship down the river into the Byzantine fleet.

00:21:08As soon as it reached the fleet, the explosives stored inside the fire ship detonated, causing

00:21:13a huge explosion.

00:21:15Six Byzantine warships were completely destroyed, and several others were damaged beyond repair.

00:21:21On several occasions, the defenders also rallied outside of the city walls, attacking the siege

00:21:26lines and destroying the siege engines that were pounding on the city walls.

00:21:30After several weeks of failed attempts to capture Demietta, the crusaders started to

00:21:35run out of food and other supplies.

00:21:37Their plan to launch a swift and surprise attack on Egypt had utterly failed.

00:21:42There would be no way now to continue the invasion without suffering huge casualties.

00:21:47The war would drain their treasury dry, and the riches that they had planned to plunder

00:21:50from Egypt were now out of reach.

00:21:53So after almost two months of laying siege on Demietta, the crusaders decided to withdraw

00:21:58and leave Egypt.

00:22:00Although the battles at the siege of Demietta were not as intense as other invasions by

00:22:04the crusaders, the failure of combined Byzantine and crusader forces to take a single Egyptian

00:22:10port city was actually a heavy blow to the morale of the crusaders.

00:22:15This victory proved Salah ad-Din's capable leadership.

00:22:18It would be another five years before Egypt faced another external threat.

00:22:22Salah ad-Din now had the resources and support in Egypt to continue his master plan.

00:22:29Join us next time as we explore further consolidation of Salah ad-Din's power in Egypt and his struggle

00:22:34to unite the Muslim nations under one banner against the crusaders.

00:22:38Stay tuned.

00:22:41Salah ad-Din Part 3 The Sultan in Action

00:22:45Cairo, Egypt.

00:22:46Two years since the crusaders had to retreat from Demietta.

00:22:50It has been a peaceful time, and Salah ad-Din has used the time to strengthen Egypt.

00:22:54The economy improved, the army grew bigger and stronger, the defenses of major Egyptian

00:22:59cities were rebuilt.

00:23:01Salah ad-Din even went on the offensive against the crusaders by sending troops to attack

00:23:06the border regions.

00:23:08Everything was going according to plan.

00:23:11Then suddenly, the Fatimid caliph in Cairo fell gravely ill.

00:23:16As he had no designated successor, Egypt was up for grabs.

00:23:20After two centuries of Fatimid rule, seismic changes were about to take place.

00:23:26Quick action was necessary to prevent the power vacuum in Cairo from undoing all the

00:23:30work of Salah ad-Din so far.

00:23:32Moreover, Salah ad-Din was under immense political pressure from Nur ad-Din and the caliph in

00:23:37Baghdad to establish Sunni dominance in Egypt.

00:23:41And Salah ad-Din was the second most powerful person in the country, who was better suited

00:23:46to become the new king of Egypt.

00:23:49Upon the death of the last Fatimid caliph al-Adid, Salah ad-Din had now the opportunity

00:23:54to establish his own dynasty.

00:23:56Thus began the Ayyubid dynasty.

00:23:59This was uncharted territory for Salah ad-Din.

00:24:02He'd always had big plans, but until now he did not have the complete independence

00:24:06and the unmatched power to work on them.

00:24:10Egypt belongs to Salah ad-Din now, and he has total control of every aspect of it.

00:24:15And so begins Salah ad-Din's great leap forward.

00:24:19Immediately, upon sitting on the throne, he proclaimed the caliph in Baghdad as caliph.

00:24:25And Egypt became part of the Abbasid caliphate.

00:24:28Salah ad-Din would be a semi-independent ruler with the title Sultan of Egypt.

00:24:33Salah ad-Din was still theoretically under Nur ad-Din's command, and he did not want

00:24:37to damage that relationship.

00:24:39So Salah ad-Din arranged for a handsome annual tribute for Nur ad-Din, making sure that he

00:24:44had no opponents from the Muslim side to challenge his power in Egypt.

00:24:49Once the external support was ensured, Salah ad-Din focused on his own dynastic ambitions.

00:24:55No doubt the dream of freeing the holy lands was always burning inside of him.

00:24:59But he understood that he couldn't launch a campaign against the crusaders unless he

00:25:03established a powerful empire in Egypt first.

00:25:07Salah ad-Din turned the wheel of change in Egypt.

00:25:10His council revised the tax codes, ensuring further revenue of the state, redistributed

00:25:14the lands, ensuring royalty at local leadership levels, replaced the corrupted provincial

00:25:19officers with skilled officers, ensuring effective administration of the state, and less chance

00:25:25of conspiracy against the Ayyubids.

00:25:28Salah ad-Din showed everyone that when it comes to being a sultan, he had his own way

00:25:32of doing things.

00:25:35Syria under Nur ad-Din and Egypt under Salah ad-Din provided a perfect opportunity to attack

00:25:40the crusader state kingdom of Jerusalem from two different sides.

00:25:44A plan was drawn out.

00:25:46Both Nur ad-Din and Salah ad-Din started marching from their own capitals.

00:25:50But halfway to the battleground, Salah ad-Din returned to Cairo.

00:25:54Nur ad-Din found himself alone on the battlefield.

00:25:57He continued on with the assault, but ultimately, the campaign was not successful.

00:26:02Until today, we do not know for sure why Salah ad-Din turned back.

00:26:05He wrote to Nur ad-Din about the possibility of a rebellion in Cairo in his absence, which

00:26:10many scholars argue was not a good enough reason.

00:26:13But what we know for sure is that this event caused a divide in the trust between Nur ad-Din

00:26:19and Salah ad-Din, and over time, this divide would only grow bigger.

00:26:24Although disappointed, Nur ad-Din was content with Salah ad-Din for the time being.

00:26:29He was still receiving the tribute from Egypt.

00:26:31However, Salah ad-Din's not showing up initiated a lot of rumors and conspiracy theories in

00:26:36the Zengid court.

00:26:37In general, it was seen by the Zengid emirs as Salah ad-Din's defiance of Nur ad-Din's

00:26:43command.

00:26:44In the meantime, Salah ad-Din was busy in Egypt.

00:26:47The steps he initially took after coming to power started bearing fruits.

00:26:51His army fought skirmishes in the southern and western boundaries of Egypt, launched

00:26:55a campaign against Yemen, and established a strong naval presence along the Red Sea coasts,

00:27:00thereby extending Salah ad-Din's control to Sudan, Mecca, Medina, and Yemen.

00:27:06Both his treasury and his political influence were enriched by these missions.

00:27:10Salah ad-Din won the heart and trust of the Egyptians, and people were ready to support

00:27:14his cause.

00:27:16But the more Salah ad-Din grew in power, the more mistrust and friction occurred between

00:27:20the Ayyubids and the Zengids.

00:27:22Eventually, the Zengid emirs were able to convince Nur ad-Din that his once deputy had

00:27:28now become too powerful and needed to be removed.

00:27:32In 1174, Nur ad-Din started preparing his army to invade Egypt, and Salah ad-Din began

00:27:38preparations to defend it.

00:27:41But during the preparation, Nur ad-Din suddenly fell ill and passed away after only a few

00:27:45days.

00:27:46Nur ad-Din's successor was his son, Saleh, only 11 years old.

00:27:52The news of Nur ad-Din's death reached Salah ad-Din.

00:27:54Undoubtedly, the death of his childhood hero and mentor had a massive impact on his state

00:28:00of mind.

00:28:01Although they were not on friendly terms, at the time of his death, Salah ad-Din always

00:28:05had a great respect for Nur ad-Din for his effort to unite the Muslims of Syria against

00:28:09the Crusaders.

00:28:10Yet, Salah ad-Din was relieved to some extent, knowing that the civil war between Syria and

00:28:15Egypt would now be avoided.

00:28:19That night, Salah ad-Din went to the balcony of his quarters.

