Leaders and builders · 1137–1193
Salah al-Din, famous Muslim of the 12th century
The Kurdish sultan who took Jerusalem back in 1187 and was respected even by his enemies.
The life of Salah al-Din
Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub was born in Tikrit, Iraq, around 1137, to a Kurdish family. He became ruler of Egypt and then Syria, founding the Ayyubid dynasty.
In 1187 he defeated the Crusader army at Hattin and took Jerusalem back. He then faced Richard the Lionheart in the Third Crusade, which ended in a truce in 1192. Writers on both sides recorded his generosity and his keeping of his word. He died in Damascus in 1193.
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