Saladin, Jerusalem, and the Jewish Community

 

(Latin Surrender to Saladin, 1187 CE): Said Tahsine

    Saladin rose to power within the Levant on the back of his military prowess. While he is most famous for defeating the Crusader kingdoms in Palestine and capturing Jerusalem, Saladin first rose to prominence as a military leader within Egypt and Syria. After uniting the warring Muslim polities that surrounded Jerusalem, Saladin was then able to strike at the Crusdader state. 

The Jerusalem that Saladin conquered was a thoroughly Christian city that had banished most of the Muslim and Jewish elements from the city after the Crusader conquest in 1099. After Saladin reconquered the city in 1187 he welcomed the Jews back into the city, relaxing the banishment they had suffered. As a result there were aspects of the Jewish community that viewed Saladin as a new Cyrus (Armstrong 298). However, at the same time, there were many Jews who were disturbed by the conquest of the city by yet another set of nonbelievers. Many Jews believed that the way that the land had been ravaged by the Christians and Muslims was proof that it was waiting to be reclaimed by its chosen people (Armstrong 299). 

    Under Saladin, there was also a slight renaissance among the non Muslim “dhimmi” population, as they were freed from some of the restrictions placed upon Muslims in some positions, such as physicians. One of Saladin’s own doctors was a Jewish physician, and this was emblematic of the situation within his empire, where the majority of the doctors within the empire were Jews or Christians (Ashtor-Strauss 310). While the Jewish dhimmi were forced to endure some of the hardships and discrimination within the community, they were freed from the outright exile under the rule of Christian Jerusalem. 

    When Saladin died, the unity of his empire died as well. Tensions would soon flare up again between the religious communities within Jerusalem, the surrounding territories would be wracked by banditry and warfare, and the city would fall into disarray again. Yet as a result of Saladin’s reconquest of the city from the Christians, Jerusalem would remain a predominantly Muslim city for the next 800 years. And while the city would be primarily populated by Muslims, Saladin’s policies ensured that the city would hold members of all three faiths up to the modern day.

Citations

Armstrong, K. (2005). Exile and Return. In Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths (pp. 79–102). essay, Ballantine Books. 

ASHTOR-STRAUSS, E. “SALADIN AND THE JEWS.” Hebrew Union College Annual, vol. 27, 1956, pp. 305–26. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23503752. Accessed 23 Mar. 2024.