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Saladin: The Life, the Legend and the Islamic Empire
Saladin remains one of the most iconic figures of his age. As the man who united the Arabs and saved Islam from Christian crusaders in the 12th century, he is the Islamic world’s preeminent hero. Ruthless in defence of his faith, brilliant in leadership, he also possessed qualities that won admiration from his Christian foes. He knew the limits of violence, showing such tolerance and generosity that many Europeans, appalled at the brutality of their own people, saw him as the exemplar of their own knightly ideals.
But Saladin is far more than a historical hero. Builder, literary patron and theologian, he is a man for all times, and a symbol of hope for an Arab world once again divided. Centuries after his death, in cities from Damascus to Cairo and beyond, to the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, Saladin continues to be an immensely potent symbol of religious and military resistance to the West. He is central to Arab memories, sensibilities and the ideal of a unified Islamic state.
In this authoritative biography, historian John Man brings Saladin and his world to life in vivid detail. Charting his rise to power, his struggle to unify the warring factions of his faith, and his battles to retake Jerusalem and expel Christian influence from Arab lands, Saladin explores the life and the enduring legacy of this champion of Islam, and examines his significance for the world today.
But Saladin is far more than a historical hero. Builder, literary patron and theologian, he is a man for all times, and a symbol of hope for an Arab world once again divided. Centuries after his death, in cities from Damascus to Cairo and beyond, to the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf, Saladin continues to be an immensely potent symbol of religious and military resistance to the West. He is central to Arab memories, sensibilities and the ideal of a unified Islamic state.
In this authoritative biography, historian John Man brings Saladin and his world to life in vivid detail. Charting his rise to power, his struggle to unify the warring factions of his faith, and his battles to retake Jerusalem and expel Christian influence from Arab lands, Saladin explores the life and the enduring legacy of this champion of Islam, and examines his significance for the world today.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2015
286 people are currently reading
2805 people want to read
About the author
John Man
92 books257 followersJohn Anthony Garnet Man is a British historian and travel writer. His special interests are China, Mongolia and the history of written communication. He takes particular pleasure in combining historical narrative with personal experience.
He studied German and French at Keble College, Oxford, before doing two postgraduate courses, a diploma in the History and Philosophy of Science at Oxford and Mongolian at the School of Oriental and African Studies, completing the latter in 1968. After working in journalism with Reuters and in publishing with Time-Life Books, he turned to writing, with occasional forays into film, TV and radio.
In the 1990s, he began a trilogy on the three major revolutions in writing: writing itself, the alphabet and printing with movable type. This has so far resulted in two books, Alpha Beta and The Gutenberg Revolution, both republished in 2009. The third, on the origin of writing, is on hold, because it depends on access to Iraq.
He returned to the subject of Mongolia with Gobi: Tracking the Desert, the first book on the region since the 1920s. Work in Mongolia led to Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, which has so far appeared in 18 languages. Attila the Hun and Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China completed a trilogy on Asian leaders. A revised edition of his book on Genghis Khan, with the results of an expedition up the mountain on which he is supposed to be buried, was upcoming in autumn 2010.
The Terracotta Army coincided with the British Museum exhibition (September 2007- April 2008). This was followed by The Great Wall. The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan combines history and leadership theory. Xanadu: Marco Polo and the Discovery of the East was published in autumn 2009, and Samurai: The Last Warrior, the story of Saigō Takamori's doomed 1877 rebellion against the Japanese emperor, was published in February 2011.
In 2007 John Man was awarded Mongolia's Friendship Medal for his contributions to UK-Mongolian relations.
He studied German and French at Keble College, Oxford, before doing two postgraduate courses, a diploma in the History and Philosophy of Science at Oxford and Mongolian at the School of Oriental and African Studies, completing the latter in 1968. After working in journalism with Reuters and in publishing with Time-Life Books, he turned to writing, with occasional forays into film, TV and radio.
In the 1990s, he began a trilogy on the three major revolutions in writing: writing itself, the alphabet and printing with movable type. This has so far resulted in two books, Alpha Beta and The Gutenberg Revolution, both republished in 2009. The third, on the origin of writing, is on hold, because it depends on access to Iraq.
He returned to the subject of Mongolia with Gobi: Tracking the Desert, the first book on the region since the 1920s. Work in Mongolia led to Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection, which has so far appeared in 18 languages. Attila the Hun and Kublai Khan: The Mongol King Who Remade China completed a trilogy on Asian leaders. A revised edition of his book on Genghis Khan, with the results of an expedition up the mountain on which he is supposed to be buried, was upcoming in autumn 2010.
The Terracotta Army coincided with the British Museum exhibition (September 2007- April 2008). This was followed by The Great Wall. The Leadership Secrets of Genghis Khan combines history and leadership theory. Xanadu: Marco Polo and the Discovery of the East was published in autumn 2009, and Samurai: The Last Warrior, the story of Saigō Takamori's doomed 1877 rebellion against the Japanese emperor, was published in February 2011.
In 2007 John Man was awarded Mongolia's Friendship Medal for his contributions to UK-Mongolian relations.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
November 27, 2016
3.5 stars actually, this was a nice biography of Saladin and focuses mostly in his interaction during the Crusades, while this is an aspect that I loved , I wish the book would have focused a little bit more in his way of government, his life after the crusades . While this book tries to explain some of his life before and after the crusades, it leaves one wanting for more which in a biography is not a good thing. It is nonetheless very expected that any book about Saladin would focus on the Crusades, as this was the action that defined him. Good read but not a good biography.
June 19, 2016
This is a relatively short biography of a true hero of the Muslim culture, Saladin. As such it is a history that westerners are relatively or completely unfamiliar with. The book covers roughly the period of Middle East history during the Second and Third Crusades in which Saladin rises from obscurity to unifier of a major portion of the then Muslim world. Saladin is truly a historic personage worth learning about as he exemplifies qualities that we westerners would like to think are possessed by our historic heroes. While the history is well written and engaging it is a bit thin in my thinking considering Saladin's accomplishments and the obstacles he faced within his own culture. That he was able to do any of the things he did in the face of the Shia and Sunni animosity that still exists today and he, Saladin, being a mere Kurd on top of it is quite remarkable. The brevity of the biography may be due the lack of resource material available for this man. As the author admits there is virtually nothing known about Saladin's childhood and it is only because of his leadership positions that he is known at all. And while he was revered in life he was soon forgotten after his death. He is known today only because of a renewed interest in his life that began toward the end of the 19th century as a propaganda symbol of the Ottoman Emperor and those trying to win favor with the emperor. However, as Saladin's death is reported in this book there are still two more chapters and nearly 40 pages of text remaining. I expected to be treated to a description of the post-Saladin scramble for power and the intrigues usually associated with a power vacuum. Unfortunately, that id not happen. What you get is a chapter discussing leadership, its definition and its attributes and whether they applied to Saladin. The next chapter was the influence or lack of influence of Saladin in present day Middle East affairs. Such discussions were certainly not expected. Neither chapter was badly written or without merit but I question their value in a biography and maybe they should have been better placed in a scholarly paper rather than in this book. Nevertheless, not a bad book but I would have like more substance, more meat. The book did leave me wanting more so maybe that's not a bad thing.
August 5, 2016
Good book. I love how it tells the story from the Islamic point of view, not the Western European one. You get a whole new feeling for the Crusades.
The author, John Man, states on the first page that the Europeans are the bad guys in this story, they murdered, pillaged, destroyed. Saladin is the good guy. He was wise, virtuous, and generous. If you don't like that, then don't read this book. LOVE IT. More authors should do that.
John Man is a great story teller. He's not about a dry retelling of facts. He makes it lively and interesting. Several times, he tells the reader two or three different versions of the same story that exist, and lets them decide.
The book tells the story of Salah al din (Saladin) the 12th century Islamic leader who rose to try to unify Islam and take all the holy lands back from the Europeans. He mostly did this, Man points out. There was still the Frankish castle holding out at Acre, and he unified Islamic peoples under his version of Sunni Islam. (Iranian Shiites probably are not quite so fond of Saladin).
Man concludes the book with an analysis of Saladin's leadership style, as well as his standing in history until now. Interestingly enough, Saladin is probably more widely praised in Western cultures than Islamic ones. (they really forgot about him for 500 years. )
Recommended reading.
The author, John Man, states on the first page that the Europeans are the bad guys in this story, they murdered, pillaged, destroyed. Saladin is the good guy. He was wise, virtuous, and generous. If you don't like that, then don't read this book. LOVE IT. More authors should do that.
John Man is a great story teller. He's not about a dry retelling of facts. He makes it lively and interesting. Several times, he tells the reader two or three different versions of the same story that exist, and lets them decide.
The book tells the story of Salah al din (Saladin) the 12th century Islamic leader who rose to try to unify Islam and take all the holy lands back from the Europeans. He mostly did this, Man points out. There was still the Frankish castle holding out at Acre, and he unified Islamic peoples under his version of Sunni Islam. (Iranian Shiites probably are not quite so fond of Saladin).
Man concludes the book with an analysis of Saladin's leadership style, as well as his standing in history until now. Interestingly enough, Saladin is probably more widely praised in Western cultures than Islamic ones. (they really forgot about him for 500 years. )
Recommended reading.
April 10, 2020
সালাউদ্দিন ইউসুফ বিন আইয়ুব যিনি তার পিতার নাম আইয়ুবের নামানুসারে সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী নামে পরিচিত, জন ম্যান সেই "সালাদিন" কেই পরিচয় করিয়ে দিয়েছেন। সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী নামের সাথে পুরো ক্রুসেডের ইতিহাস জড়িত। সংক্ষপে সেই ইতিবৃত্তের পাশাপাশি সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবীর জন্ম থেকে মৃত্যু অবধি তুলনামূলক নিরপেক্ষ বর্ণনা জন ম্যানের বইকে বিশিষ্টতা দান করেছে।
জন্ম ইরাকের তিকরিতের এক কুর্দি পরিবারে। সালাউদ্দিনের পিতা নাজিমউদ্দিন আইয়ুব তখন তিকরিতের গভর্নর। তিনি একবার আশ্রয় দিয়েছিলেন সিরিয়ার শাসক ইমাদউদ্দিন জঙ্গীকে। সেই সুবাদে মিত্রতা গড়ে ওঠে দুইজনের মধ্যে। এজন্য প্রথম থেকেই ইমাদউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর পুত্র নুরউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর আনুকুল্যে পেয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী । দু'জন মিলে নড়বড়ে ফাতেমীয় খেলাফতকে উৎখাত করেছিলেন। নুরউদ্দিনের শিষ্য সালাউদ্দিন ততদিনে নুরউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর সেকেন্ড-ইন- কমান্ড। সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের প্রথম ছাব্বিশ বছরের নির্দিষ্ট কোনো বর্ণনা সমকালীন লেখাগুলোতে পাওয়া যায় না।
নুরুউদ্দিনের জীবদ্দশাতেই গুরুকে ছাড়িয়ে গিয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। মিশরের শাসনকর্তা হয়েছেন। চারিদিকে ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে সালাউদ্দিনের নাম। একপর্যায়ে সালাউদ্দিনকে 'নিয়ন্ত্রণ' করার চেষ্টা করেন নুরুউদ্দিন জঙ্গী। কিন্তু ততদিনে অনেক দেরি হয়ে গেছে। জঙ্গীর মৃত্যুর পর তার রাজপাট দখলের চেষ্টা করেন সালাউদ্দিন। এত সোজা ছিল না অখণ্ড মিশর-সিরিয়ার অধিপতি হওয়ার স্বপ্ন। সালাউদ্দিনের এই মিশর-সিরিয়ার সুলতান হওয়ার পেছনে রাজ্য জয়ের বাসনা কতটুকু ছিল তা বলা কঠিন। কেননা প্রথম ক্রুসেডে হারানো জেরুজালেম পুনরুদ্ধারের লক্ষ্য সবসময়ই তাড়িয়ে বেড়াতো সালাউদ্দিনকে। বাইরের শত্রু ক্রুসেডারদের মোকাবেলার চাইতে ঘরের শত্রু মুসলমান রাজন্যদের সামলানো ছিল সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের বড় চ্যালেঞ্জ। গোদের ওপর বিষফোঁড়ার মতো গুপ্তঘাতক হাসাসিনরা তো ছিলই। জন ম্যান শুধু ঘটনার বিবরণ দিয়েছেন। এইসব ক্ষেত্রে সালাউদ্দিনের মনোবিশ্লেষণের চেষ্টা বইটিকে আরও অনন্যতা দান করতো।
কুষ্ঠরোগে চতুর্থ বল্ডউইনের মৃত্যু পর জেরুজালেমের রাজা হন বল্ডউইনের ভাতিজা, তার বোন সিবিলিয়ার পুত্র। এই বালক রাজা পঞ্চম বল্ডউইন নামে সিংহাসনে বসেন। তখনকার ক্রুসেডাররা নিজেরাই বিভিন্নভাগে বিভক্ত হয়ে পড়েছিল। জেরুজালেমের বালক রাজার মৃত্যু এই অবস্থাকে আরও জটিল করে তোলে। সিবিলিয়াকে বিয়ে করে রাজা হয় গাই অব লুসিগনান এবং তার সহযোগী ছিল কার্ক দুর্গাধিপতি কুখ্যাত রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলিয়ন। মক্কা ও মদিনার দখল করে নবির কবর ধ্বংস করার লক্ষ্য ছিল রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলিয়নের!
