Saladin

by A R Azzam

  but that achievement pales into insignificance in comparison to his ability to

  hold his disparate army together in the field for five years. He himself had

  hinted at this when he exclaimed that 'If I were to die, it is very unlikely that

  these soldiers would ever come together again', but he now understood that

  the troops would fight no more.

  The arrival of al-Mansur, son of Taqi ul-Din, was always going to cause

  a certain amount of trepidation, for not only had he defied Saladin but had

  rebelled against him and consequently caused great trouble. But now he

  rode into Saladin's camp, at the head of his men, ready for the holy war. It

  was al-Zahir who first greeted him and, when the moment was opportune,

  he was escorted into Saladin's tent. If he had been apprehensive about

  the reception he would get, he need not have worried, for Saladin rose to

  greet him and he embraced him for a long time. And perhaps because he

  resembled his father, or perhaps because in his manner there was a likeness,

  Saladin began to weep 'in a way that had never been seen before', for the

  sight of al-Mansur reminded him of his nephew.

  Peace negotiations and the departure of Richard

  In the meantime Richard had fallen ill, seriously ill. The astonishing feats of

  bravery and his boundless energy had taken its toll and now he lay incapa-

  citated. The French were preparing to return home, flirther debilitating his

  forces, but he continued to rage and, close to death, he sent defiant mes-

  sages to Saladin, though on at least one occasion he also requested some

  fruit and snow for his fever. Saladin, true to his nature, sent the fruit, but

  when one of his advance guard reported how weak the defences of Jaffa

  were, Saladin once more attempted to rally his troops to advance on the

  city. 'Unlike other princes', he said, 'I do not prefer a life of ease to the holy

  war.' There is no doubt that Saladin would have continued fighting until

  Richard had set sail, and this perhaps was the conclusive proof that his

  dedication to the holy war was sincere, for he continued to be defiant when

  others had given up. But there was no march on Jaffa; rapidly his amirs

  persuaded him that, if pushed, the Franks would continue to fight, but if a

  truce could be agreed, they would depart.

  The terms of the truce were drawn up. The Franks would have the coun-

  try from Jaffa to Tyre, but not Ramla and Lydda and some other towns.

  Richard demanded compensation for Ascalon, and eventually Saladin agreed

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  SALAD I N

  that the revenues of Ramla and Lydda would be shared. As for Ascalon, it

  would be demolished and both sides would confirm that this had been

  done. This was a truce - not peace - and the truce, it was agreed, would run

  for three years and eight months, after which hostilities would resume. Till

  the end, Saladin remained reluctant to the terms, since he feared that when

  hostilities did resume the Muslim leaders would not unite as they had done:

  I do not know what will ha-ppen to me cmd the enemy will£row strong. He

  hds those la-nds left to him [referrin£i to the coastal cities] so that he can come out to recover the rest. Tou will see all the Muslim leaders sittin£i at the top

  of their towers and saying 'I shall not come down', and the Muslims would

  be destroyed.

  But the fighting was over for the time being. When the terms were pre-

  sented to Richard, he was too ill to read them and simply declared, 'I

  have made peace: here is my hand'. The new Idng of the Latin Kingdom,

  Henry of Champagne, and other Franks took the oath, and on the same day

  al-Adil, Al-Afdal and al-Zahir as well as other amirs swore the oath. Later,

  Saladin held a reception and peace was proclaimed.

  j ^ d finally it was over - a debilitating exhausting war that had ruined

  the land and caused tremendous upheaval. No side had won. Saladin had

  remained defiant and Jerusalem had not fallen but Richard had secured vital

  coastal routes through which new armies could pour in. The two armies had

  foilght each other to a standstill and the two central figures, Richard and

  Saladin, so different in character and abilities, had remained resolute and

  defiant to the end. A final incident as Richard was leaving captures their

  characters eloquendy. 'Do not think I am not returning', warned Richard,

  'and when I do I will talce Jerusalem'. To this warning Saladin replied that

  if he had to lose Jerusalem he would rather lose it to Richard than to any

  other. Christian pilgrims flooded into Jerusalem, as the terms of the truce

  allowed them to. Richard himself chose not to make the pilgrimage and the

  two men would never meet: it was the Bishop of Salisbury who led the pil-

  grims to the holy places. But when Richard asked that the French be refused

  access, Saladin ignored him and allowed all those who wished to visit to do

  so. He had no intention of entering into the disputes of the Christians; his

  accommodating behaviour and welcome of the pilgrims was partly due to

  his generous nature and also to the fact that he wanted as many pilgrims

  to pass through so that they could finally depart. Meanwhile Richard had

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  14: A B I T T E R S I E G E OF A T T R I T I O N : S A L A D I N , R I C H A R D & J E R U S A L E M

  moved to Acre, where his health slowly improved, and from there he set sail.

  The Lionheart had finally departed.

  The Third Crusade was a succession of military reverses for Saladin and

  a catalogue of debilitating and fractious internal struggles among his amirs,

  which often verged on mutinies. The massacre at Acre had shaken him up

  considerably and he had been unable to prevent Richard's inexorable march

  down the coast. At the end, he was forced to destroy the cities which he had

  conquered, to prevent them from falling to Richard, including his precious

  Ascalon. And yet, in that dark hour, as he fortified himself in Jerusalem

  awaiting the final assault, Saladin had realised an achievement which was

  even greater than his victory at Hattin. To have won Jerusalem for the sake

  of the holy war was a considerable feat, to have not lost it was an even

  greater one. In the words of Gibb, 'It was by sheer force of personality, by

  the undying flame of faith within him, and by his example of steadfast

  endurance, that he inspired the dogged resistance which finally wore down

  the invaders'.''

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  Chapter 15

  Death in Damascus:

  Saladin's Last Days

  Tonight Tmufhds left the prison. This world is the prison of the believer and

  the paradise of the disbeliever.

  Al-Qadi al-Qadi al-Fadil

  Saladin remained in Jerusalem until he was certain that Richard had

  departed Acre for Europe. The past few years had taken a terrible toll on

  his health, brought on by the depression - one is tempted to say the trauma

  - induced by the Third Crusade.^ When Ibn Shaddad suggested that it

  was time that he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, which was a religious

  obligation for all Muslims, he readily agreed and preparations began to be

  made as to who would accompany him. It was the sage al-Qadi al-Fadil,


  however, who saw the bigger political picture and the implications involved

  and who approached Saladin and advised that perhaps it was not the best

  time for him to go on pilgrimage. He pointed out that Saladin had not

  informed the caliph of his intention and that a move towards Mecca might

  be seized upon and misinterpreted in Baghdad by those who misinterpret

  such matters. In any case the danger of the Franks had not passed com-

  pletely and Jerusalem remained vulnerable. The empire was as exhausted as

  its sultan, he explained. Disturbances over the lack of food and the admin-

  istrative abuses had broken out in Damascus, and in Cairo there had even

  been pro-Fatimid demonstrations. A special tax had been proposed to raise

  money for the banlcrupt chancery, but it had been insufficient to meet the

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  needs of the war, and in Alexandria foreign traders were forced to pay taxes

  of up to 25 per cent of the value of the goods. Perhaps Saladin should

  reconsider and not go this year, for matters had not yet settled. As was often

  the case, Saladin listened to the words of his old friend and decided to post-

  pone his pilgrimage to the following year. In fact he would never perform

  this religious obligation. In the meantime he insisted, against the advice of

  his doctor, to make up the days of fasting which he had missed. Al-Qadi

  al-Fadil had kept a record of how many days Saladin had been unable to

  fast due to illness, and he now fasted 'for more than a month' while in

  Jerusalem, to make up for the lost days.

  The return to Damascus

  In November I I 9 2 Saladin returned to Damascus. This was the first time

  since April 1189 that he had returned to the city that had become his centre

  of power. He briefly thought about continuing on to Egypt but instead

  decided to spend the winter in Syria. Shortly afterwards al-Adil arrived,

  and he could not but notice a marked deterioration in Saladin's health. The

  brothers spent time together and for up to two weeks they rode into the

  desert to hunt gazelle. At night and under the stars they talked about many

  things. Egypt was an important subject; as a young man Saladin had vowed

  never to return to that land but he had grown to love it. The country's con-

  tribution to his war effort had been nothing short of prodigious, as nearly

  three-quarters of its national expenditure had been spent on supplying him

  with troops and weapons. Without Egypt, Jerusalem would never have fallen

  to him, and without Egypt, Jerusalem would have been lost. The two brotliers

  were convinced that once the truce was over the Franks would come again,

  but that this time their focus would be on the land of the Nile. The events of

  the past few months had proven that, and Egypt's defences needed urgentiy

  to be overhauled. But as the brothers talked, al-Adil was struck by how hard

  Saladin found it to concentrate and this worried him greatly. But it also

  made him think, for though he had served his brother with great loyalty he

  remained unconvinced by his eldest nephew and heir apparent, al-Afdal,

  who struck him as being arrogant, and this began to play on his mind. AVhen

  the hunting trip was over al-Adil returned to his lands, which lay on the

  other side of the Euphrates, and it was agreed that with the onset of spring

  Saladin would travel to Egypt. The two brothers would not meet again.

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  SALAD I N

  In the meantime al-Afdal, as his uncle feared, was increasingly becoming

  the centre of the court attention and many followers-on flocked to him.

