Essay Sample on Saladin: Was he Virtuous?

Saladin (1137-1193) was the Muslim Sultan of Ancient Egypt and Syria. Saladin repelled the third crusade along with defeating Christian crusader states and capturing Jerusalem. Saladin unified Egypt with Arabia under Islamic rule using diplomacy, warfare, and the promise of holy war.1 He was born under a Kurdish mercenary and rose high in the military ranks. Saladin would eventually take over as Sultan of Egypt from his uncle.  Once he had taken over as Sultan, Saladin captured Damascus and claimed to be a protector of the Sunni from the Shiite caliph in Cairo.2 He then set out to unify the Muslim world. Saladin went about this by marrying queens of other Muslim dynasties around him along with waging war. In unifying the Muslim world, Saladin also started to make a very good name for himself 3. He became known as a defender of Islam against other rival religions as well as creating a good reputation for himself for justice and peace. Saladin felt as if he were the only one that could wage a holy war on Jerusalem. Saladin was very focused on the spread of religion and religious institutions. He created many mosques and colleges for this purpose and commissioned people to write many works on how to improve themselves. When Saladin took over cities, he decided against mass murder and rather sold the people as slaves or ransomed them. He is known for the creation of the Ayyubid dynasty.4 

Saladin came into power as an underdog. He was a Sunni Muslim in a mostly Shi’ite area. Saladin had to use various tactics to become respected and come into power. His morals helped him a lot.5 However, Saladin was a harsh Muslim and that may have reflected in some of his harsher actions. Although he was a bad general, sometimes harsh to his people, and did not do his administrative duties, Saladin is a virtuous person because he was: Honest, kind, generous, respectful, and chivalrous. 

While Saladin was a good guy, he had his fair share of bad things about him. For one, Saladin himself was never a good administrator. He would leave all his administrative duties to his brother and his secretary of state, and the administration of provinces was even turned over to them on only two conditions, suppress abuses and furnish him with troops when needed. This shows that Saladin wasn’t all too caring about his duties as a Sultan and ruler of his empire. Saladin was also not the best general and strategist. His army did not respect his plans much of the time and caused lots of valuable opportunities to be missed during the Third Crusade. Much of history could have been changed if Saladin had the respect of his army and wise strategizing. Saladin was also a harsh Muslim and was too loyal to the caliphate. Saladin was a puppet of the Caliphate and owed absolute loyalty to them. This caused Saladin to make some bad judgments in the name of the Caliphate.6 

But Saladin was a truly kind, generous, and honest ruler. Saladin is remarked by both Christians and Muslims as a kind and compassionate ruler. He would not torture any prisoners and would rather let them go if they paid a fee.7 Saladin did not want people to dislike him so he would try to gain support through moral duties. He would not raid towns and would rather try to win them over via morals. This benefited greatly in the crusades because it would have been much harder for Saladin to win if he had Christian ally towns behind him attacking him. Saladin would also give the treasures he took from cities back into the area which he took.8 Saladin was always concerned and cared for his people no matter where he was. Many ancient stories of Saladin refer to him as a legend who was chivalrous and kind. Many of these legends may be skewed but there is always some truth in stories. Saladin was loved by people everywhere for his chivalrousness and generosity. 9Saladin was also very honest. He never went back on his word. His first principle was sincerity and absolute loyalty to his word when dealing with princes.  

Saladin was also virtuous because he was chivalrous, he was respectful and had respect, and tried to improve his empire through morals. As stated earlier, Saladin made it a goal of his to fix his falling empire via “moral and psychological stimulants and deterrents”10 . This shows that Saladin was committed to repurposing his empire and improving moral standards in it as well. Multiple legends call Saladin noble and chivalrous.11 This shows that Saladin was shown to the people as remarkable, knightly, and chivalrous. The legends are most likely exaggerated but the truth is still there, that Saladin was a very moral leader. Saladin was also very respectful. There are multiple accounts of Saladin writing and receiving letters from Richard the Lionheart.12 This shows his respect because Saladin was willing to write and communicate with his adversaries. It is even said that Saladin and Richard the Lionheart even came to a treaty to end the third crusade. Saladin and Richard the Lionheart both respected each other and their people. They both wanted what was best for their empire.  

In conclusion, Saladin did have some bad parts of his character, but the good parts outweigh the bad. Saladin's morals led him to create a thriving dynasty that would cause economic prosperity in the region. His morals also led him to become one of the most revered and admired humans in ancient history. Saladin is a virtuous man whose morals were very prominent throughout his life. 

Bibliography 

Hoor, G. J. ten. “Legends of Saladin in Medieval Dutch.” Monatshefte 44, no. 6 (1952): 253–56. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30165845. 

Cartwright, Mark. "Saladin." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified August 30, 2018. https://www.worldhistory.org/Saladin/. 

Reston Jr. James,., Warriors of God, New York, New York: Doubleday, 2001. 

Walker, P. E. "Saladin." Encyclopedia Britannica, February 28, 2022.       https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saladin. 

Gibb, Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen, 1895-1971, Author, and Robertson, Edward, 1879-1964, Editor. “The Achievement of Saladin.” Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester 35, no.1 (1952): 23–43. https://jstor.org/stable/community.28211535.