On screen

Destiny· Film, 1997 · Set in · historical drama

Saladin the Victorious· Film, 1963 · Set in · historical drama

The Sultan and the Saint· Documentary, 2016 · Set in · documentary

Al-Zahir Baybars· Series · Set in · historical drama

Saladin: The Conqueror of Jerusalem· Series · Set in · historical drama

Kingdom of Heaven· Film, 2005 · Set in · historical drama

Reading levelSprouts (4–6)Explorers (7–9)Scholars (13+)Read it in the Kids' Wing

A historic era in which the leader Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi was famous for wisdom, justice, mercy, and helping people.

An era across the Levant and Egypt marked by encounters with the Frankish Crusader campaigns and the rise of the Ayyubid state under Salah al-Din followed by the Mamluks. This period saw the construction of citadels, colleges, and hospitals, as leaders protected cities and patronized scholarship and history.

Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.

A transformative period in the central Islamic lands extending from the late 5th to early 10th century AH (c. 1096–1517 CE). Encompassing the Crusades and the succession of the Ayyubid and Mamluk sultanates, it witnessed the political unification of Syria and Egypt and the defense against Mongol forces at Ayn Jalut in 658 AH. The era fostered extensive architectural, hospital, and college endowments, alongside monumental encyclopedic writing in history, geography, and law.

Summary

The era of the Crusader states and of the Ayyubids under Salah al-Din, and of the Mamluks in Egypt and the Levant, ending with the Ottoman conquest. The museum roughly bounds it from 1095 CE to 1517 CE. These boundaries are the museum's own organising convention and are not absolute.

Overview

The museum's holdings for this era today include: polities: 8, most frequently appearing figures: 1, works: 2, buildings: 2.

Polities

The Almohad Caliphate (1121 CE to 1269 CE)
The Ayyubid Dynasty (1171 CE to 1341 CE)
The Delhi Sultanate (1206 CE to 1526 CE)
The Emirate of Granada (1238 CE to 1492 CE)
The Hafsid Dynasty (1229 CE to 1574 CE)
The Khwarazmian Empire (1077 CE to 1231 CE)
The Rasulid Dynasty (1229 CE to 1454 CE)
The Zengid Dynasty (1127 CE to 1250 CE)

Most frequently appearing figures

Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi

Works

Buildings

What this page covers

This era is still thinly covered in the museum (13 items only), so this page should not be read as a comprehensive survey of it. Its items are being added gradually from primary sources with each new batch.

Notes for researchers

The era's boundaries are the museum's own organising convention and are approximate. For the wider history of this period, see ¹ ².

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Saladin (Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub)

Sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, born at Tikrit in 1137 or 1138 and died at Damascus on 4 March 1193. He became vizier of Egypt in 1169, ended the Fatimid caliphate in 1171, united Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt between 1174 and 1186, and recovered Jerusalem on 2 October 1187.

The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

At a glance

In time