১১৮৯ সাল, হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধ। সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের সবচেয়ে বড় বিজয়। সালাউদ্দিনের এই বিজয়ের সাথে শুধু সমরক্ষেত্রে রণনৈপুণ্যই সহায়ক ভূমিকা রাখেনি। সময় খোদ সালাউদ্দিনের পক্ষে ছিল। এতদিন নিজের রাজ্যপাট নিয়েই বেশি ব্যস্ত থাকতেন সালাউদ্দিন। কিন্তু নুরুউদ্দিনের বংশধররা নিজেরাই একপর্যায়ে দামেস্ক সালাউদ্দিনের কাছে সমর্পণ করে ( অবশ্যই দুর্গ অবরোধের পর)। মিশর-সিরিয়ায় মোটামুটি একচ্ছত্র আধিপত্য কায়েম হয় সালাউদ্দিনের। তাই ঘর নয়, বাইরের শত্রুদের বিরুদ্ধে শতভাগ শক্তি এবং মনোযোগ দিতে পেরেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। গাই রাজা হওয়াতে ক্রুসেডারদের অনেকেই মনঃক্ষুণ্ন হন। টাইবেরিয়াসের রাজা এদের অন্যতম। এজন্য টাইবেরিয়াস রাজ হাত্তিনের সবচেয়ে সমৃদ্ধ এলাকায় সালাউদ্দিনকে প্রবেশ করতে দেন। পরে অবশ্য ভুল বুঝতে পেরে নিজেও সালাউদ্দিনের বিরুদ্ধে নেমেছিলেন। কাজ হয়নি। খ্রিস্টান নেতৃত্বে এমন কেউ ছিল না যে সবাইকে একত্রিত রাখতে পারে। অথচ মুসলমান বাহিনী সালাউদ্দিনের একক নেতৃত্বে বলীয়ান ছিল।
হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধে ক্রুসেডাররা ধরাশায়ী। রাজা গাই, অত্যাচারী রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলনসহ অনেক নাইট, টেম্পলার গ্রেফতার। গ্রেফতারদের মধ্যে ২শ জনকে মৃত্যুদণ্ড দেন সালাউদ্দিন। অনেকেই নিহত, পলাতক। "আসল ক্রুশ" সালাউদ্দিনের দখলে। উল্লেখ্য, ভবিষ্যতে কাজ লাগবে এই ভেবে "আসল ক্রুশ" সালাউদ্দিন ফেরত দেননি৷ আইয়ুবী বংশের কাছেই তা রক্ষিত ছিল। পরে ১২২১ সালের দিকে সালাউদ্দিনের পুত্র বাগদাদের খলিফাকে এই ক্রুশ দেন। পঞ্চম ক্রুসেডের পর যখন চুক্তি হয়, তখন বলা হয়েছিল এই ক্রুশ ফেরত দিতে হবে। কিন্তু চুক্তি মোতাবেক ফেরত দেওয়ার সময় দেখা গেল "আসল ক্রুশ" নিখোঁজ। এরপর আর কোনোদিন "আসল ক্রুশের" খোঁজ পাওয়া যায়নি।
রেনাল্ডকে নিজ হাতে হত্যা করার প্রতিজ্ঞা করেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। একবার নয়, দুইবার কথা সেই প্রতিজ্ঞা রেখেছিলেন এই অত্যাচারীর মুণ্ডু কেটে। কোনো মুক্তিপণ ছাড়াই রাজা গাইকে ক্ষমা করেছিলেন এই শর্তে যে, সে কোনোদিন মুসলমানদের বিরুদ্ধে অস্ত্র ধরবে না। অবশ্য গাই সেই শর্ত ���েমালুম ভুলে গিয়েছিল। সেইসব অবশ্য তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডের কথা।
জেরুজালেম হারানোর প্রায় শতবর্ষ পরে বিজয়ীর বেশে সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী প্রবেশ করলেন জেরুজালেমে। প্রথম ক্রুসেডে জয়ী হওয়ার পর খ্রিস্টানরা মুসলমানদের ওপর যে হত্যাকাণ্ড চালিয়েছিল তার পুনরাবৃত্তি হয়নি। অনাড়ম্বর জীবনযাপন এবং ক্ষমা সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবীর চরিত্রের প্রধানতম গুণ। সেই গুণের বলেই তিনি কোনো হত্যাকাণ্ড চালাননি। ইহুদি, খ্রিস্টান সবার জন্য উন্মুক্ত করে দিয়েছিলেন জেরুজালেম। অবশ্যই নির্ধারিত করের বিনিময়ে।তখনকার প্রথানুযায়ী জেরুজালেমবাসী খ্রিস্টানদের ওপর মাথাপিছু মুক্তিপণ ধার্য করেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। অনেক টাকা আদায় হয়েছিল। ঠিক কী পরিমাণ অর্থ আদায় হয় তার সঠিক হিসাব নেই। তবে একটি ঘটনা জানা যায়, একদিনে আদায় হয়েছিল ৭২হাজার দিনার। সালাউদ্দিন সেই টাকা পুরোটাই দান করেছিলেন সেইসব নিঃস্ব খ্রিস্টানকে, যাদের মুক্তিপণ দেওয়ার অর্থ নেই। হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধে নিহত খ্রিস্টান অভিজাতদের স্ত্রী ও পরিবারের জন্য ভাতার দাবিও মেনে নিয়েছিলেন।
সালাউদ্দিন তাঁর জীবনের শ্রেষ্ঠতম সাফল্য অর্জন করলেও কাজ বাকি ছিল। জেরুজালেম হারানোর খবর ইউরোপে দেওয়া হয় ফুলিয়ে ফাঁপিয়ে। জনৈক খ্রিস্টান পাদ্রি ইউরোপে গিয়ে প্রচার করে সালাউদ্দিন জেরুজালেম ধ্বংস করে দিয়েছে, অত্যাচার করছে। সে একটি ছবিও এঁকে নিয়ে যায়। যেখানে দেখানো হয় মুসলমান সেনারা গির্জা ধ্বংস করে দিচ্ছে, মুসলমান সেনা তথা সারাসিন এবং তাদের ঘোড়াগুলো ডোম অব রকের প্রশ্রাব করছে বলেও দেখানো হয়। এই প্রোপাগাণ্ডার বেশ কাজ হয়। ধর্মানুরাগী ইউরোপবাসী অর্ধাহারে, অনাহারে থেকেও চার্চের চাঁদার ফাণ্ড ভরিয়ে দেয়। ধর্মীয় জোসে ( জয়ী হলে লুটপাটের লোভে) দলে দলে তরুণ ক্রুসেডারদের দলে নাম লেখাতে থাকে।
তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডে নেতৃত্ব দিতে বিরাট নৌবহর নিয়ে আসেন ইংল্যান্ডের রাজা রিচার্ড। যিনি "লায়নহার্ট" নামে পরিচিত। রিচার্ডের নেতৃত্বে ক্রুসেডাররা উজ্জীবিত হয়ে ওঠে। অপরদিকে জয়ী হয়েছে ভেবে স্বস্তিতে থাকা মুসলমান বাহিনী যুদ্ধের অপরিহার্যতা বুঝতে ব্যর্থ হয়। তাই রিচার্ডের বাহিনী মুসলমানদের অধিকারে থাকা একটি দুর্গ দখলে নেন। বন্দি করেন ২৬শ মুসলমানকে। মূলত এই ২৬শ কে বার্গেনিং চিপ হিসেবে ব্যবহার করতে চেয়েছিলেন রিচার্ড। বারবার আলোচনা হলেও তা ব্যর্থ হয়। একপর্যায়ে ক্ষুব্ধ হয়ে এই ২৬শ বন্দি মুসলমানকেই হত্যা করেন রিচার্ড। জন ম্যান এই ঘটনা থেকে ইউরোপের "লায়ন হার্ট" রিচার্ডের সাথে সালাউদ্দিন তুলনা করেছেন৷ বোঝাতে চেয়েছেন দুইজনের মধ্যে মহত্ত্বে এবং ক্ষমাশীলতায় বহুগুণে বড় ছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী।
তৃতীয় ক্রুসেড আসলে ড্র হয়। উভয়পক্ষই যুদ্ধ লড়ে ক্লান্ত। এদিকে রিচার্ড ইংল্যান্ডে না ফিরলে ফিলিপ সিংহাসন দখল করতে পারে। আবার ক্রুসেডাররাও সম্মিলিত নয়। রাজা বারবোসার মৃত্যুর জন্য অনেকেই রিচার্ডকে সন্দেহ করে। তাই চুক্তি করে স্বদেশে ফিরে গেলেন রিচার্ড। সালাউদ্দিনও স্বস্তির নিঃশ্বাস ফেললেন। কারণ এবারের প্রতিপক্ষ আগেরবারের চাইতে অনেক শক্তিশালী ছিল।
দীর্ঘদিন কালের গহ্বরে হারিয়ে গিয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। মাত্র সত্তুর বছরের মাথায় পতন ঘটে আইয়ুবী রাজবংশের। শিয়া-সুন্নী দ্বন্দ্ব, পরবর্তী মামলুক সুলতানদের আত্মপ্রচার এবং ওসমানীয় সাম্রজ্যের নিজস্ব গুণকীর্তনেই কেটে যায় পাঁচশ বছর। ওসমানীয় খেলাফতের শেষ খলিফা দ্বিতীয় আবদুল হামিদ আবারও সবাইকে স্মরণ করিয়ে দেন একটি নাম সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। পুরো উনবিংশ শতক জুড়ে আরব জাতীয়তাবাদের অনুপ্রেরণার নাম সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী আজ যেকোনো সময়ের চাইতে বেশি প্রাসঙ্গিক হয়ে উঠছেন তাঁর মিশর, সিরিয়া, ইরাক, জর্ডানে। তাঁর জেরুজালেম ইহুদিদের দখলে। ফিলিস্তিনের মুসলমানরা বাস্তুহারা। পুরো আরববিশ্ব যেন অপেক্ষা করছে সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবীর প্রত্যাবর্তনের জন্য। কেন সালাউদ্দিন আজ বেশি প্রাসঙ্গিক তা শেষের দিকে ব্যাখা করেছেন জন ম্যান। পড়ুন। ভালো লাগবে। ভাবনার খোরাক পাবেন।
সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী এবং ক্রুসেড নিয়ে চমৎকার গ্রন্থ রচনা করেছেন জন ম্যান। পাশ্চাত্যের পণ্ডিতদের ইসলাম, মুসলনমান এবং প্রাচ্যের বীরদের নিয়ে যেসব আ্যলার্জি থাকে, সেইসব জন ম্যানের নেই ( ক্ষুদ্র জ্ঞানে তাই বোধহয়)। তাঁর লেখার হাত ভালো। যথেষ্ট নিরপেক্ষ তাঁর বর্ণনা। মোটকথা পড়তে খুব ভালো লেগেছে জন ম্যানের এই বই।
জন্ম ইরাকের তিকরিতের এক কুর্দি পরিবারে। সালাউদ্দিনের পিতা নাজিমউদ্দিন আইয়ুব তখন তিকরিতের গভর্নর। তিনি একবার আশ্রয় দিয়েছিলেন সিরিয়ার শাসক ইমাদউদ্দিন জঙ্গীকে। সেই সুবাদে মিত্রতা গড়ে ওঠে দুইজনের মধ্যে। এজন্য প্রথম থেকেই ইমাদউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর পুত্র নুরউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর আনুকুল্যে পেয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী । দু'জন মিলে নড়বড়ে ফাতেমীয় খেলাফতকে উৎখাত করেছিলেন। নুরউদ্দিনের শিষ্য সালাউদ্দিন ততদিনে নুরউদ্দিন জঙ্গীর সেকেন্ড-ইন- কমান্ড। সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের প্রথম ছাব্বিশ বছরের নির্দিষ্ট কোনো বর্ণনা সমকালীন লেখাগুলোতে পাওয়া যায় না।
নুরুউদ্দিনের জীবদ্দশাতেই গুরুকে ছাড়িয়ে গিয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। মিশরের শাসনকর্তা হয়েছেন। চারিদিকে ছড়িয়ে পড়েছে সালাউদ্দিনের নাম। একপর্যায়ে সালাউদ্দিনকে 'নিয়ন্ত্রণ' করার চেষ্টা করেন নুরুউদ্দিন জঙ্গী। কিন্তু ততদিনে অনেক দেরি হয়ে গেছে। জঙ্গীর মৃত্যুর পর তার রাজপাট দখলের চেষ্টা করেন সালাউদ্দিন। এত সোজা ছিল না অখণ্ড মিশর-সিরিয়ার অধিপতি হওয়ার স্বপ্ন। সালাউদ্দিনের এই মিশর-সিরিয়ার সুলতান হওয়ার পেছনে রাজ্য জয়ের বাসনা কতটুকু ছিল তা বলা কঠিন। কেননা প্রথম ক্রুসেডে হারানো জেরুজালেম পুনরুদ্ধারের লক্ষ্য সবসময়ই তাড়িয়ে বেড়াতো সালাউদ্দিনকে। বাইরের শত্রু ক্রুসেডারদের মোকাবেলার চাইতে ঘরের শত্রু মুসলমান রাজন্যদের সামলানো ছিল সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের বড় চ্যালেঞ্জ। গোদের ওপর বিষফোঁড়ার মতো গুপ্তঘাতক হাসাসিনরা তো ছিলই। জন ম্যান শুধু ঘটনার বিবরণ দিয়েছেন। এইসব ক্ষেত্রে সালাউদ্দিনের মনোবিশ্লেষণের চেষ্টা বইটিকে আরও অনন্যতা দান করতো।
