Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.
The Ayyubid dynasty, also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served the Zengid ruler Nur al-Din, leading the latter's army against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made vizier. Following Nur al-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt by the Abbasid Caliphate, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the Egypt to encompass most of Syria, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tripolitania and Upper Mesopotamia. Saladin's military campaigns set the general borders and sphere of influence of the sultanate of Egypt for the almost 350 years of its existence. Most of the Crusader states fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, but the Crusaders reconquered the Syrian coastlands in the 1190s.
The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, also referred to as the Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus, or the Zengid State was initially an Atabegate of the Seljuk Empire created in 1127. It formed a Turkoman dynasty of Sunni Muslim faith, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia, and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas. Imad ad-Din Zengi was the first ruler of the dynasty.
Imad al-Din Zengi, also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkoman atabeg of the Seljuk Empire, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake and founder of the Zengid dynasty of atabegs.
Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad, titled Abu al-Maʽali, was an Egyptian ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Frankish crusaders as Meledin, a name by which he is referred to in some older western sources. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded West Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.
Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh bin Shādhī, also known as Shirkuh, or Şêrko was a Kurdish Mercenary commander in service of the Zengid dynasty, then the Fatimid Caliphate and uncle of Saladin. His military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor in establishing the Ayyubid dynasty in that country.
Abu al-Fath Ismail bin Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Imad al-Din bin Aq Sunqur al-Zangi commonly known as As-Salih Ismaʿil al-Malik (Full name: was the Zengid emir of Damascus and emir of Aleppo in 1174, the son of Nur ad-Din.
Al-Adil I was the fourth Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and brother of Saladin, who founded both the Sultanate of Egypt, and the Ayyubid dynasty. He was known to the Crusaders as Saphadin, a name by which he is still known in the Western world. A gifted and effective administrator and organizer, Al-Adil provided crucial military and civilian support for the great campaigns of Saladin. He was also a capable general and strategist in his own right, and was instrumental in the transformation of the decayed Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo into the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.
Hakkâri, formerly known as Julamerk, is a city and the seat of Hakkâri District in the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The city is populated by Kurds and had a population of 58,470 in 2023.
Silvan is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,252 km2, and its population is 86,161 (2022). It is populated by Kurds.
Cizre is a city in the Cizre District of Şırnak Province in Turkey. It is located on the river Tigris by the Syria–Turkey border and close to the Iraq–Turkey border. Cizre is in the historical region of Upper Mesopotamia and the cultural region of Turkish Kurdistan. The city had a population of 130,916 in 2021.
al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān, or simply Najmadin, was a Kurdish mercenary and politician from Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Ayyubid dynasty.
Hadhabani or Hadhbāni, Hadhbānī, Hadhbāniyya, was a large medieval and most powerful Sunni Muslim Kurdish tribe. It made various Emirates and dynasties from the Caucasus, all the way to upper Mesopotamia.
Nasr ad-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Asad ad-Din Shirkuh was the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1179 to 1186.
Gökböri, or Muzaffar ad-Din Gökböri, was a leading emir and general of Sultan Saladin, and ruler of Erbil. He served both the Zengid and Ayyubid rulers of Syria and Egypt. He played a pivotal role in Saladin's conquest of Northern Syria and the Jazira and later held major commands in a number of battles against the Crusader states and the forces of the Third Crusade. He was known as Manafaradin, a corruption of his principal praise name, to the Franks of the Crusader states.
The Banu Munqidh, also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes Valley in northern Syria from the mid-11th century until the family's demise in an earthquake in 1157. The emirate was initially based in Kafartab before the Banu Munqidh took over the fortress of Shayzar in 1081 and made it their headquarters for the remainder of their rule. The capture of Shayzar was the culmination of a long, drawn-out process beginning with the Banu Munqidh's nominal assignment to the land by the Mirdasid emir of Aleppo in 1025, and accelerating with the weakened grip of Byzantine rule in northern Syria in the 1070s.
Abul Fatah Imad ad-Din al-Malik al-Adil Zengi Ibn Moudud, better known as Imad ad-Din Zengi II, was an emir of the Sinjar-based Zengid dynasty and the first son of Qutb al-Din Mawdud. He ruled from 1171 to 1197 Sinjar and 1181–83 Aleppo.
Husam al-Din Abu'l-Hayja, also known as al-Samin and al-Hadhbani, was a Kurdish general and aristocrat in service of the Ayyubid dynasty. He was the commander of Salahiya regiment of Saladin and prominent figure in the Third Crusade.
Abu'l-Hayja ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Khalil ibn Marzuban Al-Hakkari better known by Abu'l-Hayja Al-Hakkari was a Kurdish ruler and tribal chief of Al-Hakkariyya tribe, he's the earliest recorded ruler of Hakkari.
