Salahuddin Ayyubi - Death

Death

A Knight without fear or blame who often had to teach his opponents the right way to practice chivalry.

An inscription written by Kaiser Wilhelm II on a wreath he laid on Saladin's Tomb.

Saladin died of a fever on March 4, 1193, at Damascus, not long after Richard's departure. In Saladin’s possession at the time of his death were 1 piece of gold and 47 pieces of silver. He had given away his great wealth to his poor subjects leaving nothing to pay for his funeral. He was buried in a mausoleum in the garden outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria.

Seven centuries later, Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany donated a new marble sarcophagus to the mausoleum. Sarcophagus was, however, not replaced. Instead the mausoleum, which is open to visitors, now has two sarcophagi: the marble one placed on the side and the original wooden one, which covers Saladin's tomb. (Muslims are buried in a simple shroud, so if there are any sarcophagi present, they are usually used for covering the top of the Islamic burials.)