As already pointed out by Austerlitz, he was a mediocare battle field general as can be seen from Arsuf, but an extremely intelligent man who for example at Hattin drew his enemies patiently into the trap before cutting of their water supplies and eventually slaughtering them. His treatment of Non Muslims is well known since when he captured Jerusalem, unlike the Crusaders who slaughtered every Jew and Muslim in the city, he gave safe passage to all Christians to the coastal forts like Acre and Tripoli that were still held by the Crusaders. It has to be said that though that although Salahuddin was a remarkable figure in himself, he often overshadows his uncle Shirkuh and former liege Nuredin Zengi, who played an instrumental role in uniting the Muslims of the Levant from Aleppo to Cairo and thus surrounding the Crusaders states on all sides except the sea. It was this base that Salahuddin inherited from the aforementioned men that subsequently gave him the men and resources to gradually push out the Crusaders.