00:28:21As he looked towards the horizon beyond the vast expanse of his capital city, all the

00:28:26mixed feelings and thoughts regarding Nur ad-Din's death unfolded in his mind.

00:28:31Not only did this impact his personal feelings, the news had also major political implications.

00:28:37Nur ad-Din's death changed the entire geopolitical dynamic of the region.

00:28:43Surely, the young son of Nur ad-Din wouldn't be able to practice the same power his father

00:28:47did.

00:28:48The power vacuum would create infighting among the Zengids.

00:28:52What actions should Salah ad-Din take now?

00:28:55To drive the Crusaders out of the Holy Lands, the existence of a strong Syria is essential.

00:29:00Without strong fronts in both Egypt and Syria, the ultimate victory against the Crusaders

00:29:05cannot be guaranteed.

00:29:07And without Nur ad-Din, Syria does not have that strength any longer.

00:29:11Should Salah ad-Din launch a campaign against the Crusaders on his own?

00:29:15Perhaps.

00:29:16But if Syria fell into the wrong hands, then the Crusaders could form a new alliance and

00:29:20outmatch Salah ad-Din's force.

00:29:23Should he then annex Syria first to prevent that?

00:29:26He could, but the values and Islamic teachings that he grew up with prevented him from doing

00:29:30so.

00:29:31He can't wage war against the family of his benefactor without any provocation.

00:29:36That would be hypocrisy for him, making him unsuitable to lead the armies in the Holy

00:29:41Lands according to his own standards of belief.

00:29:44Certainly, Salah ad-Din was an ambitious man, but his ambition was not more important to

00:29:49him than his principles.

00:29:51He knew in his heart that if he wished to be successful in freeing the Holy Lands from

00:29:56the Crusaders, he had to do it in an honorable way.

00:30:00No political backstabbing and betrayal should be allowed to tarnish his lifelong goal.

00:30:05As the dawn broke and the call for prayer was announced from the minarets of the Grand

00:30:09Mosque of Cairo, Salah ad-Din could finally make up his mind.

00:30:13He decided to wait and not get involved in the political turmoil in Syria for the time

00:30:18being.

00:30:19His lifelong mission for the Holy Lands was put on pause.

00:30:23A few days later, a messenger reached Damascus with a letter from Salah ad-Din to As-Salih.

00:30:28The Sultan of Egypt had promised full support to the young prince and would always come

00:30:33to his aid whenever it was needed.

00:30:35As Salah ad-Din's letter reached Damascus, another message reached Salah ad-Din's court

00:30:40in Cairo.

00:30:41Egypt was under attack.

00:30:42A naval fleet of Crusaders and Sicilians laid siege on Alexandria, one of the most important

00:30:48cities in Egypt.

00:30:50The attackers had almost 200 warships, 40 transport ships, and more than 1,000 knights.

00:30:56It was a formidable assault.

00:30:59But this time, Salah ad-Din was much more prepared than on previous occasions.

00:31:03Supplies and supplies were quickly sent to Alexandria to reinforce the defenders.

00:31:07The initial blow was heavy on the Muslims.

00:31:10All the warships and commercial vessels of the Muslims at the port of Alexandria were

00:31:13destroyed by the Sicilian invaders.

00:31:16But as the reinforcements reached the city, the defenders' morale was boosted.

00:31:20On the second day of the battle, when the invaders brought their siege towers near the

00:31:23wall of Alexandria, the Muslim defenders burst out of the gates in a surprise attack and

00:31:29did their best to hit the enemy's morale.

00:31:32They burnt down the siege towers, ravaged the enemy camps, and took away large amounts

00:31:36of weaponry and treasure.

00:31:39This was a serious blow to the invaders.

00:31:42As the siege dragged on for days, the invaders started to lose strength.

00:31:45They needed reinforcement, but the promised reinforcements never arrived from the Crusader

00:31:50states.

00:31:51That was because King Amalric died suddenly of dysentery in Jerusalem.

00:31:56His kingdom was passed on to his 13-year-old son, Baldwin IV, who was suffering from leprosy.

00:32:02This sudden death of Amalric prevented the Crusaders from sending the promised supplies

00:32:06to the battlefield.

00:32:08Ever the diplomat, Salah ad-Din quickly initiated a truce between him and the new Crusader king,

00:32:13leaving the Sicilians alone to fight in the battle.

00:32:17Simultaneously, Salah ad-Din started marching towards Alexandria with a huge army.

00:32:22The Sicilians had to accept the defeat.

00:32:25What could have been the biggest threat to Salah ad-Din's reign actually brought yet

00:32:28another victory through his military and diplomatic prowess.

00:32:33But all the news was not good.

00:32:35Back in Syria, the young prince As-Saleh became a pawn in the fighting among top Zengid leaders.

00:32:41The prince was in Aleppo, and the emir of Aleppo, Gumushtigin, wanted to use his guardianship

00:32:45over the prince to establish his own political influence in Syria and kill the other emirs

00:32:50in the region, starting with Damascus.

00:32:53A political rival of the emir of Aleppo was Saif al-Din, the emir of Mosul.

00:32:58But he refused to come to the aid of Damascus when requested.

00:33:02So seeing no other way, the emir of Damascus had to ask support from Salah ad-Din.

00:33:07This request gave Salah ad-Din the legitimacy to get involved in the power struggle in Syria.

00:33:13But Salah ad-Din had to act quickly.

00:33:15There was no time to assemble a large army and spend several weeks marching towards Syria.

00:33:20He took 700 of his best horsemen and rushed towards Damascus.

00:33:24To save time, he even went through crusader territories, Karak and Shubak.

00:33:29Although a very risky maneuver, it proved fruitful.

00:33:32Salah ad-Din traveled so quickly through the enemy territory that the crusaders could not

00:33:36do anything about it.

00:33:38In the end, Salah ad-Din reached Damascus even before Gumushtigin's army started marching

00:33:42on the city.

00:33:44This was a brilliant move by Salah ad-Din, as Damascus now came under his control without

00:33:49any serious resistance.

00:33:51It saved plenty of time, resources, and bloodshed.

00:33:54The people of Damascus welcomed Salah ad-Din with open arms as their protector.

00:33:59After establishing his base in Damascus over the next few days and gathering more local

00:34:04force, Salah ad-Din quickly moved towards Aleppo, laid siege on the city, and demanded

00:34:09the guardianship of the Prince al-Saleh.

00:34:12One dark night during the siege of Aleppo, while Salah ad-Din was discussing plans with

00:34:16his emirs in a private tent, someone rushed into the tent from the darkness.

00:34:21He was dressed in black and had a bare knife at his hand.

00:34:24He jumped onto Salah ad-Din in an attempt to stab him with the knife.

00:34:28This was Salah ad-Din's first encounter with the secret cult called the Assassins.

00:34:35So far, we have seen Salah ad-Din rise in power and win one victory after another.

00:34:40As we further explore the events of his life, we'll see a new chapter unfold, a chapter

00:34:46full of struggles, stalemates, and challenges, a period in which Salah ad-Din spends most

00:34:51of his time and effort fighting his fellow Muslims rather than the crusaders.

00:34:58Salah ad-Din Part 4 Pitfalls in Syria

00:35:04Aleppo Syria 1175

00:35:08As the morning sun rose, Salah ad-Din looked at the walled city of Aleppo from a nearby

00:35:13hill.

00:35:14The attack by the assassins on his life the night before had left him perplexed.

00:35:21He had underestimated the shrewdness of Gumushtigin.

00:35:26Salah ad-Din could not imagine that Gumushtigin would hire assassins to kill him.

00:35:31The assassins were a secret group fortifying themselves in the dense mountains of Syria

00:35:36and they were famous for targeted killings of political personnel of high power in both

00:35:40the Muslim and crusader ranks.

00:35:45Ideologically they followed the Shia sect and thus they did not like Salah ad-Din for

00:35:49abolishing the Fatimid Caliphate.

