Saladin (Salah ad-Din)

Born in 1137 in Tikrit into a Kurdish family of the Rawadiya tribe. He founded the Ayyubid dynasty and united Egypt, the Levant and Yemen under his banner. His celebrated victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 led to the liberation of Jerusalem after a century of Crusader rule. He died in Damascus in 1193, remembered in Europe and the Muslim world alike as a paragon of chivalry and generosity.