described as the most famous Kurd in history. Historian Ibn Munqidh mentioned him as the person who revived the reign of Rashidun Caliphs. The Turkish writer Mehmet Akif Ersoy called him the most beloved Sultan of the Orient. In 1898, German Emperor Wilhelm II visited Saladin's tomb to pay his respects. The visit, coupled with anti-imperialist sentiments, encouraged the image in the Arab World of Saladin as a hero of the struggle against the West, building on was the romantic one created by Walter Scott and other Europeans in the West at the time. Saladin's reputation had previously been largely forgotten in the Muslim world, eclipsed by more successful figures, such as Baybars of Egypt. Modern Arab states have sought to commemorate Saladin through various measures, often based on the image created of him in the 19th-century west. A governorate centered around Tikrit and Samarra in modern-day Iraq, Saladin Governorate, is named after him, as is Salahaddin University in Erbil, the largest city of Iraqi Kurdistan. A suburban community of Erbil, Masif Salahaddin, is also named after him. Few structures associated with Saladin survive within modern cities. Saladin first fortified the Citadel of Cairo (1175–1183), which had been a domed pleasure pavilion with a fine view in more peaceful times. In Syria, even the smallest city is centred on a defensible citadel, and Saladin introduced this essential feature to Egypt. Although the Ayyubid dynasty that he founded would outlive him by only 57 years, the legacy of Saladin within the Arab World continues to this day. With the rise of Arab nationalism in the 20th Century, particularly with regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict, Saladin's heroism and leadership gained a new significance. Saladin's recapture of Palestine from the European Crusaders is considered an inspiration for modern-day Arabs' opposition to Zionism. Moreover, the glory and comparative unity of the Arab World under Saladin was seen as the perfect symbol for the new unity sought by Arab nationalists, such as Gamal Abdel Nasser. For this reason, the Eagle of Saladin became the symbol of revolutionary Egypt, and was subsequently adopted by several other Arab states (the United Arab Republic, Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, and Yemen). Among Egyptian Shias, Saladin is dubbed as "Kharab al-Din", the destroyer of religion—a derisive play on the name "Saladin." Cultural depictions of Saladin Novels The Talisman by Walter Scott. Published in 1825 it is set during