00:35:53So it was very easy for Gumushtigin to convince the assassins' leader Rashid ad-Din Sinan

00:35:59to attack Salah ad-Din.

00:36:02On top of that, more news had recently come to Salah ad-Din that the crusaders under the

00:36:07command of Raymond of Tripoli were gathering forces and raiding the borders of Salah ad-Din's

00:36:13Syrian territory.

00:36:15It was rumored that Gumushtigin had a hand in that as well.

00:36:19All the pieces of the puzzle were now falling into place.

00:36:23Salah ad-Din could see how treacherous Gumushtigin had been.

00:36:28He looked at the citadel of Aleppo, he realized how far away he was from gaining total control

00:36:33of Syria.

00:36:35The capture of Aleppo seemed like a dream now far away.

00:36:41Salah ad-Din had to respond immediately against the threat of the crusaders.

00:36:47He couldn't risk his life and the loss of his army to continue the siege on a heavily

00:36:52fortified city like Aleppo.

00:36:56In this round, Gumushtigin had won.

00:36:59Salah ad-Din lifted the siege and took his army back to Damascus.

00:37:04From there, he sent forces to deter the raiding crusaders.

00:37:10Salah ad-Din's recent momentum in Syria caused a lot of jealousy in the Zengid leadership.

00:37:16The emerging leader of the Zengids, Saif al-Din, was a cousin of Nur ad-Din.

00:37:21So he got the support of Prince al-Saleh and Gumushtigin.

00:37:25Saif al-Din soon united the quarreling Zengid emirs and solidified his position on a vast

00:37:31territory including Mosul and Aleppo.

00:37:36To weaken the position of Salah ad-Din in Syria, they launched a massive propaganda

00:37:41campaign stating that Salah ad-Din had forgotten his responsibility of freeing Jerusalem from

00:37:47the crusaders.

00:37:49Salah ad-Din's reputation in Syria as a warrior of the holy war was heavily damaged

00:37:55because of this.

00:37:57Salah ad-Din was under heavy pressure to take action but his army was not yet strong

00:38:02enough to recapture Jerusalem so he devised another plan.

00:38:07Salah ad-Din strengthened his forces in the cities of Horns and Hama in Syria and from

00:38:12there he could launch skirmishes in the border territories of the crusader states.

00:38:18These skirmishes were quite successful and in many cases drove crusaders to withdraw.

00:38:23These victories worked as a checkmate for Salah ad-Din against the Zengid propaganda.

00:38:29Salah ad-Din's popularity soared among the Syrians as never before.

00:38:34In the following weeks, the political and territorial conflict between the Zengids and

00:38:39Ayyubids became so intensified that there was no way to avoid war.

00:38:44The armies met near Hama in March of 1175.

00:38:48Salah ad-Din was vastly outnumbered and had no intention of fighting his fellow Muslims.

00:38:54So Salah ad-Din proposed handing over Homs and Hama to the Zengids and in return asked

00:39:00acknowledgement as the ruler of Damascus on behalf of Princess Salih.

00:39:05But the Zengids led by Saif al-Din were unmoved.

00:39:09Their reply was surrender all lands in Syria and return to Egypt.

00:39:14The negotiation failed and the confrontation was unavoidable.

00:39:19Salah ad-Din's military skills and experiences had been greatly boosted by his recent military

00:39:25campaigns.

00:39:26This was reflected in how he arranged his forces to face the stronger opponent.

00:39:32He placed his army at the horns of Hama, hills by the gorge of the Orontes River.

00:39:38As soon as the Zengids attacked, they found themselves fighting the battle uphill and

00:39:43pinned by the river at one side.

00:39:46The Zengid's numerical advantage was nullified.

00:39:49Salah ad-Din launched a strong counterattack with his most veteran soldiers, immediately

00:39:54collapsing one wing of the Zengid army.

00:39:58Another wing followed shortly thereafter.

00:40:00The Zengids were surrounded from three sides and were thrashed.

00:40:04Another victory for Salah ad-Din.

00:40:07Through tactics and determination, Salah ad-Din would now be able to force the Zengids into

00:40:12a truce.

00:40:14The Zengids conceded that Salah ad-Din should keep his territories in Syria.

00:40:20But the prince would still be in Aleppo under Saif al-Din's guardianship.

00:40:24Finally, peace among the Muslims in Syria had begun.

00:40:30The victory against the Zengids was a crucial development in Salah ad-Din's political career.

00:40:35After the victory, Salah ad-Din was acknowledged by the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad as Sultan

00:40:40of Egypt and Syria.

00:40:43And as sovereign king, he no longer needed the patronage of the Zengid prince.

00:40:48Both in Cairo and in Damascus, coins were being minted with his official titles and

00:40:54the Friday prayer sermon in the mosques or khutbas started mentioning him as the sole

00:41:00ruler omitting the name of a Salih.

00:41:03This was a decisive move.

00:41:05Officially, Salah ad-Din was no longer a part of the Zengid dynasty.

00:41:11But his good fortune didn't last long.

00:41:14During the summer of 1175, a bad drought made the continuation of fighting with the Crusaders

00:41:19an impossibility.

00:41:21The Crusaders were also hit by the same situation, so they made peace with Salah ad-Din and there

00:41:26was a pause on ongoing conflicts.

00:41:29Salah ad-Din could take a break from military campaigns and focus on the administration

00:41:34of his vast empire that included Egypt, Yemen, Hejaz consisting of Mecca and Medina, and

00:41:41Syria.

00:41:43Hardly a year had passed, political turmoil returned in Syria.

00:41:47Saif al-Din started looking for trouble in order to fight Salah ad-Din and to gain his

00:41:52territories.

00:41:53So, Salah ad-Din gathered his forces and marched northwards from Damascus towards Aleppo.

00:42:00On the way, in a place called Tal al-Sultan, he encountered the army of Saif al-Din.

00:42:06Salah ad-Din's army was exhausted by their march, but the general lack of leadership

00:42:10and military skills amongst the Zengid leaders caused a delay in initiating the fight.

00:42:16This gave the Ayyubid army an unexpected opportunity to rest and regain their strength.

00:42:22When the fighting finally began the following day, battle-hardened Salah ad-Din took full

00:42:26advantage of the incompetence of the Zengid leaders.

00:42:30As soon as the wings of both armies met one another, Salah ad-Din charged forward at the

00:42:35center.

00:42:36The Zengid soldiers became panicked by this surprising maneuver and failed to keep their

00:42:40formation.

00:42:41The Zengids were decimated and Saif al-Din narrowly escaped.

00:42:45The whole Zengid war camp, including horses, armors, arms, and baggage trains, were captured

00:42:51by the Ayyubids.

00:42:54All the captured riches were distributed among the soldiers.

00:42:57Salah ad-Din kept nothing for himself, a custom that Salah ad-Din followed in every battle

00:43:03of his life.

00:43:04Saif al-Din fled to Aleppo.

00:43:08After the battle, Salah ad-Din moved north, capturing more towns in northern Syria from

00:43:13the Zengid command.

00:43:15Eventually, he reached Aleppo region and laid siege to the castle of Azzaz, a formidable

00:43:21and strategically important site.

00:43:24One night during the siege, Salah ad-Din was having a discussion with his emirs inside

00:43:28his tent.

00:43:29A man dressed in black suddenly entered the tent and stabbed Salah ad-Din in the head

00:43:34with a knife.

00:43:35Fortunately, Salah ad-Din had been wearing a chainmail hood under his turban and the

00:43:39first blow slipped and only cut his cheek.

00:43:42Salah ad-Din grabbed the man's knife hand and started to twist.

00:43:46The assassin tried to strike again at Salah ad-Din's neck.

00:43:50The strength and resistance of Salah ad-Din were enough to stop the assassin from landing

00:43:54a lethal blow.

00:43:56Still, the attacker's knife was able to cut through the leather armor on Salah ad-Din's

00:44:00shoulder and inflicted a wound.

