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Secondary sourcePainting15th century

Saladin Burning a City

Unknown 15th-century manuscript illuminator · 15th century

A 15th-century manuscript illumination showing Saladin's forces setting a city ablaze, reflecting a medieval European view of him.

This later illumination depicts Saladin leading an attack on a city, showing how he was remembered as a warrior in medieval art.

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Medieval manuscript illumination with red and black Gothic text above and below. The painted scene shows mounted and foot soldiers in turbans and armor on a green hillside, a castle with towers and flames rising behind it, and ships with sails on water at right. A rider on a grey horse points forward while a soldier in the foreground holds a spear.
Saladin incendiant une ville, 15th-century manuscript illumination, BnF Mss fr 68, fol. 359.

About this source

What it is

This is a painted illumination from a 15th-century manuscript (BnF Mss fr 68). It shows mounted and foot soldiers in armor and turbans attacking a city, which is shown in flames, with ships waiting nearby.

Why it matters

The image was made by a European manuscript illuminator long after Saladin's lifetime, as part of a larger chronicle tradition about the crusades. It shows how later medieval European artists imagined Saladin and his armies, often emphasizing conflict and destruction rather than historical accuracy.

Look closer

  • What details tell you this is a battle scene, and what might the artist want viewers to feel?
  • Who do you think made this image, and why might they have shown Saladin this way?
  • What is missing from this picture that a more balanced account might include?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saladin on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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