Primary sourceBook1732 (text composed earlier, by a contemporary of Saladin)

Vita et res gestae Saladini

Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad (edited and translated by Albert Schultens) · 1732 (text composed earlier, by a contemporary of Saladin)

A 1732 Leiden printed edition of Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad's biography of Saladin, written by a close companion of the sultan.

Written by a close associate of Saladin, this biography is a key first-hand source for his life and reign.

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Open book spread of the 1732 Leiden edition of Vita et res gestae Saladini. Left page 36 has Latin text in columns beside Arabic text; right page 37 has Arabic and Latin text under the heading Caput Sextum. — Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad, Vita et res gestae Saladini, edited and translated by Albert Schultens. Leiden: Samuel Luchtmans, 1732.

About this source

What it is

This is a 1732 printed edition, published in Leiden, of the biography of Saladin written by Baha al-Din ibn Shaddad, who knew Saladin personally. The book presents the Arabic text alongside a Latin translation by Albert Schultens, the first curator of oriental manuscripts at Leiden University.

Why it matters

Baha al-Din's biography is considered one of the most important first-hand accounts of Saladin's life and of the Third Crusade, written by someone with direct personal knowledge of him. Its later translation and printing in Europe show how interest in Saladin's story continued for centuries after his death.

Why would a biography written by someone close to Saladin be considered especially valuable to historians?
What might change, or be lost, when a text is translated centuries later into another language?
Why do you think European scholars like Schultens wanted to translate and print this work?

This book 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.