Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, Part 1 (aka The Crusades, Part 3)

In "The Crusades, Part 3," Dr. Roy Casagranda describes the rise of Nur ad-Din Mahmud, his rivalry with and replacement by Salah ad-Din Yusuf, the failure of the Second Crusade, and the sharp decline of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Saladin, Salahuddin, Salah ad Din, Salah ud-Din

I forgot to explain Nur ad-Din Mahmud's coin during the talk. On the obverse is an image of Jesus Christ with a halo standing facing the view. There is Latin text to the right, "XCM" and Arabic text on either side of Christ’s legs saying “Mahmud Malek al Umra’a” (Mahmud king of princes). On the reverse are two standing figures facing the viewer. Both are clasping the same cross with Latin text on right and Arabic text between figures: “al Adel Nur ad Din.” That the early Arab coins frequently had Roman emperors and crosses is easily explained. They had just conquered their empire and were using the Roman mints to create currency. But that Nur ad-Din is doing the same thing in sometime between 1146 and 1174, 500 years after the Arab conquest of Syria, is not so easy to explain. Regardless at the least it demonstrates a tolerance for Christians and Christianity.