d. 1169 · Zengid commander and Fatimid vizier
Shirkuh
Other names · Asad al-Din Shirkuh
Commander who led three campaigns to Egypt for Nur al-Din and prepared Saladin's rise.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Shirkuh was a brother of Najm al-Din Ayyub and an uncle of Saladin. The Ayyubid family moved from Tikrit into Zengid service in Syria, where Shirkuh became one of Nur al-Din's most effective commanders. His career combined frontier warfare with the struggle for control of the Fatimid vizierate.
Role in the Crusades
He led expeditions to Egypt in 1164, 1167 and 1168–1169. Shirkuh fought amid changing alliances involving King Amalric's army and the Fatimid vizier Shawar, and gained the advantage over the Frankish forces at al-Babein in 1167. He entered Cairo and became vizier in 1169 but died shortly afterwards, leaving Saladin to succeed him.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.