The Cairo Citadel, built during Saladin's reign, has a large stylized eagle carved in stone on its west wall.

[2] The eagle appears headless today, but it was described by the 17th-century Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi as having been double-headed, painted in bright colors, and having two copper tongues.

[2] The double-headed eagle symbol was used on coins of al-Adil I (r. 1201–1218), Saladin's brother who succeeded him as Sultan.

Drawing direct parallels between this conflict and the Crusades, the leaders of Egypt's revolution connected their own declared efforts of Arab liberation with those of the medieval Saladin who, as Egypt's sultan, had united Arab forces against the Crusaders in Palestine.

[citation needed] Even though the Egyptian-Syrian union ended abruptly in 1961 after a coup d'état in Syria, the Eagle remained a potent symbol for those aspiring for Arab unity.