L'Orient de Saladin. (Mosaic)

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By: Michaud, PaulPublication: The Middle East Date: Tuesday, January 1 2002
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Saladin -- the 12th century Sultan of Egypt and Syria
-- is credited as being the man who "drove" the Christians, i.e. the Franks, out of Jerusalem, which fell before the onslaught of his troops on 2 October 1187, and brought an end to western dreams of domination of the Holy Land, during the Third

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An exhibition currently being staged at the Paris Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) celebrates the life of this extraordinary man and his achievements. A ferocious warrior, Saladin proved humane in his treatment of captives, once Jerusalem had fallen. Rather than follow the example of western forces, who massacred the inhabitants of Jerusalem when they entered the Holy City by force, Saladin chose to liberate the inhabitants in exchange for a ransom. Although it appears that many of the poorer denizens of Jerusalem who had no way to buy their freedom, were pardoned without charge. The IMA exhibition is however, much more than a study of Saladin, of his rise to power in Syria and Egypt, his capture of Jerusalem, and his death the age of 55, in 1193. It also deals with the civilisation of the Ayyubids, the dynasty he founded, and the magnificent works of art produced under their influence.
Sylvie Makariou, the Islamic specialist at the Louvre and the principal architect of the IMA exhibition noted, "rather than feature only the art of the Ayyubids dynasty, it is the work produced during their period of influence we wanted to show the public.
"This is why we chose to spotlight the art of the Arab world through until the year 1250, when the Mamluks became the dominant force of the Syro-Egyptian world."
Madame Makariou and her staff persuaded the principal museums of Syria and Egypt (notably the Museum of Damascus and the Islamic Art Museum of Cairo), as well as the leading institutions of the West, to lend her some 250 objects which reflect the grandeur of this now forgotten civilisation.
However, some of the personal examples set by Saladin should not be forgotten. His influence make this exhibition particularly timely in the light of recent world events. The Arab world, unified by Saladin, when confronted and its supremacy challenged, hit back hard at the West, exacting a savage revenge. Saladin, the man who managed to unite the Islamic world and encouraged it to thrive, even for a relatively limited amount of time, founded a civilisation that outlived him by a half-century.
L'Orient de Saladin, until 10 March, 2002 at the Institut du Monde Arabe, 1, rue des Fosses-Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris. (Open daily except Mondays).