Editing Saladin (section)

===Campaign against the Franks and War with the Zengids===
[[File:Dirham of Saladin, 1215-1216.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Saladin on a posthumous [[dirham]] of the Ayyubid [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|Al-Ashraf Musa]], with obverse legend: ''"The Victorious King, Righteousness of the World and the Faith, Yusuf ibn Ayyub"''.<ref name="BAL"/><ref name="DN"/><ref name="auto"/> Dated 1215 CE;<ref name="BAL"/> similar coins were also minted in Saladin's lifetime.<ref>For a similar coin at the British Museum minted in AH 586/1190 CE: {{cite web |title=Saladin coin British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1865-0804-40-X |website=britishmuseum.org |language=en}}, and another one also minted in 1190: [[File:Saladin 1190 mint of Mayyafariqin.jpg|20px]].</ref>]]
Saif ad-Din had died earlier in June 1181 and his brother [[Izz ad-Din Mas'ud|Izz ad-Din]] inherited leadership of Mosul.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=149}} On 4 December, the crown prince of the Zengids, as-Salih, died in Aleppo. Prior to his death, he had his chief officers swear an oath of loyalty to Izz ad-Din, as he was the only Zengid ruler strong enough to oppose Saladin. Izz ad-Din was welcomed in Aleppo, but possessing it and Mosul put too great of a strain on his abilities. He thus, handed Aleppo to his brother Imad ad-Din Zangi, in exchange for [[Sinjar]]. Saladin offered no opposition to these transactions in order to respect the treaty he previously made with the Zengids.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=164–165}}

On 11 May 1182, Saladin, along with half of the Egyptian Ayyubid army and numerous non-combatants, left Cairo for Syria. On the evening before he departed, he sat with his companions and the tutor of one of his sons quoted a line of poetry: "enjoy the scent of the ox-eye plant of [[Najd]], for after this evening it will come no more". Saladin took this as an evil omen and he never saw Egypt again.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=149}} Knowing that Crusader forces were massed upon the frontier to intercept him, he took the desert route across the [[Sinai Peninsula]] to [[Ailah]] at the head of the [[Gulf of Aqaba]]. Meeting no opposition, Saladin ravaged the countryside of [[Montreal (Crusader castle)|Montreal]], whilst Baldwin's forces watched on, refusing to intervene.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|p=167}} He arrived in Damascus in June to learn that Farrukh-Shah had attacked the [[Galilee]], sacking [[Daburiyya]] and capturing Habis Jaldek, a fortress of great importance to the Crusaders. In July, Saladin led his army across the Jordan and into [[Galilee]], where he marched south to sack [[Bethsan]]. He was met by a substantial Crusader force in an [[Battle of Belvoir Castle|inconclusive battle near Belvoir Castle]], but he was unable to destroy the Christian army and could not logistically sustain his own army any longer, so he withdrew across the river. In August, he passed through the [[Beqaa Valley]] to Beirut, where he rendezvoused with the Egyptian fleet and laid siege to the city. Failing to make any headway, he withdrew after a few days to deal with matters in [[Mesopotamia]].{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=168–169}}

Kukbary ([[Gökböri|Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri]]), the ''emir'' of [[Harran]], invited Saladin to occupy the Jazira region, making up northern Mesopotamia. He complied and the truce between him and the Zengids officially ended in September 1182.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–170}} Prior to his march to Jazira, tensions had grown between the Zengid rulers of the region, primarily concerning their unwillingness to pay deference to Mosul.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=164}} Before he crossed the [[Euphrates]], Saladin besieged Aleppo for three days, signaling that the truce was over.{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–170}}

Once he reached Bira, near the river, he was joined by Kukbary and [[Nur al-Din Muhammad|Nur ad-Din of Hisn Kayfa]] and the combined forces captured the cities of Jazira, one after the other. First, [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] fell, followed by [[Saruj]], then [[Raqqa]], [[Circesium|Qirqesiya]] and [[Nusaybin]].{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–70}} Raqqa was an important crossing point and held by Qutb ad-Din Inal, who had lost Manbij to Saladin in 1176. Upon seeing the large size of Saladin's army, he made little effort to resist and surrendered on the condition that he would retain his property. Saladin promptly impressed the inhabitants of the town by publishing a decree that ordered a number of taxes to be canceled and erased all mention of them from treasury records, stating "the most miserable rulers are those whose purses are fat and their people thin". From Raqqa, he moved to conquer al-Fudain, al-Husain, Maksim, Durain, 'Araban, and Khabur—all of which swore allegiance to him.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=176}}

Saladin proceeded to take Nusaybin which offered no resistance. A medium-sized town, Nusaybin was not of great importance, but it was located in a strategic position between Mardin and Mosul and within easy reach of Diyarbakir.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=177}} In the midst of these victories, Saladin received word that the Crusaders were raiding the villages of Damascus. He replied, "Let them... whilst they knock down villages, we are taking cities; when we come back, we shall have all the more strength to fight them."{{sfn|Lane-Poole|1906|pp=169–170}} Meanwhile, in Aleppo, the ''emir'' of the city Zangi raided Saladin's cities to the north and east, such as Balis, Manbij, Saruj, Buza'a, al-Karzain. He also destroyed his own citadel at A'zaz to prevent it from being used by the Ayyubids if they were to conquer it.{{sfn|Lyons|Jackson|1982|p=177}}