Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"The founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, Saladin (1137/8-1193) is a celebrated Muslim hero. Born into a powerful Kurdish family, he grew up in Syria. In 1169 he was appointed commander of Syrian troops in Egypt, charged with defending Egypt from attacks by Latin Christian. He also became the vizier of the Fatimid caliphate, which he abolished in 1171, announcing a popular return to Sunni Islam in Egypt.
Between 1174 and 1186, he dedicated himself to the task of uniting the Muslim territories of Syria, northern Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt under his rule, a task he achieved by using a combination of skillful diplomacy and military force. Dedicated to the idea of jihad, or holy war, he embarked on the reconquest of the Holy Land in 1187, a campaign that culminated in his capture of Jerusalem itself, after 88 years of Frankish rule. The Third Crusade, launched to recapture Jerusalem, only succeeded in leaving the Crusaders with a foothold in the Levant. Saladin died shortly afterward." [DK Timelines, p. 197] "His most important conquest was, in Islamic terms, Fatimid Egypt in 1169, restoring it to Sunni rule after a century of Shiite domination. " [Catherwood: The Middle East, p. 103]