00:44:03By this time, the emirs in the tent had fully realized what was going on and came forward

00:44:07to rescue their sultan.

00:44:09The assassin was struck down by them.

00:44:12While all of this was going on, a second and third assassin rushed into the tent and started

00:44:16attacking the emirs.

00:44:18But the chaos and screaming had alerted the guards.

00:44:22They came running and killed the assassins.

00:44:25Salah ad-Din's wounds were not severe but he was profoundly shaken.

00:44:29He realized how serious of a threat the assassins had become.

00:44:33He immediately took precautions and raised guards around the camp to prevent any intruders

00:44:38from entering unnoticed.

00:44:41After a month of siege, the castle of Azzaz fell.

00:44:45Now Aleppo was completely surrounded.

00:44:48Salah ad-Din didn't want to launch a full-fledged attack and destroy the city.

00:44:53This would cause a lot of bloodshed on both sides and Salah ad-Din didn't think it would

00:44:57be wise to prolong the campaign against his fellow Muslims unnecessarily.

00:45:03So when the Zengids in Aleppo offered a truce and proposed more territorial control to Salah

00:45:07ad-Din, he accepted their offer.

00:45:11The whole of northern Syria came under the Ayyubid dynasty except Aleppo.

00:45:16Now came time to settle scores with the assassins.

00:45:21Salah ad-Din launched a campaign into the territories occupied by the assassins.

00:45:26Soon he reached the castle of Masyaf which belonged to the assassins' leader himself,

00:45:30Rashid ad-Din Sinan.

00:45:33Salah ad-Din laid siege to the castle.

00:45:36Day after day, Salah ad-Din sent his army to occupy the castle.

00:45:41Every time, the assassins resisted fiercely.

00:45:45The siege became long and bloody, but Salah ad-Din was relentless, wanting to see the

00:45:50end of it.

00:45:51So the fight continued.

00:45:53Finally, the assassins gave up and offered to make peace.

00:45:57Salah ad-Din now had two choices.

00:46:00He could either accept the peace or could continue the siege.

00:46:03The castle of Masyaf was a tough defensive site, fortified with walls and towers placed

00:46:08on top of a mountain.

00:46:10Continuing the capture of the castle would mean that Salah ad-Din would have to accept

00:46:14great losses and significantly weaken his army.

00:46:18This would give the crusaders and the Zangids opportunities to make moves against him.

00:46:23After considering these factors, Salah ad-Din took the wiser route.

00:46:26He accepted the truce.

00:46:28A treaty was signed, Rashid ad-Din Sinan promised not to attack Salah ad-Din ever again and

00:46:34swore his allegiance.

00:46:36Although the assassins were not completely wiped out, Salah ad-Din still could neutralize

00:46:40the threat of the assassins.

00:46:43Salah ad-Din could turn an enemy into a strength, one less enemy to worry about.

00:46:49Finally, the situation in Syria was stable.

00:46:52The Zangids were no longer a threat.

00:46:55The assassins were under control and the crusaders had stopped their raids.

00:47:00Salah ad-Din now had a brief period of peace.

00:47:04He could finally focus on preparing for his ultimate goal, Jerusalem.

00:47:09He returned to Cairo, focused on fortification of his territories on different fronts, reorganized

00:47:14his army and started planning a full-on offensive against the crusaders to win back Jerusalem.

00:47:22After years of political struggle and bloodshed with his fellow Muslims, Salah ad-Din thought

00:47:27now he would be able to achieve his ultimate goal.

00:47:31Little did he know that he would soon have to flee the battlefield narrowly, escaping

00:47:36death.

00:47:37This was Salah ad-Din's first major campaign against the crusaders and it resulted in the

00:47:42most devastating defeat of his life at the Battle of Montgisard.

00:47:50Salah ad-Din Part 5 In Failure, He Learned to Succeed

00:47:56The 26th November 1177 As the sun rose in the desert of the Sinai

00:48:01Peninsula, a small group of horsemen were moving at lightning speed towards Cairo.

00:48:07This group of horsemen consisted of Salah ad-Din and a handful of his bodyguards.

00:48:12Salah ad-Din himself rode in the middle of the group, his mind clouded with fury and

00:48:16embarrassment.

00:48:18He was thinking about the defeat he had endured just the afternoon before.

00:48:21He'd had all the advantages and yet his mission failed.

00:48:26How could that be?

00:48:27How could he lose to the crusaders?

00:48:31To understand Salah ad-Din's defeat at the Battle of Montgisard, we have to look a few

00:48:35weeks beforehand.

00:48:36When Salah ad-Din launched his campaign in early November of 1177, he had 18,000 soldiers

00:48:43plus 8,000 elite Mamluks.

00:48:46The Mamluks were highly trained, most skilled, and were the most enduring units of Salah

00:48:50ad-Din's army.

00:48:52They can be compared to the knights in European armies of the 12th century.

00:48:56Salah ad-Din's army was strong enough to face any army that the crusader states could

00:49:00muster.

00:49:02Upon entering the crusader territory, his army started raiding, with the aim to cut

00:49:06the food supply to different crusader strongholds.

00:49:09Salah ad-Din quickly passed the crusader fortresses at Tarum and Gaza.

00:49:13He left a small garrison at each of these fortresses but did not engage in battle.

00:49:18Soon the army reached Ascalon, a heavily fortified and strategically important crusader city.

00:49:23Here Salah ad-Din camped his main forces and sent some troops around to raid even deeper

00:49:28into the crusader heartland to create panic and fear.

00:49:32However, he didn't lay siege on the city itself.

00:49:35It's a rare instance when Salah ad-Din left enemy strongholds un-attacked behind his front

00:49:40line.

00:49:41First Tarum and Gaza, then later Ascalon.

00:49:44This would prove to be a costly mistake by Salah ad-Din in the coming days.

00:49:49Initially, Salah ad-Din's soldiers faced little to no resistance in their advancement.

00:49:54Some troops even reached Ramlan, around 40 kilometers from Jerusalem.

00:49:58It seemed just a matter of time before Salah ad-Din would appear at the gates of Jerusalem

00:50:02with his army.

00:50:04This advancement by Salah ad-Din's army caused great panic among the crusaders.

00:50:08King Baldwin IV called for every able man in his kingdom to bear arms and join the battle.

00:50:14Although suffering from leprosy, his health was stable enough for him to ride with his

00:50:18army to the battle.

00:50:20Answering his call, princes from the different crusading states joined his army.

00:50:24Among them was Raynald of Shattilan, Prince of Karak, a name we would see returning frequently

00:50:30in future events.

00:50:33Now back to Baldwin IV's battle plan.

00:50:35He had to prove to his subjects that he was a capable king who would face the attackers

00:50:39and not simply let his kingdom be taken away.

00:50:42He decided not to wait until Salah ad-Din reached Jerusalem, rather to ride out and

00:50:46take the battle to Ascalon.

00:50:49This was a bold decision considering he only had 7,000 men to face off against Salah ad-Din's

00:50:5426,000, but he had to reach Ascalon with his army avoiding Salah ad-Din's raiding troops.

00:51:00If discovered before reaching Ascalon, he would not be able to defend his army.

00:51:05In an unfortunate turn of events, the scout sent by Baldwin found that the Muslim troops

00:51:09spread out too thin to create a solid blockade at Ascalon.

00:51:13The groups were so far apart from each other that they would not be able to reassemble

00:51:16without significant delay.

00:51:19Seeing such gaps and a lack of discipline, the crusaders took the opportunity and moved

00:51:23towards Ascalon through the gaps of the Muslim encirclement.

00:51:27Although late, the news reached Salah ad-Din before Baldwin IV's arrival in Ascalon.

00:51:31Yet, surprisingly, he decided not to engage this time as well.

00:51:35We cannot know for sure what was going on in Salah ad-Din's mind.

00:51:38Perhaps he thought he could pin down Baldwin in Ascalon without spending the strength of

00:51:42his army and this way making it easier to capture Jerusalem without the king present.

