Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 1.djvu/175

 SALADIN 107 Islam very few know anything. Let us endeavor to present the history of this great man with some attempt to show the true proportions of his achievements in the eyes of the East, if not the West. Yussuf ibn Ayub Joseph the son of Job was by descent a Kurd. His father was a retainer or follower of the celebrated Nur-ed-Din (Light of Relig- ion), Sultap of Syria, the prince who, after many years of humiliation, re- covered some of the lost prestige of the Mohammedan name, wrested many of their outlying strongholds from the Christians, and prepared the way for his more illustrious suc- cessor. The caliphate was then divided into the Fatimite line, which reigned at Cairo, and the Abbaside, which reigned at Baghdad. Both branches had by this time fallen into a mere semblance of authority. The bitter- ness of theological differences sur- vived, and though for the re-estab- lishment of Moslem power, it was absolutely necessary that the schism should cease, there seemed no like- lihood whatever of any change. The weaker of the two, since the rise of Nur-ed-Din, was undoubtedly the Egyptian house. The last of the Fatimite caliphs were mere tools in the hands of rival ministers, and passed their ignoble lives Rois Faineants in their luxurious palaces. Syria, which had been theirs, was lost to them, and occupied partly by Mohamhiedans of the rival sect, and partly by the Chris- tians. Their final fall, however, was caused by internal dissensions and the quar- rels of two candidates for the post of Grand Vizier. Their names were Shawer and Dargham. The former, unable to contend against his rival, applied for assistance to Nur-ed-Din, offering for reward a third of the Egyptian revenues. The expedition which was sent in reply was the first chance of distinction which young Yussuf had obtained. The army, commanded by his uncle Shirkoh, easily defeated Dargham and reinstated Shawer. Then followed the reluctance to keep the terms of the agreement which is so common in history ; and when Shirkoh in return seized the city of Balbek and held it as security, Shawer sent to Amaury, King of Jerusalem, for succor. Amaury, the bravest if not the wisest of the Crusader kings, thinking that here was a chance of striking a double blow, readily acceded, and joining the Fatimite army forced Shirkoh to retire. It was, how-