Al-Ayyūbīyūn

The Ayyubids were a Sunni dynasty founded by Saladin, who abolished the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171 and built a sultanate from Egypt to Upper Mesopotamia, overwhelming the Crusader states after his victory at Hattin in 1187. After his death in 1193 the realm fragmented among his kin; the Mamluks seized Egypt in 1250 and the Mongols took the last Syrian principalities in 1260.

In 1232 Saladin's family had received Hasankeyf on the Tigris, whose meliks ruled what they called the last remnant of the Ayyubid state. As Ilkhanid vassals they saw their city prosper again, with madrasas, caravanserais and a great bridge. In 1337 the melik was al-Adil Shahab ad-Din, who ruled from 1328 to 1349.

The emirate later submitted to Timur, was occupied by Aq Qoyunlu and briefly by the Safavids, and was dissolved by the Ottomans in 1524.