Land army of Salāh ad-Dīn Ayyūbīd (570-589/1175-1193)

Land Army of Salāh ad-Dīn Ayyūbīd (570-589/1175-1193) Established in Egypt, the Ayyūbīd State ruled over a wide area extending to Syria, Hejaz, Yemen, North Africa and a part of Southeastern Anatolia between 570-648 (1175-1250). The founder of the state, Salāh ad-Dīn Ayyūbīd (570-589/1175-1193), as a ruler, marked the period in which he ruled with both his personality and his military activities. Sultan Salāh ad-Dīn, who established the Islamic union under the administration Ayyūbīd in the Near East, succeeded in the conquest of Jerusalem, which was the greatest goal of his life, as a result of step-by-step and constant progress thanks to the strong army he formed (27 Rajab 583/2 October 1187). Subsequently, in the struggle against the armies of the Third Crusade, Salāh ad-Dīn's army went through a period in which the most difficult test was given in all respects and the importance of having strong military units was understood. As a matter of fact, the most important support of the sultan, both on the way to the conquest of Jerusalem and in the struggles after it, was undoubtedly the land army that he established on based the Turco-Islamic military tradition. In this direction, by making use of the main sources and modern studies in the study, the military structure, organization, combat forces, war preparations, tactics and equipment of the Ayyūbīd land army, which was formed from the time Sultan Salāh ad-Dīn established his power in Egypt, are discussed in this study; the role of the Ayyūbīd army in the struggling the Crusaders who attacked Egypt and Syria in this period is revealed. Keywords: Salāh ad-Dīn, Ayyūbīds, Army, Egypt, Crusaders.