Ayyubid
Ayyubid
a dynasty in the Middle East, founded in Egypt in 1171 by Salah-al-Din (Saladin) after the fall of the Fatimids.
The dynasty is named after Ayyuba ibn-Shadi, father of Salah-al-Din. Different branches of the Ayyubids ruled during the 12th and 13th centuries in Egypt, Syria (Damascus, Halab, now Aleppo, and Homs), Mesopotamia, and South Arabia. The Egyptian Ayyubids were the chief organizers of the struggle with the crusaders. The growth of political and military influence of the Mamelukes and dynastic squabbles weakened the Ayyubids; their main, Egyptian line fell in 1250 as the result of a Mameluke conspiracy.
N. A. IVANOV