Najm ad-Din (1110-9 August 1173) was a Zengid general who was responsible for overthrowing the Fatimid Caliphate and founding the Ayyubid Empire. He was the father of Saladin.
Biography[]
Al-Malik al-Afdal Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn Shadhi ibn Marwan, full name, was a Kurd from the city of Dvin. His given name, Ayyub, was the Muslim translation of the Hebrew name “Job”. In 1132, Najm ad-Din Ayyub was in the service of Imad ad-Din, better known as Zengi, and he fought at Tikrit against the Seljuk Sultan and saved Zengi’s life. In 1154 he was made the Governor of Damascus for Nur ad-Din, Zengi's son, and rose to power as the leader of a mercenary band. Along with his son Salah ad-Din, he had a dream of founding his own dynasty.
Najm ad-Din invaded Fatimid Egypt in 1170 during a period of joint Crusader-Byzantine attacks and he overthrew the last Fatimid caliph. Najm did not give his land to the Zengids, but rather founded the Ayyubid Dynasty. He was not on friendly terms with Nur ad-Din, but was still a nominal ally of the Turks, and in 1173, he died in a horse riding incident. His son Salah ad-Din proceeded to conquer much of the Levant.
 Sultan of Egypt
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| Preceded by: Fatimid Caliphate |
1170-1173 | Succeeded by: Salah ad-Din |