| 1138 | Birth of Saladin (Yusuf ibn Ayyub) at Tikrit; his family flees to ‘Imad al-Din Zangi of Mosul. |
| 1154 | Saladin’s father Ayyub and uncle Shirkuh in the service of Nur al-Din of Damascus, where Saladin spends his formative years. |
| 1164 | Saladin accompanies his uncle Shirkuh on a campaign to the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. |
| 1167 | Saladin leads defence of Alexandria against a Crusader–Fatimid alliance. |
| 1169 | Saladin takes command of Nur al-Din’s forces in Egypt after the death of his uncle Shirkuh; he is appointed wazir (vizier) of the Fatimid Caliphate, which still rules Egypt. |
| 1171 | Saladin becomes governor of Egypt on the death of the last Fatimid caliph, ruling in the name of Nur al-Din of Syria. |
| 1173–75 | Saladin sends forces to raid Nubia. |
| 1174 | Death of Nur al-Din; Saladin begins campaigns to dominate what had been Nur al-Din’s domains, taking Damascus, Hims and Hama in central Syria; Saladin sends an army to conquer Yemen. |
| 1175–76 | Saladin campaigns against Nur al-Din’s successor in northern Syria and sends forces to control north-eastern Libya; attempts to dominate territory further west are thwarted by the Muwahhidun. |
| 1177 | Saladin’s raid into the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem is defeated at Tall al-Safiya. |
| 1179 | Saladin defeats the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Marj al-’Uyun. |
| 1181 | Reynald of Châtillon raids north-western Arabia. |
| 1182 | Saladin raids the Kingdom of Jerusalem; Reynald of Châtillon sends a raiding fleet into the Red Sea. |
| 1183 | Reynald of Châtillon’s Red Sea fleet is defeated; Saladin raids the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and also takes control of Aleppo, Mayyafariqin, Mardin and Amida (Diyarbakir) while Mosul in northern Iraq recognizes his indirect suzerainty. |
| 1187 | Reynald of Châtillon attacks a Muslim Pilgrimage caravan; Saladin defeats the Kingdom of Jerusalem at Hattin and retakes almost all of it, including Jerusalem. |
| 1188–89 | Saladin continues to retake Crusader territory with the exceptions of Tyre (Sur), Tripoli and Antioch. |
| 1189 | Third Crusade is launched in Western Europe; forces of the Kingdom of Jerusalem advance from Tyre to besiege Acre; Saladin then besieges the besiegers. |
| 1191 | Third Crusade takes Acre; Saladin fails to stop them at Arsuf. |
| 1192 | Saladin defeats Crusader attempts to reach Jerusalem; the Crusader leader King Richard of England makes peace with Saladin and returns home. |
| 1193 | Saladin dies on 3 March. |
On of the few palatial reception halls to survive from around Saladin’s lifetime still stands right on the bank of the great river Tigris in Mosul, northern Iraq. (Author’s photograph)