Saladin

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Salāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب), better known as simply Salāḥ ad-Dīn or Saladin (c. 1138 - 4 March 1193), was the Sultan of the Ayyubid Caliphate and commander of the Muslim armies and lands arrayed against the invading Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade.

Biography

Siege of Masyaf

In 1176, Salah Al'din's forces laid siege to the Assassins' headquarters of Masyaf following several assassination attempts on him. Quickly taking control of Masyaf's village, the Saracen forces set up camp near the fortress. In the middle of the camp, the Saracens set up a fake tent of the Sultan to fool the Assassins. However, an Assassin spy by the name of Ahmad Sofian had infiltrated the Saracen forces, and informed the Assassins of the location of the Sultan's real tent.

Salah Al'din's real tent was infiltrated by the Assassin Umar Ibn-La'Ahad not too soon afterwards. Umar left a note attached to the Salah Al'din's belt while he was asleep, but the Sultan woke up and called his guards. Umar managed to escape the tent, but had to kill a noble in the process. Salah Al'din, frightened, left the battlefield and sent his brother Shihab Al'din to make a truce with the Assassins, with the Saracens wanting the life of Umar in exchange for the captured Ahmad Sofian and the safety of Masyaf. After the truce was accepted, the Saracens left Masyaf.

Third Crusade

At the beginning of the Third Crusade, Saladin and his men defeated Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem (who would later ally with King Richard in the Siege of Acre), and Raynald of Chatillon at the Battle of Hattin, where he destroyed the entire army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Following that tremendous victory, Saladin moved on to secure most of the cities and fortresses of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and in 1187, he conquered Jerusalem itself. Following the arrival of Richard, Saladin went to fight against him. After being defeated three times in Acre, Arsuf and Jaffa by Richard, Saladin signed a treaty which allowed unarmed Christian pilgrims to visit the holy city.

Later life

Saladin died on March 4, 1193. He is buried in Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria. He is considered a hero in the Muslim world and is also respected by his Christian counterparts.

Trivia

• "Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn" means "Righteousness of our Religion/Faith". He acquired the title after expressing his early intentions for conquering Jeruselum to his mentor, Imad El-Din Zinki, another Muslim conqueror.
• Though he never appears in the game, there is concept art of his character (in the limited edition artbook and the official strategy guide) hinting that he was originally going to appear in the story.
• In-game, the Crusaders (such as Robert de Sable and the Acre heralds) use the European pronunciation of "Salla-din", while the Saracens (such as the Damascus and Jerusalem heralds) use the Arabic pronunciation of "Sa-lah-ah-din".