Siege of Jerusalem Begins

Date: September 20, 1187 • Location: West Jerusalem, Israel

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1187.

Saladin begins the Siege of Jerusalem.

Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. A Sunni Muslim ruler of Kurdish origin, Saladin was an important figure of the Third Crusade and spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, the Ayyubid realm spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and Nubia.