The Age of Saladin

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The last Fatimid Caliph was only eighteen when the Seljuks captured Cairo. The Seljuks who came originally form Central Asia had already conquered Syria and Palestine, and established their Capital in Damascus. By 1168, Egypt had become a battle ground between the Seljuks and the Crusaders, with the Fatimids having virtually little or no control, although they sided mostly with the Crusaders. It was in 1168 that the victorious Shirkoh entered Cairo, and was named governor of Egypt by the Sultan of Damascus, Noor-el-Din. When he died a year later, his nephew was immediately appointed as the next governor. He was young - in his early thirties - and full of will. Quickly, he would become one of the most famous figures in Medieval history. His name was Salah-el-Din the Ayyubid, better known in Western history as Saladin.

The young general is one of the few commanders in history who are tremendously respected by their friends and enemies alike. When he took control over Cairo, the Fatimids remained isolated in their palaces. Saladin did not seek revenge, but rather waited until their Caliph died. He then expelled the Fatimids out of their palaces and sent them to exile. Unlike his successors, the young general did not seize the Fatimid's wealth, nor did he occupy their palaces. Like a caring ruler, he opened the gates of Cairo and allowed Egyptian citizens to live within the city walls in areas which had been exclusively occupied by Fatimid royalty. Beause of his sincerety and kindness, he became popular among Egyptian citizens -Moslems and Christians alike- and even had a Jewish personal doctor. And when he later fought Richard the Lionheart, legend goes that Saladin ordered his horsemen to carry ice down the mountain to comfort the British King when he was sick.

In Cairo, Saladin not only built mosques and palaces (in fact he did not build a palace for himself), but also colleges, hospitals, and a fortress, the Citadel, which still remains one of Cairo's landmarks to this day. Unfortunately, it is to be taken against him and his successors that they used some of the Pyramids stones to meet the excessive need for building materials in the growing city. The Citadel was built on a elevated spot near the the Muqattam Hills, and occupies a strategic spot from which you can, to this day, have a panoramic view of Cairo. New city walls were also erected outside the Fatimid walls to defend Cairo from enemy raids.

In 1182, Saladin marched to Palestine and Syria and never returned to Cairo. For the next 10 years, he fought the Crusaders and managed to end their presence in the region, at least temporarily. When he died in Damascus in 1193, he had almost no personal possessions, but he earned himself a remarkable place in history. He was succeeded in Egypt by his brother Al-Adel who had to deal with an infamous famine and plague. Al-Adel was in turn succeeded by his son, Al-Kamel who befriend Frederick II, and was even knighted in 1192 by Richard the Lionheart. The Ayyubids (Saladin's house) rule came to an end when Al-Kamel's nephew, Al-Saleh, died in 1250. The short rule of his wife, Shagaret-el-Dorr, marked the beginning of a new era, when the slaves known as the Mamelouks ruled Egypt