Early Life and Rise to Power
Salah al-Din was born in 1137 in Tikrit (present-day Iraq) to a Kurdish family in the service of Zengi (the Atabeg of Mosul). He was trained in the classical Islamic sciences before entering military service under his uncle Shirkuh, one of Nur al-Din’s (Zengi’s son) generals.
In 1169, Shirkuh conquered Egypt — then under the weakened Fatimid Caliphate — on behalf of Nur al-Din. When Shirkuh died two months later, the 31-year-old Salah al-Din took command as vizier to the last Fatimid caliph, al-‘Adid.
The Fatimid transition: When al-‘Adid died in 1171, Salah al-Din ended the Fatimid Caliphate — switching the khutba from the name of the Fatimid caliph to the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. This transition is significant in the Ismaili narrative: the public Ismaili da’wa in Egypt ended, and the Imam al-Tayyib’s continuation of the Imamate moved to the underground Tayyibi tradition in Yemen.
After Nur al-Din’s death in 1174, Salah al-Din consolidated control over Syria and united the Muslim Near East.
The Battle of Hattin — 1187 CE
The turning point came at the Battle of Hattin (July 4, 1187) — one of history’s most decisive engagements. Salah al-Din lured the Crusader army into the arid landscape near Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee), cutting off their access to water. Surrounded by fire and dehydration, the 20,000-strong Crusader army was destroyed. The Crusader king Guy of Lusignan was captured; Reynald of Chatillon — who had repeatedly violated truces — was personally executed by Salah al-Din.
The True Cross, the Crusaders’ most sacred relic, was captured.
The Recapture of Jerusalem — October 2, 1187
Jerusalem surrendered on 2 October 1187. Salah al-Din’s terms:
- Inhabitants could ransom themselves for 10 dinars per man, 5 per woman, 1 per child
- Those who could not pay (many of the poor) were released for free by Salah al-Din personally
- There was no massacre, no looting beyond the ransom system
- Christian pilgrims were permitted safe conduct; the Christian clergy were allowed to remain
The contrast with 1099 was immediate and deliberate: the Islamic world had not forgotten how the Crusaders entered the city, and Salah al-Din’s measured response was understood as an expression of Islamic values of justice (not vengeance).
See also: Fatimid Caliphate, Khilafa, Ummah, Bohra History, Jihad, Seerah Medina