Salah ad-Din Al-Ayyubi (c. 1138 – March 4, 1193) better known in the Western world as Saladin, was a Kurdish, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty.

Revered as a hero of Islam, Saladin united Arab forces and recaptured the holy city of Jerusalem from Christian Crusaders in the 12th century A.D. Of Kurdish origin, Saladin became the vizier of Egypt in 1169 and then took full control of the country in 1171; he later built the famed Citadel in Cairo. His conquest of Jerusalem in 1188 prompted the Third Crusade, led by Richard I of England; Richard's forces defeated Saladin in several battles, but could not retake Jerusalem. Saladin and Richard signed an armistice in 1192, and the two are often linked in histories of the era.

Saladin's successors in Egypt are known by his family name: the Ayyubids. His court physician was the famous Jewish philosopher and rabbi Maimonides.