Saladin

Salāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (Arabic: صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب), better known as simply Salah Al'din or Saladin (c. 1138 - 4 March 1193), was the Sultan of the Ayyubid Caliphate.

He was also the commander of the Muslim armies united against the invading armies of Europe, united under Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade, known for his cunning tactics, fighting skill in battle, chivalry, and tolerance.

Biography

Siege of Masyaf

In 1176, Saladin 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.

For further protection, the Saracens set up a fake tent of the Sultan in the middle of the camp to fool the Assassins. However, an Assassin spy by the name of Ahmad Sofian had infiltrated the Saracen forces, and was able to inform the Assassins of the location of the Sultan's real tent.

Salah Al'din's tent was infiltrated by the Assassin Umar Ibn-La'Ahad soon afterwards. Umar left a note attached to Salah Al'din's belt while he was asleep, however, the Sultan woke up before he could leave, and summoned his guards. Umar managed to escape the tent, but was forced to kill a noble in the process.

Salah Al'din left the battlefield temporarily, and sent his brother Shihab Al'din to form a truce with the Assassins, with the Saracens desiring the life of Umar in exchange for the captured Ahmad Sofian, and the safety of Masyaf. After the terms of the truce were accepted, the Saracens left Masyaf.

Third Crusade

At the beginning of the Third Crusade, Salah Al'din and his men defeated Guy of Lusignan (the 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 this tremendous victory, Salah Al'din moved on to secure most of the cities and fortresses of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, until finally conquering Jerusalem itself in 1187. Following the arrival of King Richard, Salah Al'din moved to fight against him. Salah Al'din and King Richard continued to fight, with the pattern of Richard taking ground in the Holy Land, and Salah Al'din immediately re-taking any, and all ground taken by King Richard. Eventually, King Richard saw it fit to finally give up his ambitions towards conquering Jerusalem after losing many battles, resources, and support for his crusade, and accepted a peace treaty offered earlier by Salah Al'din, which allowed Christians to visit Jerusalem for Pilgrimage unharmed, and unharrassed.

Later life

Saladin died on the 4th of March, 1193, and was buried in Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria. He is considered to be a hero in the Muslim community, and is also respected by his Christian counterparts, for his tolerance and mercy.

Trivia

• "Ṣaladin" means "Righteousness of our Religion/Faith". He acquired the title after expressing his early intentions for conquering Jerusalem to his mentor, Imad El-Din Zinki, another Muslim conqueror.
• Though Salah Al'din never appears in Assassin's Creed, 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 "Sala-din", while the Saracens (such as the Damascus and Jerusalem heralds) use the Arabic pronunciation of "Sa-lah-adin".