Ayyubid Sultanate

The Ayyubid Sultanate, also known as the Ayyubid dynasty, was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty that founded the medieval Sultanate of Egypt. Established by Saladin in 1171 after he abolished the Fatimid Caliphate, it rapidly expanded beyond Egypt to include most of Syria, Hejaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tripolitania, and Upper Mesopotamia. Saladin's victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 led to the fall of most Crusader states, though the Crusaders later reconquered Syrian coastlands. After Saladin's death in 1193, his brother al-Adil became sultan in 1200. The Ayyubid realm remained divided until Sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored unity by 1247. Ayyubid power in Egypt ended in 1249 when Mamluk generals overthrew al-Mu'azzam Turanshah. The dynasty dissolved in 1341.