The Ayyubid dynasty 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 Nur ad-Din of Syria, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that would be held by all subsequent Sultans of Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. Saladin's military campaigns in the first decade of his rule, aimed at uniting the various Arab and Muslim states in the region against the Crusaders, set the general borders and sphere of influence of the Sultanate of Egypt for the almost three and a half centuries of its existence. Most of the Crusader states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders reconquered the coast of Palestine in the 1190s.
Al-Kamil was a Muslim 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 still referred to in some older western sources. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.
Asad al-Din ibn Shadi, better known by his title Shirkuh was a Kurdish military commander, with his military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor in establishing the Ayyubid dynasty in that country. Shirkuh was the uncle of Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty.
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.
Ayyub ibn Shadi ibn Marwan, also known as Najm al-Din or alternatively as Malik al-Afdal was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin. The father of Saladin, Ayyub was eponymous ancestor of the Ayyubid dynasty.
An-Nasir Yusuf, fully al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Aziz ibn al-Zahir ibn Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shazy, was the Ayyubid Emir of Syria from his seat in Aleppo (1236–1260) and the Sultan of the Ayyubid Empire from 1250 until the sack of Aleppo by the Mongols in 1260.
Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern Syria and a small part of Mesopotamia.
Nasir ad-Din al-Malik al-Mansur Ibrahim bin Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, better known as al-Mansur Ibrahim, was a Kurdish ruler, the emir ("governor") of the Homs principality from 1240 to 1246 under the Ayyubid dynasty. He held Homs with relative independence, but initially as under the command of as-Salih Ismail of Damascus. He would later fight against as-Salih Ismail and his Khwarezemid allies—al-Mansur confronted the latter in 1241, 1242, 1244, and 1246.
Al-Ashraf Musa (1229–1263), fully Al-Ashraf Musa ibn al-Mansur Ibrahim ibn Shirkuh, was the last Ayyubid prince (emir) of Homs, a city located in the central region of modern-day Syria. His rule began in June 1246, but was temporarily cut short in 1248 after he was forced to surrender Homs and then given Tall Bashir by his cousin an-Nasir Yusuf, the Emir of Aleppo. For a short period of time during Mongol rule in 1260, al-Ashraf served as Viceroy of Syria, although the position was largely nominal. He helped achieve the Mongols' defeat at the hands of the Egypt-based Mamluks by withdrawing his troops from the Mongol coalition during the Battle of Ain Jalut as part of a secret agreement with the Mamluk sultan Qutuz. Following the Mamluk victory, al-Ashraf was reinstated as Emir of Homs as a Mamluk vassal, but was stripped of his viceroy position. Since he left no heirs, after his death, Homs was incorporated into the Mamluk Sultanate.
Al-Malik al-Awhad Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub was the third Ayyubid emir (prince) of the Diyarbakir emirate, centered in Mayyafariqin, between 1200-1210 CE. He was the fourth eldest son of Sultan al-Adil I of Egypt.
Al-Mansur Nasir al-Din Muhammad was the third Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, reigning in 1198–1200.
Al-Mansur I Muhammad was the Ayyubid emir of Hama, son of Al Muzaffar Taqi ad-Din Umar and grandson of Nur ad-Din Shahanshah, brother of Saladin and Al-Adil. He ruled from 1191–1219.
Al-Aziz Muhammad ibn Ghazi was the Ayyubid Emir of Aleppo and the son of az-Zahir Ghazi and grandson of Saladin. His mother was Dayfa Khatun, the daughter of Saladin's brother al-Adil.
Al Malik Al-Mujahid Asad ad-Din Shirkuh II was the Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1186–1240. He was the son of An-Nasir Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, grandson of Shirkuh and second cousin of Saladin. His domains also included Palmyra and ar-Rahba. Al Mujahid became emir at the age of thirteen when his father died unexpectedly in Homs on 4 March 1186.
Al-Mansur II Muhammad was the Ayyubid emir of Hama 1244–1284, son of al-Muzaffar II Mahmud and grandson of al-Mansur I Muhammad. He was the great-great grandson of Saladin’s brother Nur ad-Din Shahanshah. His mother was Ghaziya Khatun.
The Battle of the Horns of Hama or Hammah was an Ayyubid victory over the Zengids, which left Saladin in control of Damascus, Baalbek, and Homs. Gökböri commanded the right wing of the Zengid army, which broke Saladin's left flank before being routed by a charge from Saladin's personal guard. Despite around 20,000 men being involved on both sides, Saladin gained a nearly-bloodless victory by the psychological effect of the arrival of his Egyptian reinforcements.
Fatimah Khatun bint Najm ad-Dīn Abu al-Shukr Ayyub ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān, popularly known as Sitt al-Sham, was a second sister of Saladin, probably older than Rabi'a Khatun. She is known for founding Al-Shamiyah al-Kubra Madrasa.
Shams al-Dīn Luʾluʾ al-Amīnī was one of the regents of Aleppo for the Ayyūbid ruler al-Nāṣir Yūsuf and later his chief advisor and the commander-in-chief of his armies. He dominated the government of al-Nāṣir from 1242 until his death.
The Qaymariyya were a Kurdish tribe that formed an important military unit under the late Ayyubids and early Mamluks between the 1240s and 1260s. They played a secondary role in the Khwarazmian invasion of Palestine in 1244 and a leading role in the pro-Ayyubid coup d'état in Damascus in 1250.