কুষ্ঠরোগে চতুর্থ বল্ডউইনের মৃত্যু পর জেরুজালেমের রাজা হন বল্ডউইনের ভাতিজা, তার বোন সিবিলিয়ার পুত্র। এই বালক রাজা পঞ্চম বল্ডউইন নামে সিংহাসনে বসেন। তখনকার ক্রুসেডাররা নিজেরাই বিভিন্নভাগে বিভক্ত হয়ে পড়েছিল। জেরুজালেমের বালক রাজার মৃত্যু এই অবস্থাকে আরও জটিল করে তোলে। সিবিলিয়াকে বিয়ে করে রাজা হয় গাই অব লুসিগনান এবং তার সহযোগী ছিল কার্ক দুর্গাধিপতি কুখ্যাত রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলিয়ন। মক্কা ও মদিনার দখল করে নবির কবর ধ্বংস করার লক্ষ্য ছিল রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলিয়নের!
১১৮৯ সাল, হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধ। সালাউদ্দিনের জীবনের সবচেয়ে বড় বিজয়। সালাউদ্দিনের এই বিজয়ের সাথে শুধু সমরক্ষেত্রে রণনৈপুণ্যই সহায়ক ভূমিকা রাখেনি। সময় খোদ সালাউদ্দিনের পক্ষে ছিল। এতদিন নিজের রাজ্যপাট নিয়েই বেশি ব্যস্ত থাকতেন সালাউদ্দিন। কিন্তু নুরুউদ্দিনের বংশধররা নিজেরাই একপর্যায়ে দামেস্ক সালাউদ্দিনের কাছে সমর্পণ করে ( অবশ্যই দুর্গ অবরোধের পর)। মিশর-সিরিয়ায় মোটামুটি একচ্ছত্র আধিপত্য কায়েম হয় সালাউদ্দিনের। তাই ঘর নয়, বাইরের শত্রুদের বিরুদ্ধে শতভাগ শক্তি এবং মনোযোগ দিতে পেরেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। গাই রাজা হওয়াতে ক্রুসেডারদের অনেকেই মনঃক্ষুণ্ন হন। টাইবেরিয়াসের রাজা এদের অন্যতম। এজন্য টাইবেরিয়াস রাজ হাত্তিনের সবচেয়ে সমৃদ্ধ এলাকায় সালাউদ্দিনকে প্রবেশ করতে দেন। পরে অবশ্য ভুল বুঝতে পেরে নিজেও সালাউদ্দিনের বিরুদ্ধে নেমেছিলেন। কাজ হয়নি। খ্রিস্টান নেতৃত্বে এমন কেউ ছিল না যে সবাইকে একত্রিত রাখতে পারে। অথচ মুসলমান বাহিনী সালাউদ্দিনের একক নেতৃত্বে বলীয়ান ছিল।
হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধে ক্রুসেডাররা ধরাশায়ী। রাজা গাই, অত্যাচারী রেনাল্ড দ্য শ্যাটিলনসহ অনেক নাইট, টেম্পলার গ্রেফতার। গ্রেফতারদের মধ্যে ২শ জনকে মৃত্যুদণ্ড দেন সালাউদ্দিন। অনেকেই নিহত, পলাতক। "আসল ক্রুশ" সালাউদ্দিনের দখলে। উল্লেখ্য, ভবিষ্যতে কাজ লাগবে এই ভেবে "আসল ক্রুশ" সালাউদ্দিন ফেরত দেননি৷ আইয়ুবী বংশের কাছেই তা রক্ষিত ছিল। পরে ১২২১ সালের দিকে সালাউদ্দিনের পুত্র বাগদাদের খলিফাকে এই ক্রুশ দেন। পঞ্চম ক্রুসেডের পর যখন চুক্তি হয়, তখন বলা হয়েছিল এই ক্রুশ ফেরত দিতে হবে। কিন্তু চুক্তি মোতাবেক ফেরত দেওয়ার সময় দেখা গেল "আসল ক্রুশ" নিখোঁজ। এরপর আর কোনোদিন "আসল ক্রুশের" খোঁজ পাওয়া যায়নি।
রেনাল্ডকে নিজ হাতে হত্যা করার প্রতিজ্ঞা করেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। একবার নয়, দুইবার কথা সেই প্রতিজ্ঞা রেখেছিলেন এই অত্যাচারীর মুণ্ডু কেটে। কোনো মুক্তিপণ ছাড়াই রাজা গাইকে ক্ষমা করেছিলেন এই শর্তে যে, সে কোনোদিন মুসলমানদের বিরুদ্ধে অস্ত্র ধরবে না। অবশ্য গাই সেই শর্ত ���েমালুম ভুলে গিয়েছিল। সেইসব অবশ্য তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডের কথা।
জেরুজালেম হারানোর প্রায় শতবর্ষ পরে বিজয়ীর বেশে সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী প্রবেশ করলেন জেরুজালেমে। প্রথম ক্রুসেডে জয়ী হওয়ার পর খ্রিস্টানরা মুসলমানদের ওপর যে হত্যাকাণ্ড চালিয়েছিল তার পুনরাবৃত্তি হয়নি। অনাড়ম্বর জীবনযাপন এবং ক্ষমা সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবীর চরিত্রের প্রধানতম গুণ। সেই গুণের বলেই তিনি কোনো হত্যাকাণ্ড চালাননি। ইহুদি, খ্রিস্টান সবার জন্য উন্মুক্ত করে দিয়েছিলেন জেরুজালেম। অবশ্যই নির্ধারিত করের বিনিময়ে।তখনকার প্রথানুযায়ী জেরুজালেমবাসী খ্রিস্টানদের ওপর মাথাপিছু মুক্তিপণ ধার্য করেছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন। অনেক টাকা আদায় হয়েছিল। ঠিক কী পরিমাণ অর্থ আদায় হয় তার সঠিক হিসাব নেই। তবে একটি ঘটনা জানা যায়, একদিনে আদায় হয়েছিল ৭২হাজার দিনার। সালাউদ্দিন সেই টাকা পুরোটাই দান করেছিলেন সেইসব নিঃস্ব খ্রিস্টানকে, যাদের মুক্তিপণ দেওয়ার অর্থ নেই। হাত্তিনের যুদ্ধে নিহত খ্রিস্টান অভিজাতদের স্ত্রী ও পরিবারের জন্য ভাতার দাবিও মেনে নিয়েছিলেন।
সালাউদ্দিন তাঁর জীবনের শ্রেষ্ঠতম সাফল্য অর্জন করলেও কাজ বাকি ছিল। জেরুজালেম হারানোর খবর ইউরোপে দেওয়া হয় ফুলিয়ে ফাঁপিয়ে। জনৈক খ্রিস্টান পাদ্রি ইউরোপে গিয়ে প্রচার করে সালাউদ্দিন জেরুজালেম ধ্বংস করে দিয়েছে, অত্যাচার করছে। সে একটি ছবিও এঁকে নিয়ে যায়। যেখানে দেখানো হয় মুসলমান সেনারা গির্জা ধ্বংস করে দিচ্ছে, মুসলমান সেনা তথা সারাসিন এবং তাদের ঘোড়াগুলো ডোম অব রকের প্রশ্রাব করছে বলেও দেখানো হয়। এই প্রোপাগাণ্ডার বেশ কাজ হয়। ধর্মানুরাগী ইউরোপবাসী অর্ধাহারে, অনাহারে থেকেও চার্চের চাঁদার ফাণ্ড ভরিয়ে দেয়। ধর্মীয় জোসে ( জয়ী হলে লুটপাটের লোভে) দলে দলে তরুণ ক্রুসেডারদের দলে নাম লেখাতে থাকে।
তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডে নেতৃত্ব দিতে বিরাট নৌবহর নিয়ে আসেন ইংল্যান্ডের রাজা রিচার্ড। যিনি "লায়নহার্ট" নামে পরিচিত। রিচার্ডের নেতৃত্বে ক্রুসেডাররা উজ্জীবিত হয়ে ওঠে। অপরদিকে জয়ী হয়েছে ভেবে স্বস্তিতে থাকা মুসলমান বাহিনী যুদ্ধের অপরিহার্যতা বুঝতে ব্যর্থ হয়। তাই রিচার্ডের বাহিনী মুসলমানদের অধিকারে থাকা একটি দুর্গ দখলে নেন। বন্দি করেন ২৬শ মুসলমানকে। মূলত এই ২৬শ কে বার্গেনিং চিপ হিসেবে ব্যবহার করতে চেয়েছিলেন রিচার্ড। বারবার আলোচনা হলেও তা ব্যর্থ হয়। একপর্যায়ে ক্ষুব্ধ হয়ে এই ২৬শ বন্দি মুসলমানকেই হত্যা করেন রিচার্ড। জন ম্যান এই ঘটনা থেকে ইউরোপের "লায়ন হার্ট" রিচার্ডের সাথে সালাউদ্দিন তুলনা করেছেন৷ বোঝাতে চেয়েছেন দুইজনের মধ্যে মহত্ত্বে এবং ক্ষমাশীলতায় বহুগুণে বড় ছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী।
তৃতীয় ক্রুসেড আসলে ড্র হয়। উভয়পক্ষই যুদ্ধ লড়ে ক্লান্ত। এদিকে রিচার্ড ইংল্যান্ডে না ফিরলে ফিলিপ সিংহাসন দখল করতে পারে। আবার ক্রুসেডাররাও সম্মিলিত নয়। রাজা বারবোসার মৃত্যুর জন্য অনেকেই রিচার্ডকে সন্দেহ করে। তাই চুক্তি করে স্বদেশে ফিরে গেলেন রিচার্ড। সালাউদ্দিনও স্বস্তির নিঃশ্বাস ফেললেন। কারণ এবারের প্রতিপক্ষ আগেরবারের চাইতে অনেক শক্তিশালী ছিল।
দীর্ঘদিন কালের গহ্বরে হারিয়ে গিয়েছিলেন সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। মাত্র সত্তুর বছরের মাথায় পতন ঘটে আইয়ুবী রাজবংশের। শিয়া-সুন্নী দ্বন্দ্ব, পরবর্তী মামলুক সুলতানদের আত্মপ্রচার এবং ওসমানীয় সাম্রজ্যের নিজস্ব গুণকীর্তনেই কেটে যায় পাঁচশ বছর। ওসমানীয় খেলাফতের শেষ খলিফা দ্বিতীয় আবদুল হামিদ আবারও সবাইকে স্মরণ করিয়ে দেন একটি নাম সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। পুরো উনবিংশ শতক জুড়ে আরব জাতীয়তাবাদের অনুপ্রেরণার নাম সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী। সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী আজ যেকোনো সময়ের চাইতে বেশি প্রাসঙ্গিক হয়ে উঠছেন তাঁর মিশর, সিরিয়া, ইরাক, জর্ডানে। তাঁর জেরুজালেম ইহুদিদের দখলে। ফিলিস্তিনের মুসলমানরা বাস্তুহারা। পুরো আরববিশ্ব যেন অপেক্ষা করছে সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবীর প্রত্যাবর্তনের জন্য। কেন সালাউদ্দিন আজ বেশি প্রাসঙ্গিক তা শেষের দিকে ব্যাখা করেছেন জন ম্যান। পড়ুন। ভালো লাগবে। ভাবনার খোরাক পাবেন।
সালাউদ্দিন আইয়ুবী এবং ক্রুসেড নিয়ে চমৎকার গ্রন্থ রচনা করেছেন জন ম্যান। পাশ্চাত্যের পণ্ডিতদের ইসলাম, মুসলনমান এবং প্রাচ্যের বীরদের নিয়ে যেসব আ্যলার্জি থাকে, সেইসব জন ম্যানের নেই ( ক্ষুদ্র জ্ঞানে তাই বোধহয়)। তাঁর লেখার হাত ভালো। যথেষ্ট নিরপেক্ষ তাঁর বর্ণনা। মোটকথা পড়তে খুব ভালো লেগেছে জন ম্যানের এই বই।
August 19, 2020
Before I began reading this book, I made a stereotyped, prejudiced assumption of what it would be like, based on the author and his background. I judged a book by its cover, and unfortunately, I was right.
I certainly enjoyed the act of reading this book, but that doesn't make it a good, balanced piece of historical literature. John Man is undoubtedly talented in constructing a gripping, fast-paced narrative story, but I can't really find anything more to praise. This is clearly written for the high-street reader, who won't pause to question it and its many flaws.
The author seems to suffer from a peculiar inability to restrain his sarcasm and wit, which is a fun trait to have generally, but it doesn't do you any favours when writing a book that is supposed to be well researched, reasonable, and well considered.
There is a constant air of superiority felt from the author, who, projecting his modern and subjective value system into the past, neglects a basic understanding of vital context. Seriously, I'm not joking when I say you could read this entire book and not even realise that Salahuddin was a deeply religious man, for example. It's a typical secular reading of history, cynical in its conclusions, with an almost neo-orientalist feel to it.
Man tries to analyse Salahuddin as a personality, but fails to realise that in an analysis, you are supposed to first review evidence, and then derive a conclusion, rather than the other way around: not conjure up a dramatic, imagined story and then retrospectively try to bolt on evidence to it. Evidence, which unfortunately, is almost not referenced in this work at all.
If this discreet kind of agenda setting isn't enough (really, you kinda begin to wonder, what's your point?), then the final two chapters will finish the half-done job of utterly confusing the reader. John Man decides that he's now a self-help author, and goes about deconstructing Salahuddin so we can "learn leadership lessons" from him. A doomed exercise, considering Man never seemed to have understood the great man in the first place.
I certainly enjoyed the act of reading this book, but that doesn't make it a good, balanced piece of historical literature. John Man is undoubtedly talented in constructing a gripping, fast-paced narrative story, but I can't really find anything more to praise. This is clearly written for the high-street reader, who won't pause to question it and its many flaws.
The author seems to suffer from a peculiar inability to restrain his sarcasm and wit, which is a fun trait to have generally, but it doesn't do you any favours when writing a book that is supposed to be well researched, reasonable, and well considered.
There is a constant air of superiority felt from the author, who, projecting his modern and subjective value system into the past, neglects a basic understanding of vital context. Seriously, I'm not joking when I say you could read this entire book and not even realise that Salahuddin was a deeply religious man, for example. It's a typical secular reading of history, cynical in its conclusions, with an almost neo-orientalist feel to it.
Man tries to analyse Salahuddin as a personality, but fails to realise that in an analysis, you are supposed to first review evidence, and then derive a conclusion, rather than the other way around: not conjure up a dramatic, imagined story and then retrospectively try to bolt on evidence to it. Evidence, which unfortunately, is almost not referenced in this work at all.
If this discreet kind of agenda setting isn't enough (really, you kinda begin to wonder, what's your point?), then the final two chapters will finish the half-done job of utterly confusing the reader. John Man decides that he's now a self-help author, and goes about deconstructing Salahuddin so we can "learn leadership lessons" from him. A doomed exercise, considering Man never seemed to have understood the great man in the first place.
February 23, 2024
পৃথিবী তাকে সালাহ্ উদ্দিন (বিশ্বাসের উপর ন্যায়পরাণতা) নামে জানলেও আসলে এটি তার উপাধি, তার নাম ছিল ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব। সালাহ্ উদ্দিন ৯ অক্টোবর, ১১৮৭ সালে, খ্রীষ্টানদের ৮৮ বছরের দখল থেকে মুক্ত করলেও মুসলমানদের ইতিহাসে তিনি খুবই ম্রিয়মাণ। এর কারণ কি?
ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব জেংগি রাজবংশের প্রতিনিধি হয়ে ইসমাইলী শিয়া ধর্মীয় ফাতিমীয় খেলাফতের বিলুপ্ত করেও জেংগি রাজবংশ ও আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের আস্থাভাজন হতে পারেননি। জেংগি রাজবংশ ও আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের ভয় ছিল তার অধীনে থাকা মিশরের সম্পদ ও সেনাবাহিনীর অথচ নুর উদ্দিন জেংগি জীবিত অবস্থায় তিনি নিজেকে শাসক বা সুলতান দাবি করেন নাই বরং বাৎসরিক খাজনা পরিশোধ করেছেন। এবং আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের আনুগত্য প্রকাশ করেছেন সব সময়ই কিন্তু ক্ষীয়মান আব্বাসিদ খিলাফত ফিলিস্তিন পুনঃ দখলে ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব কোন প্রত্যক্ষ সহায়তা করে নাই।
ফাতিমীয় খেলাফত বিলুপ্ত করে তিনি শিয়া ধর্মীয় অনুসারীদের ঘৃণার পাত্র হয়েছেন। আবার তৎকালীন সুন্নি ধর্মীয় অনুসারীদের কেন্দ্র বাগদাদের শাসক আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হয়ে ফাতিমীয় খেলাফত বিলুপ্ত কিংবা ফিলিস্তিন (আংশিক) বিজয়ে সুন্নি মুসলমান অনুসারী কোন গল্প বা কবিতায় কোন মানপত্র লিখে নাই।
অদ্ভুতভাবে ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব এর বুদ্ধিদীপ্ত নেতৃত্ব, সহনশীলতা এবং উদারতার কথা উল্লেখ আছে ইউরোপের বিভিন্ন দেশে, নাটক, কবিতা এবং সিনেমায়। এমনকি দান্তের ইনফারনো কবিতায়ও তিনি জায়গা করে নিয়েছেন।
লেখক John Man সালাহ্ উদ্দিনের ক্ষমতার উত্থান, শক্তি সংগ্রহ, ফিলিস্তিন পুনঃ দখল এবং মৃত্যুর প্রাণবন্ত বর্ননা করেছেন। শুধুমাত্র তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডের বর্ননা করতে গিয়ে অতিরিক্ত মাত্রায় রাজা রিচার্ড এর অভিযানের বিবরণ দিয়েছেন।
ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব জেংগি রাজবংশের প্রতিনিধি হয়ে ইসমাইলী শিয়া ধর্মীয় ফাতিমীয় খেলাফতের বিলুপ্ত করেও জেংগি রাজবংশ ও আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের আস্থাভাজন হতে পারেননি। জেংগি রাজবংশ ও আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের ভয় ছিল তার অধীনে থাকা মিশরের সম্পদ ও সেনাবাহিনীর অথচ নুর উদ্দিন জেংগি জীবিত অবস্থায় তিনি নিজেকে শাসক বা সুলতান দাবি করেন নাই বরং বাৎসরিক খাজনা পরিশোধ করেছেন। এবং আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের আনুগত্য প্রকাশ করেছেন সব সময়ই কিন্তু ক্ষীয়মান আব্বাসিদ খিলাফত ফিলিস্তিন পুনঃ দখলে ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব কোন প্রত্যক্ষ সহায়তা করে নাই।
ফাতিমীয় খেলাফত বিলুপ্ত করে তিনি শিয়া ধর্মীয় অনুসারীদের ঘৃণার পাত্র হয়েছেন। আবার তৎকালীন সুন্নি ধর্মীয় অনুসারীদের কেন্দ্র বাগদাদের শাসক আব্বাসিদ খিলাফতের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হয়ে ফাতিমীয় খেলাফত বিলুপ্ত কিংবা ফিলিস্তিন (আংশিক) বিজয়ে সুন্নি মুসলমান অনুসারী কোন গল্প বা কবিতায় কোন মানপত্র লিখে নাই।
অদ্ভুতভাবে ইউসুফ ইবনে আইয়ুব এর বুদ্ধিদীপ্ত নেতৃত্ব, সহনশীলতা এবং উদারতার কথা উল্লেখ আছে ইউরোপের বিভিন্ন দেশে, নাটক, কবিতা এবং সিনেমায়। এমনকি দান্তের ইনফারনো কবিতায়ও তিনি জায়গা করে নিয়েছেন।
লেখক John Man সালাহ্ উদ্দিনের ক্ষমতার উত্থান, শক্তি সংগ্রহ, ফিলিস্তিন পুনঃ দখল এবং মৃত্যুর প্রাণবন্ত বর্ননা করেছেন। শুধুমাত্র তৃতীয় ক্রুসেডের বর্ননা করতে গিয়ে অতিরিক্ত মাত্রায় রাজা রিচার্ড এর অভিযানের বিবরণ দিয়েছেন।
May 21, 2021
Sebuah buku yang menceritakan tentang salah seorang tokoh agung di dalam sejarah Islam semasa perang salib. Nama sebenar beliau ialah Yusuf ibn Ayub. Salahuddin (Salah Al-Din) adalah nama yang diberikan oleh pengikut beliau yang membawa maksud “Kebaikan Agama”. Salahuddin adalah merupakan tokoh pemimpin yang unggul dan dihormati oleh kawan dan lawan. Beliau merupakan pahlawan dunia Islam semasa zamannya.