00:51:48But before Salah ad-Din could put his plan into action, Baldwin IV surprised Salah ad-Din.

00:51:52On the afternoon of the 25th of November 1177, Baldwin IV, with around 375 knights, heavily

00:51:59protected under metal armors and with strong horses, attacked Salah ad-Din's central

00:52:03camp near Ascalon.

00:52:06The rest of the army followed and smashed against the Muslim front line.

00:52:09Salah ad-Din realized the threat too late.

00:52:12Although he had sent orders to his scattered troops to gather, they could not reorganize

00:52:15quickly enough to put up a resistance.

00:52:19Salah ad-Din stepped back and tried to pull his forces on top of a hill called Mount Jisar.

00:52:23But the powerful charge by the crusaders did its trick and Salah ad-Din's lines were broken.

00:52:28Salah ad-Din tried to rally his troops two times to counter the attack but both attempts

00:52:32failed.

00:52:33The soldiers started to flee.

00:52:35The crusader knights reached so close to Salah ad-Din that there were only a few elite Mamluk

00:52:40guards to protect the Sultan.

00:52:42By Salah ad-Din's own description of the events, a Templar knight came so close to him that

00:52:47he tried to hit Salah ad-Din on the chest with a lance.

00:52:49Luckily, three of Salah ad-Din's bodyguards were close enough and could come to his aid

00:52:53before the Sultan was injured.

00:52:56Salah ad-Din had to retreat.

00:52:58The whole Muslim camp, even Salah ad-Din's personal tent, was lost.

00:53:02Although Salah ad-Din could retreat safely, his army could not.

00:53:06Only a part of his force fought at Manchisard and were thrashed by the crusaders.

00:53:10The other groups, who were spread out too far and were also attacked from all sides

00:53:14later on.

00:53:16Even while retreating, the fortresses that were left unattacked behind the front line

00:53:19became a constant source of attack and harassment for his soldiers.

00:53:23The defeat at Manchisard was a serious setback for Salah ad-Din's plan.

00:53:27No doubt he was sad and embarrassed, but the political consequences far outweighed any

00:53:33emotional damage.

00:53:34Salah ad-Din was now incredibly vulnerable.

00:53:37His kingdom was exposed both to the crusaders and to his competitors in Syria.

00:53:41The morale of the Muslims was at the lowest it had been in decades.

00:53:45Meanwhile, the crusaders were having victory parades showing off the spoils of battle.

00:53:51Salah ad-Din safely reached Cairo and from there he started reorganizing.

00:53:55Now what we know about Salah ad-Din is that he was no quitter.

00:53:58He had surely learned many hard lessons in the aftermath of the battle of Manchisard

00:54:03and our guy Salah ad-Din was someone who learns from his mistakes.

00:54:07The next time, Salah ad-Din would be prepared for surprises.

00:54:11How much Salah ad-Din evolved as a leader after this event was obvious in the events

00:54:15that unfolded in the following months.

00:54:17The crusaders boosted in morale with their victory launched attacks at strategically

00:54:21important cities in Syria such as Hama and Damascus.

00:54:25Some of the emirs in Syria also rebelled against Salah ad-Din seeing his recent defeat.

00:54:30But Salah ad-Din was prudent and swift in his damage control.

00:54:34He soon moved back to Syria and from there coordinated his forces on multiple fronts.

00:54:40The rebellion was swiftly taken under control although not completely quelled.

00:54:44Then there was a decisive victory of Salah ad-Din's forces in Hama that stopped the

00:54:49crusader incursion.

00:54:50Salah ad-Din himself camped near Homs and engaged in skirmishes with the crusaders.

00:54:55Salah ad-Din emerged victorious from these skirmishes and stalled the crusaders from

00:54:58advancing.

00:55:00But Baldwin IV still did not give up.

00:55:03In an attempt to create pressure, he started building a castle at a place called Jacob's

00:55:06Ford.

00:55:07It was a real threat to the Muslims because of the location of the castle.

00:55:12Situated only 80 kilometers from Damascus, an army from Jacob's Ford could reach Damascus

00:55:16within a couple of days.

00:55:17It was also along the pilgrimage route so the crusaders could attack caravans making

00:55:22their way to Mecca for Hajj.

00:55:24Salah ad-Din decided to resolve this issue once and for all.

00:55:28He sent one of his generals, Bahrukh Shah, to defend Damascus.

00:55:31While Baldwin IV advanced with his army towards Damascus, he expected almost no resistance.

00:55:36Instead, he met a formidable Muslim army and had to retreat after a humiliating defeat.

00:55:43Salah ad-Din regained his confidence and the trust of the Muslims.

00:55:46These victories were essential for Salah ad-Din at this crucial point.

00:55:50He could recover much of the military strength that was lost at the Battle of Manchisar.

00:55:54The morale of the Muslims was high again.

00:55:57He brought reinforcement from Egypt and completely pushed the crusaders out of Syria.

00:56:02Salah ad-Din might have lost a battle but he was still very much capable of fighting

00:56:06and winning the war.

00:56:08Salah ad-Din offered 100,000 pieces of gold to Baldwin IV to abandon the castle at Jacob's

00:56:13Ford stating it would save lots of bloodshed on both sides.

00:56:17But his offer was refused.

00:56:19This was a clear provocation by the crusaders.

00:56:23So Salah ad-Din launched a campaign again into the northern crusader territories in

00:56:261179.

00:56:28This would be the first campaign that Salah ad-Din led himself since the Battle of Manchisar

00:56:32almost 18 months prior.

00:56:35The crusaders had to divide their forces from Jacob's Ford to answer Salah ad-Din's offense.

00:56:40This was his plan to split the crusader army and it worked.

00:56:44The two armies met in a series of battles near Banias, Sidon and Beirut which are part

00:56:48of modern day Lebanon.

00:56:50This time Salah ad-Din prevailed and his army wiped out the crusaders.

00:56:54These victories ensured bountiful food supply and riches for Salah ad-Din's troops while

00:56:59the crusader army was significantly weakened.

00:57:01A number of high-ranked crusader knights were captured and taken prisoner.

00:57:05With a brilliant move, Salah ad-Din then decided to attack the crusaders stationed at Jacob's

00:57:10Ford immediately.

00:57:12This surprise move by Salah ad-Din turned the battle into a race against time.

00:57:17It would take 5 to 6 days for reinforcements to arrive from Jerusalem to Jacob's Ford

00:57:21so Salah ad-Din had to capture the castle within 5 days to avoid a long and devastating

00:57:27siege.

00:57:28So the Muslims attacked the castle with their full might.

00:57:31Day 1 The outer defensive works were captured by

00:57:34the Muslims but the 4 meter thick main wall of the castle still held them back.

00:57:40Day 2 The wall was bombarded with siege weapons for

00:57:43hours.

00:57:44The wall still stood high.

00:57:47In a desperate attempt, the Muslims tried to overrun the wall with ladders but they

00:57:50failed.

00:57:51Salah ad-Din became even more desperate.

00:57:53He commanded his men to start digging a tunnel to go underneath the wall.

00:57:57The idea was to put explosives underneath the wall and blow the whole thing up from

00:58:01underground.

00:58:03Day 3 The attacks continued but the wall stood strong.

00:58:07Meanwhile, the digging of the tunnel continued.

00:58:09Day 4 The tunnel was finally done.

00:58:12The order was given to set the explosives.

00:58:15The Muslims waited in anticipation for the explosion and the subsequent collapse of the

00:58:19wall but that moment never came.

00:58:21The wall stood firm, meaning the tunnel did not reach close enough underneath the wall.

00:58:27Day 5 The crusader reinforcement was only a day

00:58:30away.

00:58:31It was now or never.

00:58:32In a desperate attempt, the Muslims ran with buckets of water to put out the fires in the

00:58:35tunnel and dig further underground.

