What Were Africans Doing During The Reign Of Saladin?

Salah al-Din was the first sultan of Egypt and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, a Sunni Muslim ruling class of Kurdish descent. He's perhaps the most celebrated military commander in the Muslim world, especially during the Crusades. While Salah al-Din became the ruling caliph during this important time in religious world history, what was going on in the rest of the 20th century? What's up African bro, it's Homesim here and welcome back to another video of African History, Culture, and Worldview. By supporting this channel on Patreon, you're helping in the creation of these videos and supporting this content. If you'd like access to full courses and sources, or you simply want to show your support, you may do so by clicking the Patreon link in the description box below. Salah al-Din officially came to the throne around 1174 and his reign ended upon his death in 1193, so we'll be focusing on significant events in African history during and around the time of his reign. So let's begin. When Salah al-Din entered Egypt around 1171, he encountered resistance upon establishing the Ayyubid dynasty. Consolidation of his power took about two years because he met stark resistance from a particular sect of Mamluk soldiers. Now, most of the Mamluks were Muslim Turkish slaves who were trained in warfare from a very young age, but Salah al-Din was confronted by an elite group of Fatimid, Sudanese regiments of the so-called Black Mamluks, who were soldiers largely from Sudan and other parts of Africa further south. For whatever reason, the Black Mamluks did not approve of the political situation in Egypt and fought tirelessly in Cairo. The history books tell us that the streets of Cairo were absolutely chaotic and constant fighting ensued. Salah al-Din secured his victory and restored the country to the allegiance of the Sunni Caliph in Baghdad. This victory in Egypt allowed Salah al-Din to further improve his reputation as an excellent commander and he became increasingly independent, leading him to become the sole ruler in the region. In northwest Africa, during the reign of Salah al-Din, the Almoravid empire was in its final stages of decline. The Almoravids became a little more than a political symbol, making it a prime target for the other African-based empire, the Almohads. A little before Salah al-Din came to the throne, the Almohads crossed the Mediterranean and established their rule in much of Spain. Eventually inheriting control of some important trans-Saharan routes from the Almoravids, the Almohads maintained the flow of gold and people northward from south of the desert with many Africans eventually ending up in Spain, including a great many who were pressed into domestic and military service. Though over time, the Almohad movement may have made less use of black military auxiliaries in Spain. One of these domestic workers from the south, perhaps from Mali or Senegal, was the mother of the great Yaqub al-Munzur. And as Salah al-Din became ruler in the east, Yaqub came to the Moors' throne in the west in 1184. During this time, Yaqub had to consolidate his power. He spent most of his early years in Africa fighting disgruntled opponents. As soon as he became caliph, one of the longest anti-Almohad rebellions broke out in the eastern fringes of the empire. Its leaders belonged to a family of former Almoravid officials, the Banu Ganiya. They had settled in Tunisia after being expelled from the Balearic Islands where they had served as governors. The unrest increased even further as a result of attempts on the part of the local Sanhaja to revive the Hamadid kingdom in eastern Algeria. Yaqub's seizure of Boguia in 1184 put an end to Sanhaja ambitions. However, the Banu Ganiya insurrection was more difficult to check for two reasons. Long distances forced the Almohads to rely on the navy, and although they could take coastal towns quite easily, they could not pursue their punitive strikes further inland, precisely where the rebels sought refuge. The Banu Ganiya managed to obtain the support of the Arab tribes of the region, thus increasing their military capability. Almanzor's defeat of Ali ibn Ganiya near Gafsa in 1187 was a severe blow to the rebels. In West Africa, just four years before Saladin came to the throne, Oba Aranmayen in Benin became king in 1170. Aranmayen became the first Oba of Ogoromigoro, or what later became known as Benin. The previous rulers of Benin were called Oguiso. Aranmayen resided in the royal palace at Usama, which was built for him by the elders. He was the son of the legitimate heir to the throne, Prince Akhaladahan. In accordance with tradition, when Akhaladahan refused to return to Ogoromigoro, his oldest available son would have ascended to the throne. Aranmayen was not comfortable with the customs of the Edo people, however, because he was born in Ife to a Yoruba mother. Soon after his arrival, he immediately met opposition. A man named Ogoyemwen openly rebelled against the new king. During his reign, Aranmayen continued to be harassed, and thus decided to leave and go back home to Ife amongst the Yoruba. This is when the name Eleibinu came into play, later being corrupted by the Portuguese into the word Benin. Eleibinu means land of vexation. It became one of the grandest cities in all of West Africa, and in the 17th century, a Dutch scholar named Dr. Alfred Depper paraphrased an account from Samuel Blumert's visit to Benin City. The king's court is square and stands at the right-hand side when entering the town by the Gate of Gautom or Gwato, and is certainly as large as the town of Haarlem, and entirely surrounded by a special wall like that which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries, about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam, but one larger than another, resting on wooden pillars from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean. Most palaces and the houses of the king are covered with palm leaves instead of square pieces of wood, and every roof is decorated with a small turret ending in a point, on which birds are standing, birds cast in copper, with outspread wings cleverly made after living models. In East Africa, during the reign of Saladin, the Zagwe dynasty was flourishing. The Zagwe dynasty peaked in Ethiopia from about 1137 to 1250. The most prominent Zagwe ruler was King Lalibela, who came to the throne just seven years after the death of Saladin. Out of all the tremendous cultural achievements of the Zagwe dynasty, the rock-hewn churches that bear King Lalibela's name stand out the most. The eleven churches carved out of rock made Lalibela's name immortal. He was so revered in the history of Ethiopian Christianity that he was canonized by the Ethiopian church. Unfortunately, despite his remarkable achievement, there's hardly any historical record detailing his life or reign, partly due to the notion that the Zagwe were usurpers of power from the legitimate Salamanid dynasty. The life and times of King Lalibela are shrouded in mystery, while the churches he built are given miraculous explanations, such as the assertion that the rock-hewn churches at Lalibela were built by angels. Whatever the tradition states, Lalibela built in all seven rock-hewn churches of which ten were built in a group of two, one consisting of six and another of four churches. The eleventh one was built separately for unknown reasons. Interestingly enough, Saladin, who expelled Europeans from Jerusalem, gave Ethiopians a number of churches in the Holy Land, which in turn increased the number of Ethiopian pilgrims to Jerusalem. By the time of King Lalibela, Christianity in Ethiopia had taken firm roots. He strengthened the foundations of Christianity in Ethiopia greatly. Along the Swahili coast in eastern Africa, one city-state was beginning to come into its own during the rule of Saladin. Kilwa began to rise around 1150 and continued to do so throughout Saladin's reign. The Swahili city-state began to dominate because it became the main transshipment point for gold from Zimbabwe. Gold was mined on the Zimbabwe Plateau in exchange for cloth, ironwork, and beads. From there, it was transshipped along the coast to Kilwa and beyond, eventually arriving in Lamu or Mogadishu in time to be shipped across the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and India during the annual trading season. As people in Kilwa became more prosperous, they built large houses of coral rag and lime mortar, produced cloth to trade with their neighbors, minted their own copper coins, and imported increasing quantities of Persian and Chinese pottery, rich cloths, and expensive glass beads. Peace.