al-Nawadir al-Sultaniyya wa al-Mahasin al-Yusufiyya = Sirat Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi
- Author died
- 632 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
al-Nawadir al-Sultaniyya wa al-Mahasin al-Yusufiyya (The Sultanic Rarities and the Virtues of Yusuf), also known as Sirat Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, is a historical biography of Sultan Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (d. 589 AH / 1193 CE) composed by the Shafi'i jurist and judge Baha al-Din Ibn Shaddad (d. 632 AH / 1234 CE) .
Background and Author's Service
Ibn Shaddad first met Sultan Salah al-Din while passing through Damascus upon returning from his pilgrimage, around the time the Sultan was besieging the fortress of Kawkab . He formally entered the Sultan's service at the beginning of Jumada al-Ula 584 AH . Salah al-Din appointed him as judge of the army (qadi al-'askar) and judicial overseer in Jerusalem . Ibn Shaddad accompanied Salah al-Din continuously during his military campaigns and administrative duties until the Sultan died in Damascus in Safar 589 AH .
Structure and Content
The author organized the work into two major sections:
- Part One: Details Salah al-Din's birth, lineage, upbringing, personal traits, and religious observance . This section covers his adherence to Islamic obligations, including his performance of regular and night prayers in congregation, charity, fulfillment of missed fasts, and intent to perform the pilgrimage . It also records his study of Hadith and recitation of the Quran, including instances where Hadith was read aloud between battle lines, as well as his justice, courage, and generosity .
- Part Two: Provides a chronological account of Salah al-Din's political and military career, shifts in fortune, campaigns, battles, and conquests throughout his reign, concluding with his final illness and death in Damascus .
Method and Sources
In his introduction and throughout the chronicle, Ibn Shaddad clarifies his methodology: for events prior to his entry into royal service in 584 AH, he relied on narratives transmitted by reliable informants . From Jumada al-Ula 584 AH onward, he recorded only what he personally witnessed or what was communicated to him by trustworthy eyewitnesses whose reports approached direct certainty .
Reception and Publication
The work served as a primary historical authority for subsequent chroniclers of the Ayyubid period, including Abu Shama al-Maqdisi in Kitab al-Rawdatayn and Badr al-Din al-Ayni in 'Iqd al-Juman . It was published in Egypt in 1317 AH, and an edition edited by Jamal al-Din al-Shayyal appeared in Cairo in 1964 .
Answer updated