00:58:38The tunnel continued but would it be finished in time?

00:58:42Day 6 As the sun rays peeked out across the horizon,

00:58:45Muslim soldiers put the explosives at the end of the newly dug tunnel and started the

00:58:49fire.

00:58:50Only a few hours were left before the crusader reinforcements would arrive.

00:58:54Suddenly there was a cracking sound and then came a huge explosion.

00:58:58To the cheers of the Muslims, the stones of the wall shuddered and the wall collapsed

00:59:02downwards.

00:59:03Finally, a breakthrough, a gap.

00:59:07The Muslims charged forward.

00:59:08The crusaders gathered around the gap to create a choking point for the Muslims.

00:59:12From behind the infantry, the Muslim archers rained armor-piercing arrows down on the crusaders.

00:59:18Desperate hand-to-hand combat ensued amidst the rubble and dark clouds of smoke.

00:59:23Inch by inch, the Muslims pushed in.

00:59:25The order was to show no mercy and take no prisoners.

00:59:29The crusader reinforcement arrived nearby but seeing the column of smoke from the distance,

00:59:33they lost hope and turned around.

00:59:35The Muslims dealt one final push and finally the castle was under Muslim control.

00:59:41Salahuddin's yellow standard was finally flying over the tower of Jacob's Forge.

00:59:46In the following month, Salahuddin showed an even broader strategic approach against

00:59:49the crusaders.

00:59:50He had been working on rebuilding the Egyptian naval force for the last few months and to

00:59:55show his strength, he launched a naval assault in another important crusader city named Acre

00:59:59just weeks after recapturing Jacob's Forge.

01:00:03Although being a short and run mission, it successfully destroyed the harbor towers and

01:00:07several ships.

01:00:08After decades, the Muslims now had a formidable navy.

01:00:13Salahuddin once again showed how he had learned and improved from every setback in his life.

01:00:18The game had now turned.

01:00:19The crusaders had lost the upper hand.

01:00:22Salahuddin now dominated the borders of the crusader states both from land and sea.

01:00:27But with all the fighting continuing on the western front, a great storm was brewing elsewhere,

01:00:32moving fast to engulf Salahuddin's empire.

01:00:34The political turmoil returned to Syria, and Raynald of Châtillon decided to attack Medina

01:00:40and kidnap the body of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in an act of revenge.

01:00:55Cairo, Egypt, December 1181.

01:01:00It has been two years since the Battle of Jacob's Forge.

01:01:04Salahuddin's series of victories forced the crusaders to offer peace.

01:01:10Since then, it has been a period of relative calmness.

01:01:14Respecting the truth, Salahuddin did not make a move against the crusaders.

01:01:19He used his time to focus on administration of his vast territories and gathering strength

01:01:25for his future expeditions.

01:01:28He founded many hospitals, madrasas, and agricultural infrastructures.

01:01:35Egypt was booming in wealth.

01:01:37Fortifications along the Egyptian borders had been upgraded.

01:01:41The naval fleet was also strengthened and guarded the coastlines day and night.

01:01:47The advantage of increasing security was twofold, preventing future raids by the crusaders in

01:01:53Egypt as well as a secure fallback position for the Muslim army if they are forced to

01:01:58retreat in future battles.

01:02:02However, Syria could not be made as secure as Egypt, as Salahuddin had to depend on a

01:02:09network of uneasy and complicated treaties and alliances to maintain his power in Syria.

01:02:18Salahuddin had to make sure that he had complete and absolute hold in Syria before he attempted

01:02:24to take Jerusalem again.

01:02:27He didn't want to leave untrustworthy political alliances behind his back.

01:02:32As he moved against the crusaders, here we see again how Salahuddin learned from his

01:02:38mistakes during the battle of Mount Gizar, leaving no point of weakness behind the frontiers.

01:02:46Salahuddin's court in Cairo.

01:02:49As Salahuddin was discussing stately matters with his emirs, a messenger arrived.

01:02:55News from Syria.

01:02:56Prince As-Saleh had passed away in Aleppo.

01:03:00The de facto Zengid leader Saifuddin also passed away several months ago.

01:03:06This vacuum in leadership created squabbles in the Zengid clan.

01:03:10This was high time for Salahuddin to increase his influence in Syria.

01:03:177th May 1182.

01:03:21Salahuddin left Cairo with an army of 8,500 soldiers after a great ceremony.

01:03:27This was the last time Salahuddin was on Egyptian land.

01:03:31The springboard from which he launched his political career and emerged as a figure of

01:03:37power, Salahuddin would go on to live more than a decade after this and he would continue

01:03:44to rely on the resources of Egypt for his actions in the future.

01:03:49This proved how well he arranged the administration of Egypt as well as this, his ultimate goal

01:03:55and priorities laid in Syria and in the holy lands.

01:04:01As soon as Salahuddin reached Syria, news came of a raid conducted by Raynald of Chantillon

01:04:06in the borders.

01:04:08So in July 1182, Salahuddin sent troops to punish Raynald.

01:04:14The two armies met near the Sea of Galilee, also known as Lake Tiberias.

01:04:20The crusade force of around 700 men was decimated by a larger Muslim force.

01:04:26The heat was so strong that many men died of even heat stroke.

01:04:32This was the first of the three battles in the area over the next six years between the

01:04:37Muslims and the Crusaders, giving Salahuddin plenty of opportunity to learn about the local

01:04:44landscape and the weakness in the battle strategy of the Crusaders.

01:04:49Meanwhile, Salahuddin continued with his mission towards Aleppo.

01:04:54As he moved on, many emirs previously supportive of the Zengid dynasties switched their allegiance

01:05:00and came to Salahuddin's side.

01:05:03Realizing Salahuddin's stronger position, Haran, Edessa and Raqqa and many other regions

01:05:11came under Salahuddin's control.

01:05:14But when Salahuddin reached Aleppo, he chose not to lay siege on the city, rather moved

01:05:20his army further east towards Mosul.

01:05:24Salahuddin's army marched through the arid land of Mesopotamia for 600 km to the heartland

01:05:31of Zengid dynasty.

01:05:33The new Zengid leader, Imad al-Din was based in Mosul.

01:05:38But upon reaching Mosul, Salahuddin realized that it was not possible for him to take Mosul.

01:05:46After a long march, his army was exhausted and Mosul was heavily defended.

01:05:52The siege would be long and the damage on Salahuddin's army would be heavy.

01:05:58Salahuddin had to come up with another plan and Salahuddin always come up with his brilliant

01:06:02plans.

01:06:04In a clever move, he took two formidable nearby fortresses named Sinjar and Amid, so Mosul

01:06:11was isolated from the rest of the Zengid lands.

01:06:15And this weakened Imad al-Din's position significantly.

01:06:19Salahuddin achieved the upper hand and now he could force Imad al-Din to negotiate for

01:06:24truce.

01:06:25Imad al-Din had no other option but to accept Salahuddin's offer.

01:06:31Salahuddin would return the captured fortresses in exchange for control of Aleppo.

01:06:39In June 20, Salahuddin's yellow banners were raised over the citadel of Aleppo as

01:06:45he entered the city.

01:06:47Years of effort to bring Aleppo under command had finally been realized.

01:06:52The second strongest city of Syria, after Damascus, consolidated Salahuddin's rule

01:06:58over Syria even further.

01:07:01The crusaders were now afraid Salahuddin had become even a greater threat for them after

01:07:06the capture of Aleppo.

01:07:08The most powerful crusader state, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, was now completely surrounded

01:07:15by Salahuddin's territory.

01:07:21In a desperate attempt to deliver a serious blow to Salahuddin's reign, Raynald of Châtillon

01:07:28devised a devilish plan to snatch the body of the Prophet Muhammad from his tomb in Medina.

01:07:38Red Sea.

01:07:41A ship carrying Muslim pilgrims were heading towards port of Rabi'a, near Medina.

