1138-1193
Ayyubid Sultan

Reflective Youth. Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin) was of Kurdish origin, being born in 1138 in the town of Takrit in northern Iraq. He went on to found the Ayyubid Dynasty, which ruled Syria, Egypt, and Yemen from 1174 to 1258. He seemed to have been a quiet boy who was more prone to study than to war when he accompanied his father after the latter was appointed governor of Ba'albakk in the Biqa' valley in present-day Lebanon.

Military Experience. Salah al-Din eventually became a commander in the army of Nur al-Din Muhmud Zengi, the principal initiator of the countercrusade. Salah al-Din's fame began to rise after he had accompanied his uncle Shirkuh to Cairo when the Fatimid khalifah requested military aid to shore up his defenses against an impending Crusader attack. Shirkuh died shortly after arriving and Salah al-Din assumed command and became the Vizir...