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Saladin

Type Figure Region Levant Time 1137–1193 Also known as Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub

Saladin was the Kurdish founder and sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, born in Tikrit in 1137, who unified Egypt and Syria, resisted Richard I in the Thi…

Timeline

  1. 1137–1138Tikrit · IraqSaladin was born in Tikrit; his father Najm al-Din Ayyub was a Kurdish military noble, and the family later moved to Mosul and Syria, laying the foundation for his rise within the Zengid and Ayyubid regimes.
  2. 1141–1150Damascus · SyriaIn the 1140s Saladin grew up in Damascus and elsewhere, receiving religious and military training. His uncle Shirkuh and other family members served Zengid rulers such as Nur ad-Din, and Saladin gradually became familiar with the Levant's military-political landscape, gaining experience for his later posting to Egypt.

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