01:07:47As the captain of the pilgrim ship looked at the horizon, he saw something strange.

01:07:53Six ships were approaching fast.

01:07:56As they drew nearer, the flags hoisted on the ships became clearly visible.

01:08:02Crusader banners.

01:08:04Panic ensued.

01:08:05Volleys of arrows came flying onto the pilgrims.

01:08:09They screamed with fear of their lives.

01:08:11Some even jumped out of the ship to save their lives.

01:08:16The crusaders mounted the pilgrim ship.

01:08:19The slaughter started.

01:08:20No one was left alive on board.

01:08:24Disappearances of such pilgrim ships became frequent.

01:08:28How could this happen?

01:08:30The crusaders had no direct access to the Red Sea, but this proved a little obstacle

01:08:35for Raynald's treachery.

01:08:37He ordered his engineers to make small ships in parts.

01:08:41The parts were carried through the Sinai Peninsula on top of the camels in secret missions to

01:08:47reach the Red Sea.

01:08:49There, the parts were assembled and now crusader ships were in the Red Sea.

01:08:56The arrival of such an unexpected threat wreaked panic in the whole region.

01:09:01As soon as the news reached Cairo, fleets were sent to destroy the crusader ships.

01:09:07Meanwhile, the crusaders continued with their mission and disembarked near Rabir.

01:09:14From there, they continued inland towards Medina.

01:09:18The Muslim troops tracked them down and chased them through the desert.

01:09:23Finally, after a fierce fight, the crusaders surrendered.

01:09:29They were 170 in number.

01:09:32This unprecedented wickedness by the crusaders in the heart of Islam was arranged to challenge

01:09:37Salahuddin's position as the hero of the Muslims.

01:09:41Although unsuccessful, it proved how desperate the crusaders became to stop Salahuddin at

01:09:48any cost.

01:09:50Salahuddin could not let such provocation go without a strong response.

01:09:57He moved his forces to Karak.

01:09:59Hearing this news, King Baldwin IV, although in a very terminal condition, started marching

01:10:05towards Karak with a huge army.

01:10:09They offered truce to Salahuddin.

01:10:11Salahuddin did not want to be trapped outside the castle of Karak, so he agreed to keep

01:10:18the peace and return back to Syria.

01:10:21But as times passed by, the raids on the pilgrim caravans continued, and the mastermind behind

01:10:28the threat was no other than Reynald of Châtillon.

01:10:32His fort, Karak, was conveniently located near the caravan route from Syria to Mecca.

01:10:40Salahuddin sent troops again and again to take the castle, but each time, they were

01:10:46unsuccessful by the arrival of crusader relief forces from Jerusalem.

01:10:53Although this stalemate continued on the western front until 1186, several important events

01:11:00changed the power dynamics.

01:11:03In 1185, King Baldwin IV died, and the thrones passed to his 7-year-old nephew, Baldwin V.

01:11:13This weak position of the crusaders forced them to continue negotiating peace with Salahuddin.

01:11:19In the meantime, Salahuddin had to move his focus away from the western border to the

01:11:25eastern border of his territories.

01:11:28News of military activity near Mosul arrived in Damascus.

01:11:33The army of Seljuk Turks had made a move to occupy the city.

01:11:38Salahuddin could not let another power struggle to delay his mission, so he marched towards

01:11:43Mosul and placed an encirclement before the Seljuk army arrived.

01:11:49A long negotiation started, and after five months of discussion, the Zengids swore obedience

01:11:55under Salahuddin's rule and promised to supply soldiers and resources to Salahuddin's mission

01:12:01in the Holy Lands.

01:12:05With that, any remaining Zengid power in Syria vanished and Salahuddin had the whole greater

01:12:10Mesopotamia under his control.

01:12:14As these events were taking place in Mosul, Baldwin V died in summer 1186, and his reign

01:12:21passed down to Guy of Lusignan.

01:12:24He was the second husband of the mother of Baldwin V.

01:12:28As soon as Guy came into power, Raynald of Chatillon broke the truce and attacked a Muslim

01:12:34caravan moving from Cairo to Damascus.

01:12:39Some western sources say Salahuddin's sister was in this caravan.

01:12:45This adds a deep personal connection to Salahuddin, but the Muslim sources mention no such information.

01:12:52If she would be truly in the caravan, the level of outrage by Salahuddin and his emirs

01:12:58would have been much greater.

01:13:00So we can safely say that Salahuddin's sister was not in the caravan.

01:13:05However, this provocation surely enraged Salahuddin.

01:13:12Salahuddin demanded the release of all the prisoners, full compensation for the raid

01:13:16and apology from Raynald, but Raynald refused.

01:13:21This broke Salahuddin's patience.

01:13:25Salahuddin now had absolute control of all the lands of Greater Egypt, Syria, Arabia

01:13:31and Yemen.

01:13:34So there was nothing this time holding him back.

01:13:38Salahuddin summoned all the emirs and all the allies for their support in his mission

01:13:42to retake the holy lands from the crusaders.

01:13:46This time he would not only punish Raynald, but also fulfill his lifelong dream, freeing

01:13:52Jerusalem from the crusaders, as planned.

01:13:57The Muslim army took their first steps in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in April of 1187.

01:14:041187, Jerusalem, an army of 20,000 came out of the city marching.

01:14:15Leading the army was Guy of Louisignan.

01:14:18Behind him were 1,200 knights in their shiny armors, several thousand turcopoles, several

01:14:27thousand men-at-arms armed to the teeth.

01:14:31The rest of the procession was infantry.

01:14:35The army marched with the greatest talisman of Christianity, the true cross.

01:14:41They believed whenever the true cross marched with the Christian army, that army would never

01:14:46be beaten in a battle.

01:14:49Only after a few days, this whole army would cease to exist at the Battle of Hattin.

01:14:57Rewinding a few weeks, April 1187, the Muslim army had just started to gather at the border

01:15:05of Kingdom of Jerusalem.

01:15:08The general order for the Christian troops was not to engage the Muslims yet.

01:15:14On one evening, as a group of Muslim soldiers were returning to their camp after foraging,

01:15:20suddenly, the captain saw movements on top of a nearby hill.

01:15:27He tried to figure out what was happening there.

01:15:30But as soon as he saw the banners of the groups, his heart froze.

01:15:35The men on the hilltop were knights-templar and knights-hospitaler, warrior monks sworn

01:15:41to defend Christianity, the most elite and strongest groups of the crusader army.

01:15:48As the Muslims came close to their camp, a wave of crusader knights started to come down

01:15:52to the Muslim camp from the hilltop.

01:15:56The Muslim soldiers screamed in fear.

01:15:58Some started to gather their weapons, and some froze with panic.

01:16:03The knights were around 140 in number.

01:16:06The grandmasters of both the Templar and Hospitaler knights order were leading the group.

01:16:12However, Muslims were around 5,000 to 6,000 in number at the camp.

01:16:19So as soon as they realized the reality, the surprise attack lost its effectiveness.

01:16:25The Muslims fell back fiercely.

01:16:28This charge proved to be very devastating for the crusaders, and very rewarding for the Muslims.

01:16:34All the knights fell in the battlefield, except only four.

01:16:39No doubt the knights were brave, but they were no match for the Muslims.

01:16:45The grandmaster of knights-hospitaler was killed, and the grandmaster of knights-templar

01:16:50fled after being wounded.

01:16:53After this victory, the Muslims started marching even deeper into the kingdom of Jerusalem.

01:17:00Panic ensued throughout all the crusader states.

01:17:04They united all their forces.

01:17:07Every man able to bear arms was conscripted in the army.

01:17:11All the princes of the crusader states, including Raynald of Châtillon, Raymond of Tripoli,

01:17:17and Balian Ibelin, joined the army.

01:17:20King Guy advanced with all the forces that he could muster to meet the Muslims,

01:17:25which we saw at the beginning of this video.

01:17:28June 1187, Jordan River Valley.

