The Egyptians wanted Amalric and his knights to attack
Yusuf and the Syrians, but the Franks never saw that letter. In
the end the Franks came, but Yusuf and his army were ready for
them, and sent them away again without any problems.
Yusuf was a careful ruler, and Egypt quickly grew into a
strong country under him. He decided that it was wrong to
have a rich life, and that it was more important to help people
in trouble. So he took a new name, Saladin, which means ‘the
good of religion’, to show that he wanted to be a good Muslim.
And he gave all the expensive presents that people gave him to
the Egyptians and to his soldiers. He lived in a small house, and
used his money as a vizier to build schools and hospitals. He also
made the walls of Cairo stronger, and built a great castle on the
Muqattam hills. ‘I want the Egyptian people to know that we
are on their side, and that we want their country to be strong
and safe. Then they will be happy to fight with us against the
Franks,’ he told his Syrian generals.
But Nuradin was more and more angry. He wrote: