Depiction of Saladin.

Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi (25 December 1138–1193), better known as Saladin, was a famous Kurdish Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria during the Crusades.

A Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin led the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the Levant. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen and other parts of North Africa.