;>80 



EGYPT. 



every new sovereign Inul hi* power diminihed, till the 

 vizier, or prime minister, was in every thing caliph ex- 

 Mttng in name. During the reign, it' it might so be 

 Called. <>t' H.ilcd.ih I.iiliiull.ili, the grandson of Mostan- 

 er, his vizier itcdwan was saluted at ( Irand C'airn by the 

 title of king. His presumption, imlrrd, in procuring 

 this p|H'llation from a party of his supporters was fol- 

 ln eil l>v dislike mid violence, and he was driven from 

 the ruiiiitry, and finally put to death. Amid these in- 

 ternal commotions, the caliphs themselves were some- 

 times put to death; but still the viziers increased in 

 power. 



At length the appellation of vizier was not suffieient- 

 I}' dignified for the prime minister of the Egyptian ca- 

 liph, and therefore they now assumed the name of sul- 

 tan ; and the dynasty of the Fatimites was drawing to 

 A. D. 1161. a close. In 1164, Shawer, a person of consideration, 

 was raised to the confidence of Aladid, the caliph of 

 I'.gypt ; but a comjictition for power having arisen be- 

 tween him and Aldargarn, they had recourse to arms, 

 and Shawer being defeated, took refuge with Nureddin, 

 the prince of Syria, and solicited his assistance. The 

 prince of Syria sent an army into Egypt under the 

 command of A.-adoddin. and Aldargam was soon over- 

 thrown. But Shawer being reinstated in power, ne- 

 glected to fulfil his engagements with Nureddin. which 

 occasioned several mutual attacks. In the mean time, 

 the armies of the crusade had laid siege to Grand Cai- 

 ro ; and the caliph, with his whole court, being in dan- 

 ger, Nureddin was invited to give them assistance, 

 which he readily consented to do ; but, before his arri- 

 val, the siege was raised by the influence of bribes and 

 high promises. When Asadoddin, the general of the 

 Syrian prince, arrived at Grand Cairo, he was received 

 with demonstrations of joy ; but Shawer, conscious of 

 his own faithlessness, and fearing the displeasure of 

 Nureddin's general, formed a scheme of putting him 

 to death. Hut the plot was discovered, and Shawer 

 himself beheaded. Asadoddin was made vizier in his 

 stead ; but having died in the course of a few weeks, 

 he was succeeded in office by his nephew Saladin, 

 whose fame became great in the annals of the East. 



The new vizier kept up a show of submission to the 

 prince of Syria, though he did not intend to continue 

 in a subordinate condition. In the mean time, Nured- 

 Hin ordered Saladin to omit the name of the caliph Ala- 

 did-Sedinillah in the public prayers, and to substitute 

 the name of the caliph of Bagdad. But when the or- 

 der arrived, the Egyptian prince was breathing his 

 last, and insensible of the disgrace. In the person of 

 this caliph, the dynasty of the Fatimites was ended. 

 - ' Mm Upon the death of Aladid, the caliph of Egypt, Sa- 



A. D. 1171. l*din> being in possession of the chief power in his 

 character of vizier, sei/ed upon all the wealth of the 

 late prince, which was various and valuable. He threw 

 his whole family into confinement, and adopted every 

 measure which his wisdom could devise, for establish- 

 ing in his own person the supreme authority of the 

 state. He maintained a show of obedience to Nured- 

 din, the prince of Damascus, but was secretly deter- 

 mined to acquire an independent rule in Egypt. This 

 intention, though disguised, could not be concealed 

 from the powerful and decerning Nureddin ; and, 

 while he seemed satisfied with the conduct of Saladin, 

 he was raising a numerous army to resist and over- 

 throw his power ; but in the mean time, he was seized 

 with a sudden illness, and died at Damascus. 



But the death of tin- prince did not deliver Saladin 

 from danger; for Niircddiii's successor was both able 



and willing to give him just cause of alarm. In these Historv. 

 circumstance*, Saladin wished to secure a retreat, and N "Y" ' 

 for this purpose he sent his brother Malec Turaii-hah 

 into the kingdom of Nubia; but finding it desolate and 

 barren, lie returned to (irand Cairo, ami thence lie was 

 dispatched with a numerous army into Arabia 1't-lix. 

 There he was successful, and minced a considerable 

 part of that country under the subjection of the Egyp- 

 tian vi/ier. Saladin having enlarged his dominions. 

 and confiding in the means which he had devised for 

 becoming master of Egypt, was determined to assume 

 a name suitable to his views. Not being a descendant 

 of Malioinmcd. he could not be denominated caliph, 

 which implied the sacerdotal as well as the kingly of- 

 fice. On this account he chose the name of sultan 

 and left the office of jjontiff, who had the charge of re- 

 ligious affairs, to be filled up by a descendant of the 

 prophet 



1 hough Saladin was acknowledged as the sultan of 

 Eg\ pt by many of the neighbouring states, and even 

 received the sanction of the caliph of Bagdad, which 

 gave him a name and influence among the followers of 

 Mahommed, yet he was not secure from intestine com- 

 motions. The friends and adherents of the l-'atimite 

 caliphs raised a rebellion in the kingdom, and a pre- 

 tender to the throne collected an army of 100,000 men. 

 These, however, were soon defeated by the power and 

 address of Saladin ; but no sooner was he freed from 

 this alarm, than he was threatened by the soldiers of 

 the crusades. William II. king of Sicily, had engaged 

 in the Christian wars, and laid siege to Alexandria both 

 by sea and land: But the enterprising spirit of Saladin 

 frustrated lus views. With a rapidity of movement 

 which was peculiar to the energetic mind of the Egyp- 

 tian sultan, he marched to the relief of Alexandria ; and 

 the crusaders, with a sudden panic, fled from the siege, 

 leaving their stores, baggage, and engines. 



At this time the government of Damascus was un- 

 der a regency ; for Malec Alsaleh was under age, and 

 the government of affairs in his minority was not ac- 

 ceptable to the people. Amidst these discontents, Su- 

 lauin was requested to accept the sovereign power of 

 Syria. Having arrived at Damascus, he found little 

 difficulty in becoming master of the country ; but he 

 proteased to assume the government in the name and 

 for the interest of the young prince. Having oculcd 

 the affairs of Damascfls, he marched with a successful 

 army through various parts of the country, while his 

 growing prosperity excited suspicions ; and the minis- 

 ters of Malec, the prince of Damascus, entering into a 

 combination with some of the neighbouring powers, 

 sought an opportunity to check the career and disap- 

 point the designs of Saladin. A battle ensued ; but the 

 Syrian forces, together with all their allies, were de- 

 feated, and the sultan of Egypt was left master of Sy- 

 ria. 



Saladin returned from his eastern conquests, and be- A. D. 1176. 

 gan to aggrandize and fortify the city of Grand Cairo. 

 He encouraged the schools and literature of the coun- 

 try ; but was drawn away from the pursuits of elegance 

 and domestic improvements, to the din of arms and the 

 ravages of war. Having obtained possession of Syria, 

 he was anxious to acquire Palestine; and therefore he 

 led a numerous host against the armies of the crusade, 

 who had assembled for the defence of the Holy Land. 

 But there he met with the most obstinate resistance; 

 multitudes of his army perished in the field of battle ; 

 and when he was forced to return towards Egypt, a still 

 greater number died in the desert, from hunger, thirst, 