  At the end of the winter, in February 1193, Ibn Shaddad arrived from

  Jerusalem and walked into the sultan's chamber, only to find al-Afdal sur-

  rounded by his supporters, for Saladin had chosen to remain in his private

  chambers. The sight of al-Afdal sitting where Saladin often sat disturbed Ibn

  Shaddad, and he moved silently away and headed for the private chamber,

  where he requested permission to enter. It had been four months since the

  two men had met and Saladin greeted and hugged his companion warmly,

  with tears in his eyes. But the signs of the deterioration in his health wor-

  ried Ibn Shaddad, who noted that Saladin's movements were lethargic and

  that he found it hard to concentrate. The following day Ibn Shaddad arrived

  in the garden where Saladin was seated with his young children. One of

  them, Abu Bakr, was clearly his favourite and was seated on his laiee. Saladin

  was informed that a Prankish envoy had arrived with a message and he

  ordered that he be brought to the garden. When the Frank entered tiiough,

  the young Abu Bala- was so scared of this beardless man that he burst into

  tears and the envoy was asked to leave for a few minutes. Saladin then had

  a light meal with Ibn Shaddad, but as the latter took his leave he noted that

  a lassitude hung over Saladin's actions. 'I took my leave of him, not having

  found him to be as lively as I had known him.'

  Saladin's illness

  On 20 February, three days after he arrived in Damascus, Ibn Shaddad rode

  out to greet the returning pilgrims, as was the custom. It was a raw day,

  with a bitterly cold wind. The arrival of the returning pilgrims was always a

  festive occasion and as the crowds gathered Ibn Shaddad spotted Saladin in

  the distance, but on trying to approach him he was sidetracked by al-Afdal,

  who wished to speak to him on a matter. As the two men spoke, Ibn

  Shaddad glanced over in the direction of Saladin and noticed with surprise

  that he had forgotten to wear his quilted jacket. This alarmed him greatiy

  and he broke away from his conversation and urged Saladin to put his jacket

  on. Once again he was struck by the lack of concentration, and he wrote

  that it was as if Saladin was waiting up from a dream. For some reason the

  jacket could not be found, and the day passed. But the chill remained and

  the following day Saladin was running a high temperature. By now al-Qadi

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  15: D E A T H IN DAMASCUS: S A L A D I N ' S LAST DAYS

  al-Fadil and Ibn Shaddad were in constant attendance. The illness was

  getting worse, though Ibn Shaddad was moved by the humility of Saladin.

  On the fourth day of his illness he was bled. On the sixth day of the illness

  he called for some water to drink. First it was too hot and then it was too

  cold, but Ibn Shaddad remarked that Saladin did not get angry, simply

  remarldng, 'Is there no one here who can make water of the right tem-

  perature?' The illness was worsening and Saladin's mind was drifting. By the

  ninth day he stopped taldng any liquid and a feverish shiver gripped him and

  he was barely conscious. It was clear he was dying.

  Fear spread across the city and the traders began to store their goods,

  since no one knew what would happen if Saladin were to die. Every evening

  al-Qadi al-Fadil and Ibn Shaddad travelled to Saladin's chambers and the

  people watched them closely, for the level of anxiety etched on their faces

  reflected the gravity of the sultan's illness. On the eleventh day Saladin was

  too ill to receive any visitors and al-Afdal offered t
o accommodate the two

  men for the night, but al-Qadi al-Fadil insisted that they leave the citadel,

  as they did eveiy night, since their absence would make people think that

  the worst had happened and disturbances would follow. In the meantime

  the josding for power had commenced; al-Afdal asked that the amirs pub-

  licly swear allegiance to him and some did but others, seeking assurances,

  did not. Ominously, no attempt was made to get the allegiance from the

  amirs of Egypt, Aleppo and Mesopotamia, since it was acknowledged that

  for the time being no allegiance would be sworn.

  Saladin's death and the mourning of the people

  On 4 March 1193 Saladin was drifting in and out of consciousness. With

  him was the imam Abu Jafar, who was reciting verses from the Quran, and

  fittingly also present was al-Qadi al-Fadil, Saladin's most trusted compan-

  ion. For 25 years the two men had complemented each other, though they

  were in so many ways different: a Kurdish military warrior and a hunch-

  backed Palestinian bureaucrat. They shared a vision and that vision had

  endured and transcended their differences. Now, as al-Qadi al-Fadil sat

  near, the imam recited, and when he had completed the verse 'He is God

  other than whom there is no other god, who knows what is invisible and

  what is visible', a smile broke out on Saladin's face and he mumbled 'It is

  true', before passing away, aged 55.

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  SALAD I N

  That day Saladin's sons went into the streets of Damascus to receive the

  condolences of the people. There was great consternation in the city and

  then, as the news spread, it carried the consternation with it across the lands.

  It was the only time, an observer remarked, that a ruler's death had been

  truly mourned by his people. Saladin died leaving in his treasury in gold and

  silver only 40 Nasiri dirhams and a single Tyrian gold piece. As Ibn Shaddad

  wrote, the powerful Saladin left behind no house, no estate, no orchard, no

  village, not a single item of property of any sort. There was not enough

  money to pay for his funeral. Not even enough to buy straw with which his

  tomb was lined, and the cost had to be borrowed. Al-Afdal held the con-

  dolence in the north vaulted hall, and the gates for die citadel were barred