Saladin

The Just Sultan

Saladin, born Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, was the Kurdish sultan who founded the Ayyubid dynasty and united Egypt and Syria under his rule. In 1187 he crushed the Crusader army at the Battle of Hattin and recaptured Jerusalem, ending nearly ninety years of Christian rule over the city. Even his Western foes admired him for his chivalry, mercy, and generosity, and he became in legend the very ideal of the noble and just Muslim ruler.