Photo: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 2.5

Saladin

c. 1137 – 1193 · died at about 56^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Saladin

• Saladin and his great rival King Richard I of England sent each other many gifts as tokens of respect during the Third Crusade, but the two never met face to face.^[1]
• When Saladin died, he owned one piece of gold and forty pieces of silver. He had given his great wealth away to his poor subjects, leaving nothing to pay for his funeral.^[1]
• King Richard I proposed that his sister Joan marry Saladin's brother, with Jerusalem as their wedding gift. Saladin rejected the plan when Richard insisted the groom convert to Christianity.^[1]
• Saladin's tomb in Damascus holds two sarcophagi: his original wooden one and a marble one donated seven centuries later by German Emperor Wilhelm II.^[1]
• Saladin was not his personal name, which was Yusuf. Salah ad-Din is an honorific epithet meaning Righteousness of the Faith.^[1]
• According to Ibn Shaddad, when a Frankish woman's three-month-old baby was stolen from her camp and sold at market, Saladin bought the child back with his own money.^[1]
• Saladin lived to about 56, from c. 1137 until 1193.^[1][2]
• Saladin was alive at the same time as Genghis Khan — their lives overlapped for 31 years (1162–1193).^[1][2][3][4]

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was a Kurdish commander and political leader. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.^[1]

Contemporaries

Genghis Khan

31 yr overlap

Questions About Saladin

When was Saladin born?

Saladin was born about 1137 and died in 1193.

How old was Saladin at death?

Saladin died in 1193 at about 56 years old (c. 1137–1193).

What was Saladin known for?

Saladin was known for: Sultan who recaptured Jerusalem. Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was a Kurdish commander and political leader. He was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.

Who was alive at the same time as Saladin?

Saladin's closest contemporary was Genghis Khan. Their lives overlapped for 31 years.