Buku ini adalah sebuah buku yang membincangkan dan memberi penerangan tentang riwayat hidup Salahuddin Al-Ayubi. Seperti yang sedia maklum, Salahuddin adalah merupakan pemimpin Dunia Islam yang telah merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian semasa perang salib yang ke-2.
Secara ringkasnya buku ini membincangkan tentang umat islam sebelum perang salib, semasa perang salib 1,2 & 3 dan peranan yang dimainkan oleh Salahuddin Al-Ayubi di dalam menyatukan tentera Islam untuk merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian.
Bahagian yang paling besar yang ingin disampaikan dari buku ini adalah tentang kepimpinan yang ditunjukan oleh Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, kemurahan hati beliau dan sikap toleransi yang beliau tunjukan kepada kawan dan juga lawan. Kepimpinan Salahuddin dapat dilihat dari tindakan dan tingkahlaku yang beliau tunjukan.
Salahuddin dilihat sebagai pemimpin yang dijadikan tauladan kepada pengikut-pengikut beliau. Salahuddin boleh dianggap wira dan penyatu umat islam yang dikagumi oleh kawan dan musuh serta nama Salahuddin Al-Ayubi disebut hingga ke hari ini. Aspek paling hebat dalam kepimpinan Salahuddin yang boleh dijadikan tauladan adalah kelembutan yang beliau gunakan terhadap musuh. Beliau seorang yang berpengang pada janji, melayan tahanan dengan baik, sedia untuk berbincang dan berunding dengan pihak musuh. Beliau adalah seorang yang mengambil berat terhadap pengikutnya, sebelum kepeluan beliau sendiri sehinggakan beliau tidak mempunyai harta milik beliau di saat kematian beliau.
Salahuddin mempunyai visi dan misi yang jelas iaitu menyatukan umat Islam dan merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian. Dengan visi dan misi ini beliau Berjaya menyatukan umat Islam untuk berjuang Bersama-sama beliau.
Salahuddin Al-Ayubi merupakan seorang pemimpin yang Kental, tidak pernah berputus asa dan mempunyai semangat juang yang tinggi. Beliau seorang pemimpin yang mengabdikan diri sepenuhnya terhadap perjuangan dan mempunyai komitmen yang tinggi di dalam pejuangan. Beliau rela mempertaruhkan nyawanya dan hampir mati ditimpa penyakit. Salahuddin Al-ayubi adalah seorang pemimpin yang mampu mengerakkan rakyat untuk bejuang Bersama-sama beliau.
Walaupun Salahuddin tidak menang sepenuhnya ketika perang salib, tetapi peranan kepimpinan yang dimainkan oleh beliau menjadi faktok penggerak kepada penyatuan umat islam.
Buku ini adalah sebuah buku yang membincangkan dan memberi penerangan tentang riwayat hidup Salahuddin Al-Ayubi. Seperti yang sedia maklum, Salahuddin adalah merupakan pemimpin Dunia Islam yang telah merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian semasa perang salib yang ke-2.
Secara ringkasnya buku ini membincangkan tentang umat islam sebelum perang salib, semasa perang salib 1,2 & 3 dan peranan yang dimainkan oleh Salahuddin Al-Ayubi di dalam menyatukan tentera Islam untuk merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian.
Bahagian yang paling besar yang ingin disampaikan dari buku ini adalah tentang kepimpinan yang ditunjukan oleh Salahuddin Al-Ayubi, kemurahan hati beliau dan sikap toleransi yang beliau tunjukan kepada kawan dan juga lawan. Kepimpinan Salahuddin dapat dilihat dari tindakan dan tingkahlaku yang beliau tunjukan.
Salahuddin dilihat sebagai pemimpin yang dijadikan tauladan kepada pengikut-pengikut beliau. Salahuddin boleh dianggap wira dan penyatu umat islam yang dikagumi oleh kawan dan musuh serta nama Salahuddin Al-Ayubi disebut hingga ke hari ini. Aspek paling hebat dalam kepimpinan Salahuddin yang boleh dijadikan tauladan adalah kelembutan yang beliau gunakan terhadap musuh. Beliau seorang yang berpengang pada janji, melayan tahanan dengan baik, sedia untuk berbincang dan berunding dengan pihak musuh. Beliau adalah seorang yang mengambil berat terhadap pengikutnya, sebelum kepeluan beliau sendiri sehinggakan beliau tidak mempunyai harta milik beliau di saat kematian beliau.
Salahuddin mempunyai visi dan misi yang jelas iaitu menyatukan umat Islam dan merampas kembali Jerusalem dari tangan tentera Kristian. Dengan visi dan misi ini beliau Berjaya menyatukan umat Islam untuk berjuang Bersama-sama beliau.
Salahuddin Al-Ayubi merupakan seorang pemimpin yang Kental, tidak pernah berputus asa dan mempunyai semangat juang yang tinggi. Beliau seorang pemimpin yang mengabdikan diri sepenuhnya terhadap perjuangan dan mempunyai komitmen yang tinggi di dalam pejuangan. Beliau rela mempertaruhkan nyawanya dan hampir mati ditimpa penyakit. Salahuddin Al-ayubi adalah seorang pemimpin yang mampu mengerakkan rakyat untuk bejuang Bersama-sama beliau.
Walaupun Salahuddin tidak menang sepenuhnya ketika perang salib, tetapi peranan kepimpinan yang dimainkan oleh beliau menjadi faktok penggerak kepada penyatuan umat islam.
November 8, 2016
This is a fantastic book to those that are interested in the life of Saladin and the Second and Third Crusades. Saladin is an iconic figure of his age and till this day is remembered as a historical hero. John Man was able to bring Saladin to life, as a reader we learn who Saladin is, what his childhood was, his personality traits, his military abilities but also the political/social situation of his time.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and was introduced to a period that before I had a very limited knowledge about.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and was introduced to a period that before I had a very limited knowledge about.
December 8, 2020
Such an interesting read, about a very interesting man. By the time you finish reading this book, you understand that Saladin was an inspiration to many people, leading from the front. The author does a good job allowing the reader to get a deep understand of the man and his ideas. I really enjoyed it, well worth reading, plenty of information packed within its pages, but you never feel over saturated, the pace of the book is such that the reader can absord all the information being trust upon him/her. Reading this book open my eyes and let me learn new historical things. Well presented book, nice book cover, no editorial errors that I could find. Interesting book for people that enjoy history. will certainly be interested in reading more books about Saladin, such an interesting but complicated figure from history.
September 29, 2019
A breezy populist account of Saladin. The author runs at pace making no attempt to hide his admiration for Saladin, rightly so I think. I am sure there is a plethora of far more rigorous tomes available. But for a curious dilettante like myself this was perfect.
June 19, 2019
I hate negative reviews but this book went nowhere far too quickly and as a text that was supposed to be a biography of Saladin, a majority of the text was largely about the figures around Saladin. Man has limited knowledge of Arabic, not to mention poorly executes several of the names. There's next to nothing in terms of footnotes so it becomes impossible to trace quotes and summaries back to the bibliography which itself really isn't that impressive. And finally, Man far too often allows sentiment or paltry comparisons to Churchill to act as filler for his analysis of Saladin that often is less than a paragraph long.
This biography was a disappointment, especially because Saladin is a fascinating man. I was looking forward to learning more about a figure I've heard about so often in video games and Ridley Scott movies and so by the end of the book I was disappointed to find that I hadn't learned much of anything about Saladin himself but I knew far more about the Assassin Order and Reynauld de Chatillon.
This is a popular history that will likely be many people's introduction to Saladin and it's a pity because there are far, far better books out there that give a real telling of the life of this figure who has lingering mythos not solely in the East or West, but for all time.
This biography was a disappointment, especially because Saladin is a fascinating man. I was looking forward to learning more about a figure I've heard about so often in video games and Ridley Scott movies and so by the end of the book I was disappointed to find that I hadn't learned much of anything about Saladin himself but I knew far more about the Assassin Order and Reynauld de Chatillon.
This is a popular history that will likely be many people's introduction to Saladin and it's a pity because there are far, far better books out there that give a real telling of the life of this figure who has lingering mythos not solely in the East or West, but for all time.
June 2, 2019
Someone in one of my book groups selected this out of an interest in Saladin and the Crusades, not because of the merits of this particular book. I didn't care for it, as I was looking for something more scholarly. If I have time I'll try to read some of Thomas Asbridge or James Reston, Jr..
May 11, 2016
Superb... a comprehensive account and compelling analysis
September 18, 2017
Selalu saja orang-orang besar dan para penakluk itu adalah mereka yang memiliki akhlak yang terpuji dan ketaatan yg kuat pada agamanya. Buku ini cukup mengobati dahaga untuk mengenal sosok penakluk Yerusalem yang tak hanya dipuji kalangan Muslim tetapi juga agama lainnya.
November 15, 2019
Fast paced, except for the last two chapters, biography about an Islamic icon.
Of course with event that happened almost a millennium ago, how much of it is accurate?
And we know that history is written by the victors...
Of course with event that happened almost a millennium ago, how much of it is accurate?
And we know that history is written by the victors...
October 1, 2021
first book I've read about him, can't say it's left me satisfied - definitely want to read more.
it didn't flow as well as I would've liked, idk how to explain it but take the 4/5 mr.man
it didn't flow as well as I would've liked, idk how to explain it but take the 4/5 mr.man
August 2, 2016
''It was over. Distraught 'as a mother who has just lost her child', he had no choice but to accept the deal.
How could this reverse have come about? True, his forces were spread too thinly, fending off rivals to the east and north. But the main reason was that the caliph had sent no help, to Saladin's distress.
'Jihad is the personal duty of all muslims,' he wrote. 'Yet your servant is left to the bear that oppressive burden all alone.'"
In an echo of the Muslim world today, the world Salah El-Din grew up in was shattered by sectarian struggles, internal strife and, perhaps as a result, foreign invasion, which fostered a strong desire within him to unite muslims under one banner against what was perceived as the real enemy, the Crusaders. Uniting muslims ( to no one's surprise) was no easy feat, as each city required particular political manoeuvring. Troubles ended not with an military invasion, but with securing a foothold in the political landscape and rallying public opinion to Salah El-Din's cause, all the while evading attempts to both overthrow his rule and to end his life.
Perhaps, most disheartening to me in this story was after the monumental effort launched by Salah El-Din to retrieve Jerusalem and all the sacrifices that were made in service of his cause, there persisted so much animosity and distrust between muslim leaders that when the time came to defend Jerusalem and keep it in muslim hands, no reinforcements from supposed allies arrived to aid him in his quest and Salah El-Din and his army were left to fend for themselves.
''Where now are his ideals - of Arab and Islamic unity, of freedom from outside interference, of a peaceful life under Islam? Never realized by him, and today more tattered than ever, torn by the elements Saladin despised: sectarianism, civil war, exploitation, foreign intervention''
This is a short read and is meant to offer only a quick view of the challenges and tribulation that faced Salah El-Din. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to read a (short) account of the life of such a magnificent and benevolent figure.
How could this reverse have come about? True, his forces were spread too thinly, fending off rivals to the east and north. But the main reason was that the caliph had sent no help, to Saladin's distress.