01:17:33The Ayyubid yellow banners covered the whole valley,

01:17:37as Salah ad-Din marched with 30,000 troops towards the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

01:17:44The recent victory at Crescent and the campaigns in 1182 and 1183

01:17:50made his army familiar with the battle tactics of the crusaders in that area.

01:17:56The Christians have camped near the springs of Safuria,

01:17:59around 30 kilometers far from Salah ad-Din's current position.

01:18:04Between the two armies was an arid land with no water and food sources.

01:18:10Salah ad-Din's plan was to provoke the crusaders to make them march through the inhospitable terrain.

01:18:17Accordingly, Salah ad-Din laid siege to a small town called Tiberias

01:18:23on the western shore of Sea of Galilee, or Lake Tiberias.

01:18:30With the ending of the Battle of Hattin, the whole crusader army ceased to exist.

01:18:37King Guy was arrested with all the surviving crusader princes.

01:18:42The true cross also came to the Muslim hands.

01:18:45The most important prisoners were presented before Salah ad-Din.

01:18:50Salah ad-Din offered a cup of iced julep to Guy, but took a big gulp from it.

01:18:56Then he passed it to Raynald of Chatillon.

01:18:59Salah ad-Din intervened in a flash.

01:19:02According to his interpreter, he told Guy,

01:19:11According to Islamic tradition, offering a drink or food to a prisoner represents offering safety by the captor.

01:19:18But Salah ad-Din did not want to offer such protection to Raynald.

01:19:23Salah ad-Din berated Raynald for his constant insult and threat towards the Muslims.

01:19:29Seeing no remorse in Raynald's face, Salah ad-Din unsheathed his scimitar and slashed Raynald's neck,

01:19:36exacting the full revenge of the Muslims.

01:19:40With Guy under arrest and his army completely wiped out,

01:19:44the whole kingdom of Jerusalem had no more resistance to offer against Salah ad-Din.

01:19:49It was time for Salah ad-Din to knock on the gate of Jerusalem.

01:19:54As Salah ad-Din progressed with his army towards his primal goal, Jerusalem,

01:19:59he did not make any strategic mistakes as he did ten years ago,

01:20:04which resulted in the defeat at Montgazart.

01:20:07This time Salah ad-Din sent troops to occupy all the remaining crusaders' strongholds and ports.

01:20:14Acre, Sidon, Beirut, Jaffa, Mirabel, Ascalon,

01:20:20all fell one after another in front of Salah ad-Din's troops.

01:20:25Salah ad-Din showed mercy to the defenders and granted them generous terms for surrender.

01:20:31This ensured swift and near-bloodless submission of the cities.

01:20:36By the time Salah ad-Din reached Jerusalem,

01:20:39only Kerak and Tyre were still resisting against Salah ad-Din's troops.

01:20:44Salah ad-Din could not sidetrack his army to capture these sites

01:20:48as that would mean delay in the liberation of Jerusalem.

01:20:52This was a well-thought decision based on the current situation

01:20:56but would turn into a strategic mistake by Salah ad-Din,

01:21:00as Tyre would be the arrival point of the western forces during the Third Crusade.

01:21:0520th of September 1187

01:21:09Salah ad-Din climbed up a small hill nearby his camp.

01:21:13He could see the Dome of Rock

01:21:15blistering with golden rays under the sun beyond the wall of Jerusalem.

01:21:20A little behind the Dome of Rock stood the Al-Aqsa Mosque,

01:21:24two sacred buildings he so desired,

01:21:27his lifelong dream, his ultimate goal.

01:21:31When the crusaders took Jerusalem from the Muslims in 1099,

01:21:36during the First Crusade they killed all the non-Christian inhabitants of the city,

01:21:42which created a knee-deep blood pool at the Al-Aqsa complex.

01:21:47The inhabitants of Jerusalem feared that the Muslims would take revenge

01:21:51in a similar manner once they retake the city,

01:21:54so they prepared to defend Jerusalem at all cost.

01:21:58Both the Christians and the Muslims venerate the city as a holy place,

01:22:03so it was a religious and moral obligation for both sides to prevail.

01:22:08Looking at the third holiest city in Islam,

01:22:11Salah ad-Din knew that it would not be an easy task to take the city back.

01:22:16Yet he commanded his troops to move forward,

01:22:19and the siege of Jerusalem began.

01:22:22The Muslims initiated the attack with volleys of arrows

01:22:26targeting the defenders in the wall.

01:22:29Salah ad-Din encircled the city with his army

01:22:32and assessed the fortifications to find a weak point.

01:22:36After five days of assessment,

01:22:38Salah ad-Din focused his attack on the less protected section of the wall

01:22:42between Damascus Gate and Jehoshaphat Gate.

01:22:46The continuous bombardment and the trebuchet started.

01:22:50The Christians realized that the fight was over.

01:22:54They offered to stand down if Salah ad-Din would promise the safety of its inhabitants.

01:22:59Salah ad-Din had no desire to destroy the city itself to ashes in the process of taking it,

01:23:05nor did he want an unnecessary bloodbath at the holy city.

01:23:09His main goal was to retake the holy city under Muslim custody,

01:23:14and not to take cruel revenge for what the crusaders did 88 years ago.

01:23:20So Salah ad-Din showed mercy and offered generous terms for the surrender of the city.

01:23:26In exchange, ten dinar for each man,

01:23:29five dinar for each woman,

01:23:31and one dinar for each child.

01:23:34Salah ad-Din promised to let the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem free.

01:23:38They were also allowed to take as much as they could carry when they left the city.

01:23:43A very generous offer, considering other contemporary terms for surrender in that era.

01:23:49And it didn't discriminate between rich and poor.

01:23:53Everyone had to pay the same amount.

01:23:56Finally, on Friday, October 2nd, in the year of 1187,

01:24:02the city of Jerusalem was surrendered to the Muslims.

01:24:06What an auspicious day it must have been for the Muslims,

01:24:10as they gathered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for their Friday prayer after 88 years.

01:24:16In those 88 years, the mosque was used by the Knights Templars as their headquarters,

01:24:23and any Muslim prayer was prohibited.

01:24:26Finally, the mosque returned to its former glory.

01:24:31As the Christians gradually started to leave Jerusalem to other regions still under crusader control,

01:24:37such as Tyre,

01:24:39Salah ad-Din put work in re-establishing the Islamic features of the city.

01:24:44The Ayyubids' banners were flown on top of the towers in the citadel.

01:24:48The mosques were cleaned and made operational.

01:24:51New madrasas were opened.

01:24:54Islamic scholars were brought back to the city.

01:24:57Regular adhans and prayers were started to be performed.

01:25:01Yet Salah ad-Din did not raise a finger on the Church of Holy Sepulchre,

01:25:06the holiest site for Christianity.

01:25:09He kept the promise of the second Caliph of Islam,

01:25:12Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,

01:25:15who promised to the Christians to protect the site when the Muslims took Jerusalem in 638.

01:25:22Salah ad-Din bought a minbar from Aleppo made by Nur ad-Din,

01:25:26with the wish to place it one day in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,

01:25:29and thereby showed respect to the legacy of Nur ad-Din's envy.

01:25:34The liberation of Jerusalem from the crusaders was one of the most symbolic moments in human history.

01:25:41Salah ad-Din's legacy during the liberation of Jerusalem has echoed down the history.

01:25:47The stark contrast between how the crusaders behaved in 1099

01:25:52and how Salah ad-Din behaved in 1187 stand as a testimony of his generosity and tolerance.

01:26:00When all the great celebrations were taking place throughout the Islamic lands for the liberation of Jerusalem,

01:26:06back in Vatican, Pope Gregory VIII was infuriated by the loss of Jerusalem from the Christians.

01:26:13He sent letters to all the lords and kings of Europe,

01:26:17urging them to start a holy war to recapture Jerusalem.

01:26:21Thus began one of the greatest saga of all time, the Third Crusade.

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