Ayyubid Naval power in the Mediterranean in the era of Saladin

Islamic naval tradition began in the 7th century upon the capture of Syria and Egypt. In this way, Islamic State who possessed the major harbours and arsenals used these facilities against Eastern Roman Empire as a tool for both defence and attack. Islamic State manufacturing ship with an Eastern Roman style transferred the naval technology that they learned from Chinese sailors with whom they had contact via Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean and became one of the prominent naval powers of the period. The Crusaders gathering in Europe launched a series of attacks to the Eastern Mediterranean while the hegemony of Eastern Roman Empire on the Mediterranean regressed against Islamic maritime activities. During the first crusade, the crusaders established many kingdoms and counties and captured a number of regions in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly Syria. Within this conjuncture, the ruler of Egypt Saladin Yusuf b. Eyyub realised some reform activities in order to regenerate the waning Egyptian naval forces. In this direction, he established Dîvânü'l Ustûl which can be regarded as the Maritime Affairs Ministry today and transferred a significant part of the income of Egypt to this institution. He signed treaties with Italian Maritime States to solve the raw material problem, which was very common in Egypt. Ayyubid naval forces institutionalised within a very short time and the Ayyubid fleet realised a series of operations in order to possess the major harbours of the Mediterranean. However; the decline of the fleet was sharp again as its reaching the peak. Ayyubid naval power combatted a battle which exceeded its limits during the Third Crusade. It was impossible for Ayyubid forces to obtain a permanent history against enemy, even though they were successful in a number of expeditions, as the enemy were formed countless states ranging form Italia to Scandinavia. In this research, we tried to shed a light on the significance of Islamic Naval history, which is commonly disregarded in the historical researches. Through this thesis, we made an effort to show the structure of the Ayyubid Naval Power and its struggles in the Saladin Ayyubid period through the primary courses of the time.