Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Siria Arsuf, 1191

WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BUYING THIS BUST:

– The defiant and noble attitude of this bust is incredibly cool.
– The detailing level of this Paul Deheleanu’s sculpture is really nice, with lots of textures and details to work on.
– It allows a lot of room for interpretation for painting.
– Our signature resin quality allows you to get the figure clean and ready in almost no time, so you may invest your precious free time in what really matters: painting and having fun.

Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, most commonly known as Saladin, was the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. An incredibly apt military commander, he is really well known for his actions against the Christian armies of the Third Crusade.

After his arrival to Syria as an assistant to his uncle, that was one of the generals at the service of the famous Nur al-Din, he quickly rose in the ranks due to his martial abilities. His victory at the Battle of Hattin (1187) was decisive in the subsequent conquest of Jerusalem and control of Palestine which, in turn, would be the cause that motivated the Third Crusade.

When he first confronted King Richard the Lionheart, it became clear that the crusader king would be an opponent worthy of his talent for strategy.

The Battle of Arsuf was a decisive victory for the crusader army over a much superior cavalry force led by Saladin in person. As a result, the central Palestinian coast and the port of Jaffa remained in Christian hands. After several other engagements, when it turned out clear that the Holy Lands situation wasn’t going to be sorted in a quick way through a decisive military victory, and urgent matters at home pressing for King Richard’s return, both leaders agreed on a compromise that would lead to a three year period of truce. Shortly after the departure of his rival to England, Saladin died of a fever in Damascus.

This character is a revered personality along with the whole Muslim world, as he symbolizes the fighting spirit against the Western invaders that brought such mayhem during the historical episode known as The Crusades, a series of conflicts that reverberate through the centuries, even today.

Our minibust depicts him as he would have looked, moments before the crucial engagement with his rival, Richard the Lionheart, in the Battle of Arsuf.

Note: This is a resin miniature kit that requires assembly and painting.