'Jihad is the personal duty of all muslims,' he wrote. 'Yet your servant is left to the bear that oppressive burden all alone.'"
In an echo of the Muslim world today, the world Salah El-Din grew up in was shattered by sectarian struggles, internal strife and, perhaps as a result, foreign invasion, which fostered a strong desire within him to unite muslims under one banner against what was perceived as the real enemy, the Crusaders. Uniting muslims ( to no one's surprise) was no easy feat, as each city required particular political manoeuvring. Troubles ended not with an military invasion, but with securing a foothold in the political landscape and rallying public opinion to Salah El-Din's cause, all the while evading attempts to both overthrow his rule and to end his life.
Perhaps, most disheartening to me in this story was after the monumental effort launched by Salah El-Din to retrieve Jerusalem and all the sacrifices that were made in service of his cause, there persisted so much animosity and distrust between muslim leaders that when the time came to defend Jerusalem and keep it in muslim hands, no reinforcements from supposed allies arrived to aid him in his quest and Salah El-Din and his army were left to fend for themselves.
''Where now are his ideals - of Arab and Islamic unity, of freedom from outside interference, of a peaceful life under Islam? Never realized by him, and today more tattered than ever, torn by the elements Saladin despised: sectarianism, civil war, exploitation, foreign intervention''
This is a short read and is meant to offer only a quick view of the challenges and tribulation that faced Salah El-Din. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to read a (short) account of the life of such a magnificent and benevolent figure.
April 17, 2023
Book: Saladin, Life, Legend, Legacy by John Man
Introduction: Saladin, a hero of the Islamic world, is renowned for his leadership and unification of the Arabs in the 12th century. In this authoritative biography, John Man brings Saladin and his world to life, exploring his rise to power, his battles to retake Jerusalem and his significance for the world today.
Review: This book provides a compelling narrative of Saladin's life and interactions with various groups. However, the limitation is that certain sections of his life are not known. Overall, it is an interesting read for those interested in the flip side of the crusades and medieval life in the Middle East.
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Introduction: Saladin, a hero of the Islamic world, is renowned for his leadership and unification of the Arabs in the 12th century. In this authoritative biography, John Man brings Saladin and his world to life, exploring his rise to power, his battles to retake Jerusalem and his significance for the world today.
Review: This book provides a compelling narrative of Saladin's life and interactions with various groups. However, the limitation is that certain sections of his life are not known. Overall, it is an interesting read for those interested in the flip side of the crusades and medieval life in the Middle East.
Connect with me Via:
Instagram Facebook Twitter
July 20, 2017
This was very interesting. I've heard about Saladin but never really knew what his story was. At the end of the book my thought was that the divisions between all the religions in this part of the world and elsewhere continue. As I was reading about Saladin considering taking Mosul I heard on the news that Iraq took back Mosul from Isis. I know it's way more complicated than a sentence but it just really makes me sad that we're never going to stop fighting these endless battles
October 10, 2025
A solid and informative read...but the extended coda doesn't do it any favours. Sometimes its best to quit while you're ahead, and not tempt the anti-concise gods.
April 24, 2025
★★★★☆ (4/5)
A selection of my favourite passages
• Kurds, Arabs, Iranians, Turks, north Africans, Jews and Europeans of all nationalities, and many Americans with Middle Eastern connections, think Saladin is one of the greatest leaders of all time, with virtues to match his achievements.
• What a mixture of security and apprehension the young Saladin would have breathed– the security of his religion set against the region’s unending wars, power struggles, rebellions and assassinations,
• Fuelled by staggering wealth, medieval Islam hungered for learning and inspired brilliant scholarship.
• Medieval Islam, assured of its superiority, was innovative and curious.
• Unnumbered thousands died fighting for some orthodoxy or heresy, for this or that dynasty, for their own beloved and soon- to- be forgotten caliph or sultan or emir.
• Egypt was ruled by Shi’ites claiming descent from the Prophet’s daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali; Baghdad by Sunnis who looked back to the Prophet’s uncle, Abbas. Fatimid and Abbasid:
• the Assassins’ ideology became ever more eccentric, eventually proclaiming them free of all laws but their own. Naturally, mainstream Muslims looked on all this with horror, and condemned the Assassins as heretics.
• By the time of Saladin’s birth in 1137– 8, almost forty years after the loss of Jerusalem, hatred of the Franks had been diluted by both complacency– since many ordinary Arabs preferred the Franks to their own grasping and unreliable leaders– and a growing belief that no great leader would arise to heal Muslim rivalries and drive the Franks into the sea.
• all figures should be seen as approximate, and were often exaggerated to serve the agendas of the writers).
• He bought his own food and clothing rather than relying on servants, respected Islamic law without being a fanatic, and often risked his life in battle, always carrying two bows.
• Close by the city, to the north, reared the angular 1,100- metre peak of Mount Qasiyoun, where Abraham had been born, in a cave which now lay beneath a mosque– so the Andalusian traveller ibn Jubayr reported anyway. It was also on this mountain that Cain killed his brother Abel, an event recalled then and now by the so- called Cave of Blood. Prophets used to climb the mountain to make their ascent to heaven.
• ‘The door of the East is open, so enter it in peace, industrious youth,’ urged ibn Jubayr, ‘and seize the chance of undistracted study and seclusion before a wife and children cling to you and you gnash your teeth in regret at the time you lost.’
• To be sure of a message getting through long distance, you had to copy the same message three or more times and attach it to that many different birds. There must have been a whole specialist industry of dovecote builders, breeders, trainers, transporters and supervisors– hundreds of people to look after tens of thousands of pigeons.
• avoiding defeat is not victory.
• As army commander, the obvious compromise candidate was Shirkuh’s aide and nephew, Saladin. He had experience, and being of a Kurdish family he would be accepted by one of the largest military groups. Almost all Syrian officers supported him. But as an administrator? He was young, he had no local power- base, and his only experience was as executive for his uncle– all of which was to his advantage, because for the caliph, who would have to confirm Saladin’s appointment as vizier, inexperience, youth and weakness were excellent qualifications: he would surely be easy to control.
• In politics, words are actions. If the top cleric blesses a new head of state, that’s pretty much the end of the old one.
• ‘Knife cuts and needle pricks’, that’s how Saladin described Nur al- Din’s actions.
• Passionate in his determination to do good, he was restrained in the pleasures of the table and the harem, moderate in spending and simple in his tastes.
• Saladin’s best weapon, as often, was masterly inactivity. He had a big stick, in the form of the Egyptian army, but in the tradition of Nur al- Din he preferred soft speech to force.
• The key element in Saladin’s campaign was his forbearance. Since he was aiming to unite Syria with a view to wider unity, his current enemies would one day be his allies, so he was careful never to be vindictive, holding back his troops from indiscriminate slaughter, sparing fugitives and the wounded, releasing prisoners, employing soldiers who wished to defect.
• Inside, it is a maze of rooms, stairways and tunnels on two overlapping levels that circle the hill and a third that caps it. For invaders, it would have been a nightmare, because stairs and corridors divide and swoop and double back, blunting attacks and making places for defenders to hide and counterattack.
• There were also non- military projects: a law college in Alexandria; the abolition of a toll paid by pilgrims crossing the Red Sea on their way to Mecca, with due compensation paid to Mecca itself for loss of income– an astute PR move that made him popular all along the pilgrim routes, and also made him in effect Mecca’s patron.
• Few villains are irredeemably monstrous. A later chapter will look at an adventure that suggests he was as much swashbuckler as thug.
• Every now and then in history, some great city becomes a strategic doorway that must be kept locked or forced open, held or taken. When Kublai Khan advanced on southern China in 1268, Xiangyang was such a city. So was Verdun in the First World War, Stalingrad in the Second World War. For the Crusaders and the Muslims, Ascalon was one. It was a very tough nut: no port, no safe haven for invaders; lots of wells and cisterns for fresh water; four gates, squatting over mazes of little streets; and resupplied with arms, fresh troops and food four times a year by the Egyptians.
• A later scribe recalled a piece of ancient wisdom: that detectable lies should be avoided in reports of defeats.
• How could victory be assured? By focusing not on battles, but on the bases in which they were prepared– the castles.
• It was not a straightforward decision, because the obvious site for the castle, a hill 3 kilometres from the river, was actually in Muslim territory.
• Your sense of identity did not involve loyalty to a nation- state with nicely demarcated borders. If you asked an ‘ordinary person’, supposing you could find such a creature, ‘What is your identity?’ the answer would have to refer to a landscape, a religion, a city, a clan, an occupation, a leader.
• Their success proved a point– that castles were only useful as bases for field armies. True, the Crusaders could retreat into them and be safe for a while. But not for ever. Once they were in, the open mobility of their attackers became the key to victory. If Muslims worked towards a final battle out in the open, they could destroy the Crusaders. The tide of war was turning.
• The locals, of course, had no idea that such a thing was possible, because ‘the presence of the Franks in that sea had never been known, and such extreme wickedness had never confronted a pilgrim . . . The weak became worried, and the worried became weak.’
• As often, chivalry trumped every other consideration. Reynald’s wife, Stephanie, sent out dishes from the marriage feast to Saladin, who in his message of thanks asked which tower the newly- weds were in. On being told, he ordered his mangonels not to target it.
• It was too much. Saladin developed a ‘quartan’ fever, one that induced a paroxysm every fourth day. He and his entourage kept the news to themselves, in order not to depress his followers and delight his enemies.
• But what sweet smell of victory arose from this charnelhouse! What vengeful flames swirled around those bodies! How this hideous sight made hearts rejoice! .
• Since the seventeenth century, war has become ever more ‘total’; in Saladin’s day it was partial, with soldiers doubling as farmers, generals as leaders of towns and castles, enemies who became allies overnight. Why, of course Balian could retrieve his wife, if he agreed to spend only one night in Jerusalem and to travel unarmed.
• One key to his success was that he combined two styles of leadership, exercising what modern theorists call hard and soft power.
• The successful leader carries enough insecurity to inspire a desire to change the world, and enough of a sense of security to confront this challenge without lapsing into paranoia, criminality or any number of behaviour patterns that undermine his aims.
• Young Saladin seems to have had that crucial balance between security and insecurity– the immediate security of family and religion, the wider insecurity of religious strife, Sunni versus Shia, Islam versus Christianity, local leaders versus each other.
• An inspiring vision is a rare combination of the right circumstances, the right vision and the right person, who must dream it up, communicate it and get followers to believe in it. You can only get so far by brute force.
• Another prime element of his leadership was his readiness to share adversity. The nature of revolutionary leadership demands it.
• For military commanders and corporate leaders alike, seeing, telling and absorbing the unpleasant truth is an important part of retaining morale, for there is nothing so destructive as optimism that is constantly confounded by events. Poor leaders hide limitations and lay claim to genius, often with ludicrous results.
• Related to Saladin’s readiness to share adversity were two other qualities. First, his austerity. This is rare in leaders. Few can resist the urge to collect riches.
• Saladin too considered his followers before himself, so much so that in death he had nothing to his name. Baha al- Din says his treasury held just 47 dirhems and one gold piece. ‘He left neither goods, nor house, nor real estate, neither garden, nor village, nor cultivated land, nor any other species of property.’
• Keeping promises is a fundamental attribute of good leadership, for without it the trust of allies and those further down the chain of command vanishes, morale plummets, concerted action becomes impossible,
There was no point forcing himself on those cities and regions whose support he needed, if by doing so he turned them from rivals into enemies on a par with his real enemies, the Crusaders. If he besieged a city, he had to do so with a hand tied behind his back. If he won a battle, he took care not to pursue, slaughter and pillage.
• Negotiation often saves fruitless fighting and unnecessary losses. If xenophobia works in conquest, clemency works in victory. If you do not humiliate an enemy, you will not drive him into permanent hostility. Integrity paid off. ‘If we refuse what we have promised and are not generous with the benefits,’ he said once, ‘no one will ever trust us again.’
• Let’s first take the fall and rise of his reputation in the Muslim world. One reason for his demotion was that, in the cold light of history, he did not succeed in his aims. He wanted to free the Middle East of the Crusaders (and even dreamed of spreading Islam to Europe, a sort of reverse Crusade). But in this he failed. Jerusalem was taken and the Franks were down, but not out.
• The Crusaders were not finally thrown out until 1291, almost a century after Saladin’s death, by the Mamluk rulers of Egypt– who, incidentally, also threw out the Mongols, a far greater threat than the Crusaders had ever been.
• Secondly, successor dynasties in both Egypt and Syria had agendas of their own, and lasted much longer. Saladin’s dynasty, the Ayyubids, ruled for seventy- six years in Egypt and eighty- six in Syria,
• It is virtually a law of history that new dynasties disparage those they displace. In addition, they liked to celebrate heroes and epic struggles of their own, against both the Franks and the Mongols.
• Thirdly, Saladin was not quite the unifier he seems at first glance.
• all this was done in the name of his own brand of Islam, Sunnism, and at the expense of its great rival, Shi’ism, the predominant creed in Egypt.
• Saladin was God’s instrument, sent to scourge Christians back into the ways of righteousness, as if he were the penance imposed on a sinful people– the ‘flagellum Christianorum’, the Scourge of Christians, as the thirteenth- century chronicler and cardinal Oliver of Paderborn called him.
• But it was Saladin’s virtues– his generosity, his magnanimity– that captured the European imagination more than his fighting skills.
• There is on the walls of Cairo’s citadel, rebuilt by Saladin from 1176 onwards, a stone bas- relief of an eagle, now headless. Known as the ‘Eagle of Saladin’, it was taken by Nasser as the nation’s emblem and it remains on the flag today. (It was also adopted as a symbol of Arab nationalism by Palestine, Yemen and Libya, and appears in some of their past flag designs.)
• He was an example, it seems, for all times and all seasons both in Europe and across the Muslim world. An exemplar of Islam, Christianity, both, and then in the eighteenth century neither, but of revolution, conservatism, refinement, even the noble savagery of pre- Islamic tribesmen or Highland Scottish tribes.
A selection of my favourite passages
• Kurds, Arabs, Iranians, Turks, north Africans, Jews and Europeans of all nationalities, and many Americans with Middle Eastern connections, think Saladin is one of the greatest leaders of all time, with virtues to match his achievements.
• What a mixture of security and apprehension the young Saladin would have breathed– the security of his religion set against the region’s unending wars, power struggles, rebellions and assassinations,
• Fuelled by staggering wealth, medieval Islam hungered for learning and inspired brilliant scholarship.
• Medieval Islam, assured of its superiority, was innovative and curious.
• Unnumbered thousands died fighting for some orthodoxy or heresy, for this or that dynasty, for their own beloved and soon- to- be forgotten caliph or sultan or emir.
• Egypt was ruled by Shi’ites claiming descent from the Prophet’s daughter Fatima and her husband, Ali; Baghdad by Sunnis who looked back to the Prophet’s uncle, Abbas. Fatimid and Abbasid:
• the Assassins’ ideology became ever more eccentric, eventually proclaiming them free of all laws but their own. Naturally, mainstream Muslims looked on all this with horror, and condemned the Assassins as heretics.
• By the time of Saladin’s birth in 1137– 8, almost forty years after the loss of Jerusalem, hatred of the Franks had been diluted by both complacency– since many ordinary Arabs preferred the Franks to their own grasping and unreliable leaders– and a growing belief that no great leader would arise to heal Muslim rivalries and drive the Franks into the sea.
• all figures should be seen as approximate, and were often exaggerated to serve the agendas of the writers).
• He bought his own food and clothing rather than relying on servants, respected Islamic law without being a fanatic, and often risked his life in battle, always carrying two bows.
• Close by the city, to the north, reared the angular 1,100- metre peak of Mount Qasiyoun, where Abraham had been born, in a cave which now lay beneath a mosque– so the Andalusian traveller ibn Jubayr reported anyway. It was also on this mountain that Cain killed his brother Abel, an event recalled then and now by the so- called Cave of Blood. Prophets used to climb the mountain to make their ascent to heaven.
• ‘The door of the East is open, so enter it in peace, industrious youth,’ urged ibn Jubayr, ‘and seize the chance of undistracted study and seclusion before a wife and children cling to you and you gnash your teeth in regret at the time you lost.’
• To be sure of a message getting through long distance, you had to copy the same message three or more times and attach it to that many different birds. There must have been a whole specialist industry of dovecote builders, breeders, trainers, transporters and supervisors– hundreds of people to look after tens of thousands of pigeons.
• avoiding defeat is not victory.
• As army commander, the obvious compromise candidate was Shirkuh’s aide and nephew, Saladin. He had experience, and being of a Kurdish family he would be accepted by one of the largest military groups. Almost all Syrian officers supported him. But as an administrator? He was young, he had no local power- base, and his only experience was as executive for his uncle– all of which was to his advantage, because for the caliph, who would have to confirm Saladin’s appointment as vizier, inexperience, youth and weakness were excellent qualifications: he would surely be easy to control.
• In politics, words are actions. If the top cleric blesses a new head of state, that’s pretty much the end of the old one.
• ‘Knife cuts and needle pricks’, that’s how Saladin described Nur al- Din’s actions.
• Passionate in his determination to do good, he was restrained in the pleasures of the table and the harem, moderate in spending and simple in his tastes.
• Saladin’s best weapon, as often, was masterly inactivity. He had a big stick, in the form of the Egyptian army, but in the tradition of Nur al- Din he preferred soft speech to force.
• The key element in Saladin’s campaign was his forbearance. Since he was aiming to unite Syria with a view to wider unity, his current enemies would one day be his allies, so he was careful never to be vindictive, holding back his troops from indiscriminate slaughter, sparing fugitives and the wounded, releasing prisoners, employing soldiers who wished to defect.
• Inside, it is a maze of rooms, stairways and tunnels on two overlapping levels that circle the hill and a third that caps it. For invaders, it would have been a nightmare, because stairs and corridors divide and swoop and double back, blunting attacks and making places for defenders to hide and counterattack.
• There were also non- military projects: a law college in Alexandria; the abolition of a toll paid by pilgrims crossing the Red Sea on their way to Mecca, with due compensation paid to Mecca itself for loss of income– an astute PR move that made him popular all along the pilgrim routes, and also made him in effect Mecca’s patron.
• Few villains are irredeemably monstrous. A later chapter will look at an adventure that suggests he was as much swashbuckler as thug.
• Every now and then in history, some great city becomes a strategic doorway that must be kept locked or forced open, held or taken. When Kublai Khan advanced on southern China in 1268, Xiangyang was such a city. So was Verdun in the First World War, Stalingrad in the Second World War. For the Crusaders and the Muslims, Ascalon was one. It was a very tough nut: no port, no safe haven for invaders; lots of wells and cisterns for fresh water; four gates, squatting over mazes of little streets; and resupplied with arms, fresh troops and food four times a year by the Egyptians.
• A later scribe recalled a piece of ancient wisdom: that detectable lies should be avoided in reports of defeats.
• How could victory be assured? By focusing not on battles, but on the bases in which they were prepared– the castles.
• It was not a straightforward decision, because the obvious site for the castle, a hill 3 kilometres from the river, was actually in Muslim territory.
• Your sense of identity did not involve loyalty to a nation- state with nicely demarcated borders. If you asked an ‘ordinary person’, supposing you could find such a creature, ‘What is your identity?’ the answer would have to refer to a landscape, a religion, a city, a clan, an occupation, a leader.
• Their success proved a point– that castles were only useful as bases for field armies. True, the Crusaders could retreat into them and be safe for a while. But not for ever. Once they were in, the open mobility of their attackers became the key to victory. If Muslims worked towards a final battle out in the open, they could destroy the Crusaders. The tide of war was turning.
• The locals, of course, had no idea that such a thing was possible, because ‘the presence of the Franks in that sea had never been known, and such extreme wickedness had never confronted a pilgrim . . . The weak became worried, and the worried became weak.’
• As often, chivalry trumped every other consideration. Reynald’s wife, Stephanie, sent out dishes from the marriage feast to Saladin, who in his message of thanks asked which tower the newly- weds were in. On being told, he ordered his mangonels not to target it.
• It was too much. Saladin developed a ‘quartan’ fever, one that induced a paroxysm every fourth day. He and his entourage kept the news to themselves, in order not to depress his followers and delight his enemies.
• But what sweet smell of victory arose from this charnelhouse! What vengeful flames swirled around those bodies! How this hideous sight made hearts rejoice! .
• Since the seventeenth century, war has become ever more ‘total’; in Saladin’s day it was partial, with soldiers doubling as farmers, generals as leaders of towns and castles, enemies who became allies overnight. Why, of course Balian could retrieve his wife, if he agreed to spend only one night in Jerusalem and to travel unarmed.
• One key to his success was that he combined two styles of leadership, exercising what modern theorists call hard and soft power.
• The successful leader carries enough insecurity to inspire a desire to change the world, and enough of a sense of security to confront this challenge without lapsing into paranoia, criminality or any number of behaviour patterns that undermine his aims.
• Young Saladin seems to have had that crucial balance between security and insecurity– the immediate security of family and religion, the wider insecurity of religious strife, Sunni versus Shia, Islam versus Christianity, local leaders versus each other.
• An inspiring vision is a rare combination of the right circumstances, the right vision and the right person, who must dream it up, communicate it and get followers to believe in it. You can only get so far by brute force.
• Another prime element of his leadership was his readiness to share adversity. The nature of revolutionary leadership demands it.
• For military commanders and corporate leaders alike, seeing, telling and absorbing the unpleasant truth is an important part of retaining morale, for there is nothing so destructive as optimism that is constantly confounded by events. Poor leaders hide limitations and lay claim to genius, often with ludicrous results.
• Related to Saladin’s readiness to share adversity were two other qualities. First, his austerity. This is rare in leaders. Few can resist the urge to collect riches.
• Saladin too considered his followers before himself, so much so that in death he had nothing to his name. Baha al- Din says his treasury held just 47 dirhems and one gold piece. ‘He left neither goods, nor house, nor real estate, neither garden, nor village, nor cultivated land, nor any other species of property.’
• Keeping promises is a fundamental attribute of good leadership, for without it the trust of allies and those further down the chain of command vanishes, morale plummets, concerted action becomes impossible,
There was no point forcing himself on those cities and regions whose support he needed, if by doing so he turned them from rivals into enemies on a par with his real enemies, the Crusaders. If he besieged a city, he had to do so with a hand tied behind his back. If he won a battle, he took care not to pursue, slaughter and pillage.
• Negotiation often saves fruitless fighting and unnecessary losses. If xenophobia works in conquest, clemency works in victory. If you do not humiliate an enemy, you will not drive him into permanent hostility. Integrity paid off. ‘If we refuse what we have promised and are not generous with the benefits,’ he said once, ‘no one will ever trust us again.’
• Let’s first take the fall and rise of his reputation in the Muslim world. One reason for his demotion was that, in the cold light of history, he did not succeed in his aims. He wanted to free the Middle East of the Crusaders (and even dreamed of spreading Islam to Europe, a sort of reverse Crusade). But in this he failed. Jerusalem was taken and the Franks were down, but not out.
• The Crusaders were not finally thrown out until 1291, almost a century after Saladin’s death, by the Mamluk rulers of Egypt– who, incidentally, also threw out the Mongols, a far greater threat than the Crusaders had ever been.
• Secondly, successor dynasties in both Egypt and Syria had agendas of their own, and lasted much longer. Saladin’s dynasty, the Ayyubids, ruled for seventy- six years in Egypt and eighty- six in Syria,
• It is virtually a law of history that new dynasties disparage those they displace. In addition, they liked to celebrate heroes and epic struggles of their own, against both the Franks and the Mongols.
• Thirdly, Saladin was not quite the unifier he seems at first glance.
• all this was done in the name of his own brand of Islam, Sunnism, and at the expense of its great rival, Shi’ism, the predominant creed in Egypt.
• Saladin was God’s instrument, sent to scourge Christians back into the ways of righteousness, as if he were the penance imposed on a sinful people– the ‘flagellum Christianorum’, the Scourge of Christians, as the thirteenth- century chronicler and cardinal Oliver of Paderborn called him.
• But it was Saladin’s virtues– his generosity, his magnanimity– that captured the European imagination more than his fighting skills.
• There is on the walls of Cairo’s citadel, rebuilt by Saladin from 1176 onwards, a stone bas- relief of an eagle, now headless. Known as the ‘Eagle of Saladin’, it was taken by Nasser as the nation’s emblem and it remains on the flag today. (It was also adopted as a symbol of Arab nationalism by Palestine, Yemen and Libya, and appears in some of their past flag designs.)
• He was an example, it seems, for all times and all seasons both in Europe and across the Muslim world. An exemplar of Islam, Christianity, both, and then in the eighteenth century neither, but of revolution, conservatism, refinement, even the noble savagery of pre- Islamic tribesmen or Highland Scottish tribes.
July 6, 2017
If you enjoy watching Kingdom of Heaven or Saladin The Animated Series. This is the book that you’ve got to read. Saladin’s biography from the westerner’s eyes, because John Man wasn’t a Muslim himself. John Man explains in details the great qualities of this Muslim hero and how did Saladin became an ideal, charismatic leader respected by friends and foes of all the time. I was so nervous while reading this book. Afraid that John Man might have the wrong interpretation about Jihad and relate Jihad with the extremism. Brilliantly, he did not. John Man’s analysis says that there is not such thing as extremism in leadership. Saladin was the great hero because of his ability to ruled justly, he resist the urges to collect riches, he dealt, negotiated with the enemy, he had series of almost failure in war but determination in the name of Jihad and his aim to take back Jerusalem drove him to success. He treated his foes and enemy with diplomacy though he has the authority to show his brutality.
I’m not going to write in depth about the book. Let it be surprise. But, there’s a last paragraph that John Man wrote in the book which made me feel like I have been slapped and gave me sad ending.
“It goes on. Islam tears its own flanks, offering opening for foreign alliances here and extremism there, with all hope shattered by civil war, bombs and grotesque barbarities of the so-called Islamic State, destroying the ideal of Islam in the name of Islam. They even blew up the citadel of Tikrit, birth-place of Islam’s greatest hero. There is no sign of a new Saladin today.”
brutally truth.
Its a shame. Kerana yang merosakkan Islam itu ialah orang Islam itu sendiri.
I’m not going to write in depth about the book. Let it be surprise. But, there’s a last paragraph that John Man wrote in the book which made me feel like I have been slapped and gave me sad ending.
“It goes on. Islam tears its own flanks, offering opening for foreign alliances here and extremism there, with all hope shattered by civil war, bombs and grotesque barbarities of the so-called Islamic State, destroying the ideal of Islam in the name of Islam. They even blew up the citadel of Tikrit, birth-place of Islam’s greatest hero. There is no sign of a new Saladin today.”
brutally truth.
Its a shame. Kerana yang merosakkan Islam itu ialah orang Islam itu sendiri.
January 26, 2024
3.5
I was deeply frustrated when I first started reading this book, then by the middle enthralled, then at the end frustrated again. Man does an excellent job understanding the history of the crusades and the Medieval Middle East, yet surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly) there are numerous Orientalist moments. Some of these are admittedly small yet point out to larger problems.
An example of a microcosmic problem that points to Eurocentrism, is in the beginning of the book he wrongly states that “The Turks had been ruling Jerusalem for 400 years by the start of the crusades”. His misnomer here points to the fact (and this is the major issue I have) is that the author does not fully understand/or is sensitive to the complexities of the Middle East.
As a reader you can tell that in his analysis of Saladin’s legacy in contemporary times as well as his comments of the Modern Middle East there are tinges of racism. Not explicit, but perhaps this is what happens when an author is not from the region he is commenting on.
The recollection of the history of the crusades is superb. As a historian he does an excellent job recollecting events and weaving the story of Saladin’s involvement in the Crusades.
Good book, definitely recommend reading if you want strong history on the crusades. However his analysis and understanding of Saladin’s legacy left a poor taste in my mouth.
I was deeply frustrated when I first started reading this book, then by the middle enthralled, then at the end frustrated again. Man does an excellent job understanding the history of the crusades and the Medieval Middle East, yet surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly) there are numerous Orientalist moments. Some of these are admittedly small yet point out to larger problems.
An example of a microcosmic problem that points to Eurocentrism, is in the beginning of the book he wrongly states that “The Turks had been ruling Jerusalem for 400 years by the start of the crusades”. His misnomer here points to the fact (and this is the major issue I have) is that the author does not fully understand/or is sensitive to the complexities of the Middle East.
As a reader you can tell that in his analysis of Saladin’s legacy in contemporary times as well as his comments of the Modern Middle East there are tinges of racism. Not explicit, but perhaps this is what happens when an author is not from the region he is commenting on.
The recollection of the history of the crusades is superb. As a historian he does an excellent job recollecting events and weaving the story of Saladin’s involvement in the Crusades.
Good book, definitely recommend reading if you want strong history on the crusades. However his analysis and understanding of Saladin’s legacy left a poor taste in my mouth.
May 24, 2018
Buku ini mengenai Salehuddin Al-Ayubi atau lebih dikenali di Barat sebagai Saladin yang ditulis pada tahun 2015 merupakan antara buku biografi terbaharu yang membincangkan kehidupan seorang tokoh Islam yang amat terkemuka ini. John Man,di dalam buku tulisannya ini cuba untuk menonjolkan betapa signifikannya Saladin sebagai simbol untuk menyatukan dunia Arab dan Islam. Lebih-lebih lagi dengan pergolakan politik berdarah yang berlaku di beberapa negara Arab kini.
Walaupun bukan ditulis oleh seorang Muslim,tetapi,amat menarik sekali untuk dibaca. Saya berpandangan,Man menyampaikan tulisannya dengan secara objektif,adil dan berfakta. Walaupun demikian,ada juga beberapa perkara yang diutarakan oleh beliau akan menimbulkan perasaan tidak setuju terutamanya kepada para pembaca yang arif mengenai Saladin. Namun demikian,secara keseluruhannya,saya berpendapat bahawa adalah bagus untuk mengetahui perspektif yang berlainan atau tidak ortodoks dan terpulanglah kepada kebijaksanaan seseorang pembaca itu untuk menilai dan menimbangnya.
Walaupun bukan ditulis oleh seorang Muslim,tetapi,amat menarik sekali untuk dibaca. Saya berpandangan,Man menyampaikan tulisannya dengan secara objektif,adil dan berfakta. Walaupun demikian,ada juga beberapa perkara yang diutarakan oleh beliau akan menimbulkan perasaan tidak setuju terutamanya kepada para pembaca yang arif mengenai Saladin. Namun demikian,secara keseluruhannya,saya berpendapat bahawa adalah bagus untuk mengetahui perspektif yang berlainan atau tidak ortodoks dan terpulanglah kepada kebijaksanaan seseorang pembaca itu untuk menilai dan menimbangnya.
February 17, 2025
As someone who has read about this specific historical figure, as the focal point and not, it was a bit of a let down.
Firstly, for having little recorded about his childhood we spent much too long talking about the state of the region prior to the focal point of the book being born. Yes I understand the relevance of setting the stage, but for a 270ish page book I felt like there was little 'Saladin' until just shy of a third of the way through. I then found myself shot through a large period of economic decisions, political negotiating, logistical decisions, and war in far too little detail over the next 100 pages. The last 50 pages I basically skimmed.
If you like an overview of the period with a mass vomit of historical dates, attempts at creating a cheeky narrative, or having more information about any figure that isn't 'Saladin'. You'll probably enjoy this.
For myself, it gets 2 stars instead of 1 because while I forced myself to finish, I still appreciate the act of gaining knowledge through literature, and I can't hate that.
Firstly, for having little recorded about his childhood we spent much too long talking about the state of the region prior to the focal point of the book being born. Yes I understand the relevance of setting the stage, but for a 270ish page book I felt like there was little 'Saladin' until just shy of a third of the way through. I then found myself shot through a large period of economic decisions, political negotiating, logistical decisions, and war in far too little detail over the next 100 pages. The last 50 pages I basically skimmed.
If you like an overview of the period with a mass vomit of historical dates, attempts at creating a cheeky narrative, or having more information about any figure that isn't 'Saladin'. You'll probably enjoy this.
For myself, it gets 2 stars instead of 1 because while I forced myself to finish, I still appreciate the act of gaining knowledge through literature, and I can't hate that.
January 5, 2021
The book begin with great drama, excellent story telling where Saladin the main character of story is not really a main character. Slowly with each chapter, the inaccuracies increase from mentioning of Prohpet Mohammed Writing quran to labeling hizaj as saudi arabia and so on. It was really strange to read that all anti Saladin character be it Renyald to Conrad to Richard the loin heart are more charismatic, more hero like despite their atrocities while every sultan move of kindness is explained as political move, be it allowing most of christens to leave Jerusalem untouch or returning prince just because the mother fulfilled her promise.. The last two chapters where title suggested the discussion on Saladin leadership are wrapped with tales of William and idi amin and who not...
In the end the biasness and hatred toward Saladin of John Man was quite evident. It's sad that he had spend so much time to compile this book and yet destroyed the history with his own ideas.
In the end the biasness and hatred toward Saladin of John Man was quite evident. It's sad that he had spend so much time to compile this book and yet destroyed the history with his own ideas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2020
I skipped a lot in the last 100 pages or so, mostly because I didn't really see anything that shows why Saladin is so revered. Right up to his death, the book only tells of so and so wanting to take back a certain piece of land and how Saladin tries to protect/attack said land. Not much of his strategies and ways of negotiating or his personality that made him a famous figure. It was like reading a dull history book focusing on everyone but the man himself.
Granted, the author did mention about Saladin towards the end, after his death, but at that point I've already lost my interest towards the book.
Granted, the author did mention about Saladin towards the end, after his death, but at that point I've already lost my interest towards the book.
November 23, 2015
Well researched book, initial 1/4th of the book gives a brief picture of crusade wars, Shi'ite-Sunni animosity and the atmosphere Saladin was growing up in.
John Man has tried his best to collect every possible detail of Saladin's personality, his enemies and the wars fought.
Begins the book with a similarity of current situation in middle-east with that of Crusade/Saladin's days and concludes with the same, but grieved about how middle-east now lacks a figure like Saladin.
Conclusion: "There is no sign of a new Saladin, nor any vision of what he might achieve, let alone how......"
John Man has tried his best to collect every possible detail of Saladin's personality, his enemies and the wars fought.
Begins the book with a similarity of current situation in middle-east with that of Crusade/Saladin's days and concludes with the same, but grieved about how middle-east now lacks a figure like Saladin.
Conclusion: "There is no sign of a new Saladin, nor any vision of what he might achieve, let alone how......"
July 16, 2017
Sebenarnya kisah Shalahuddin bisa kita baca di banyak referensi. Jadi buku ini bisa dijadikan sebagai pelengkap.
Namun, kalau boleh jujur, saya kurang nyaman dengan gaya penerjemahannya. Entah bagaimana terasa kaku sekali.....
Namun, kalau boleh jujur, saya kurang nyaman dengan gaya penerjemahannya. Entah bagaimana terasa kaku sekali.....
December 29, 2019
It has been a lil bit overwhelming with all the dates, characters, events. 3.5 counts as a 4 👍
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