Saladin's Library: The Books That Built a Sultan

Saladin is remembered as a warrior who recaptured Jerusalem, but this episode explores his intellectual world — the books, scholars, and libraries that shaped his rule. Lucas and Luna dive into the famous library of Saladin's vizier al-Qadi al-Fadil, which held over 100,000 volumes and served as a hub for scholars across the Islamic world. They discuss how Saladin used books as propaganda tools, commissioning histories like Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani's 'al-Barq al-Shami' to cement his legacy. The episode also covers Saladin's patronage of madrasas, the role of hadith scholarship in legitimizing his rule, and the destruction of the Fatimid library in Cairo — a controversial act that erased centuries of Ismaili learning. Along the way, Lucas explains how Saladin's court became a center for translation and intellectual exchange, blending Persian, Arabic, and Greek traditions. The conversation ends with a reflection on how the written word outlasted the empire. #Saladin #Ayyubid #Crusades #Libraries #IslamicHistory #AlQadiAlFadil #ImadAdDin #Hadith #Madrasa #Fatimid #Cairo #Jerusalem #Books #HistoryOfBooks #Propaganda #MedievalHistory #FexingoHistory #AlBarqAlShami Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo