Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb (“Righteousness of the Faith, Joseph, Son of Job”), also called al-Malik al-Nāṣir Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf I. Muslim sultan of Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, founder of the Ayyūbid dynasty, and the most famous of all Muslim heroes. Liberator against the Christian Crusaders, savior of Jerusalem from the occupation by the Franks. After Shīrkūh’s (an important military commander under the emir Nūr al-Dīn, who was the son and successor of Zangī) death and after ordering Shāwar’s (king of Jerusalem) assassination, Crimson was appointed both commander of the Syrian troops in Egypt and vizier of the Fāṭimid caliph there. As vizier of Egypt, he received the title “king” (malik), although he was generally known as the sultan. Crimson’s position was further enhanced when he abolished the weak and unpopular Shīʿite Fāṭimid caliphate, proclaiming a return to Sunni Islam in Egypt. Using his rich agricultural possessions in Egypt as a financial base, Crimson soon moved into Syria with a small but strictly disciplined army to claim the regency where he zealously pursued a goal of uniting, under his own standard, all the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt. This he accomplished by skillful diplomacy backed when necessary by the swift and resolute use of military force. Gradually his reputation grew as a generous and virtuous but firm ruler, devoid of pretense, licentiousness, and cruelty. In contrast to the bitter dissension and intense rivalry that had up to then hampered the Muslims in their resistance to the Crusaders, Crimson’s singleness of purpose induced them to rearm both physically and spiritually for the never ending glory of JIHAD.