6 Thematic Essays Egypt. Although Shirkuh was forced to withdraw from Egypt in 1164, he was appointed the head of a second Zengid expedition to Egypt in 1167. This time he remained in Egypt ­ until his death two years ­ later. Following Shirkuh’s death, Saladin, who had accompanied his ­ uncle on both Egyptian campaigns, was able to assume control of the Zengid forces in Egypt and, on the ­ orders of, Nur ad-­Din Zengi, overthrew the Shi’ite Fatimid dynasty and restored Sunnism to Egypt. Despite seizing power in Egypt, Saladin initially remained loyal to Zengids. However, following the death of his overlord in 1174, Saladin established himself as an in­de­pen­dent ruler and proclaimed himself Nur ad-­Din Zengi’s successor. Sub- sequently, Saladin was not only able bring Egypt and Zengid lands in the Levant ­ under his control, but also establish a vast Muslim imperium, encompassing Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and the Hejaz. ­Today, Saladin is mostly remembered for his role in the countercrusades. In July 1187, Saladin’s forces inflicted a crushing defeat on the crusaders at the ­ Battle of Hattin. Muslim forces subsequently captured numer- ous crusader-­held towns, including the holy city of Jerusalem, which had been in Christian hands for over 80 years. Despite ­these early successes, the Ayyubid dynasty was relatively short-­lived. Rather than establishing a centralized imperial state, Ayyubid territories ­were or­ ga ­ nized into semi-­independent fiefdoms governed by members of Saladin’s ­family. This po­liti­cal order proved to be unstable, and fol- lowing Saladin’s death in 1193, the empire was shaken by internal discord as his descendants vied for supremacy. The dynasty’s eventual downfall came at the hands of the Mamluks, Turkish slave-­soldiers, maintained by vari­ous Ayyubid princes. In 1250, a Mamluk revolt in Cairo put an end to Ayyubid control over Egypt. Mean- while, the Ayyubid holdings in Syria ­were devastated by the Mongol invasions. Subsequently, the Mamluk successfully seized control of the Levant following their victory over the Mongols at Ayn Jalut in 1260. The fall of the Ayyubids signaled the end the supremacy of Kurdish ele­ments in Egypt and Syria, although a cadet branch of the Ayyubids continued to govern the fortress town of Hasankeyf on the banks of the upper Tigris well into the 16th ­century. Nevertheless, communities of Kurds continued to exist across the Levant long ­after the Mamluk revolution, most notably in Damascus where Saladin The famous Muslim leader against the Crusaders, Salah al-­Din al-­Ayyubi or Sala- din, is of Kurdish descent. His ­family is from a Kurdish tribe in Eastern Anatolia, and he sported many Kurdish soldiers in his army. Although he did not practice his Kurdish language, he is widely seen as a champion among Kurds who look up to his accomplishments and achievements. In fairness, Saladin is largely remembered as a unifier of Muslims and liberator of Jerusalem. But who would not like to have a successful, wise, and charismatic hero as their champion?
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