Ayubian Empire
Ayubian Empire The Ayyubid Empire was ruled by a Kurdish Muslim family who ruled Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Diyarbakir, Mecca, Hijaz, and northern Iraq in the 12th and 13th centuries. The founder of the Ayubi Empire was Salahuddin Ayubi, whose uncle Sher Koh had conquered Egypt in 1169 as the general of Zangi Sultan Nooruddin Zangi. The kingdom was named after Najmuddin Ayub, brother of Sher Koh and father of Salahuddin. Salahuddin overthrew the Fatimid Empire in Egypt and, after the death of Nour al-Din in 1174, captured Damascus and annexed Syria. During the Crusades, Salahuddin became famous throughout the world for his great defeat to the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin in 1187, his conquest of Jerusalem, and his subsequent victory in the Third Crusade. Salahuddin died in 1193 after which the kingdom was divided among his sons and finally in 1200 Salahuddin's brother Al-Adil s...