al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf I (Saladin)
Born c. 1138, Sultan of Egypt and Syria 1169-1193 A.D.
Silver Dirham, 21 mm.
Arabic inscriptions both sides.
Hamah Mint.
Dated 583 A.H. = c.1186 A.D.
Copper Dirham, 29 mm.
Sultan seated facing, holding orb.
mintless type, probably minted at Mayafariqin
Dated 586 A.H. = c.1189 A.D.
Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf I, known as Saladin in the West, a Muslim warrior and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, was a staunch opponent of the crusades. At the death (1174) of Nur Al-din, the Zangid ruler, Saladin set out to conquer the Zangid kingdom in Syria as a preliminary to the holy war (jihad) against the Crusaders. Launching the jihad in 1187, Saladin was victorious at Hattin, recaptured Jerusalem, and drove the Crusaders back to the coast. These events prompted the Christians to mount the Third Crusade (1189-92), pitting Saladin against Richard I of England. The Crusaders succeeded only in capturing Acre, and the Peace of Ramleh (1192) left the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem with only a small strip of land along the Mediterranean coast. Saladin not only vanquished the Crusaders but also restored Egypt as the major power in the Middle East.