Saladin's first siege of Aleppo — the boy-king's speech and the Ismaili knives

حصر صلاح الدين حلب الأول — خطاب الملك الصالح وفرسان الإسماعيلية

c. 1174 CE · 570 AH

Aleppo

At his first siege of Aleppo, the twelve-year-old al-Ṣāliḥ mounted the walls weeping — «you knew my father's goodness; I am your orphan, and this unjust man comes to take my land» — and Aleppo fought for him at Jabal Jawshan. Saʿd al-Dīn bought Sinān's Assassins against Saladin; Khumārtakīn of Būqīs spotted them in camp, one broke for Saladin and was cut down before him. Saladin held the siege until Rajab, when Raymond's march on Homs drew him off 1.

Depth

At a glance

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In time

1160117011801190 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

In space

Aleppo

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Sides

Summary

Salah al-Din's first siege of Aleppo. Al-Malik al-Salih, then twelve years old, rode out and said: "You know the kindness of my father towards you, and I am your orphan," and he wept, and the people wept with him. They then pressed hard in the fighting at Jabal Hushan. Sa'd al-Din bought Sinan's fida'is to kill Salah al-Din, but Khumartakin recognised them, and their bearer was killed defending him. Salah al-Din remained besieging until Raymond marched to Homs, and he withdrew on the first of Rajab. 1

Connections

Explore the connections

Occurred at
Aleppo
Had participant
Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)· al-Malik al-Salih Isma'il ibn Nur al-Din· Sa'd al-Din Kumashtakin· Rashid al-Din Sinan· Raymond III of Tripoli

People and things also explored

the Ayyubid shuffle — al-Adil to Aleppo, al-Aziz to Egypt· al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ moved to Aleppo — Saʿd al-Dīn Kumashtakīn seizes the regency· The exchange of Aleppo, from Mosul to Sinjar· Salah al-Din takes the north and Aleppo in 578· Killing of Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi in Aleppo, 587· al-Malik al-Muhsin ibn Salah al-Din· Ending the Ubaydid Khutba and Restoring the Abbasid Khutba in Egypt· the great battle at Acre — the sieges fiercest day

Sources

  1. al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 67-68
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Saladin's first siege of Aleppo — the boy-king's speech and the Ismaili knives”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/saladin-aleppo-570/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Related

the Ayyubid shuffle — al-Adil to Aleppo, al-Aziz to Egypt

Saladin moved his brother al-Adil from Egypt to govern Aleppo, and set his son al-Malik al-Aziz Uthman over Egypt in his place.