1193 CE

Saladin (the Lion) dies of a fever at Damascus. The lands of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Syria and Egypt are split among his relatives. During his reign, he briefly unites the Muslim world, and drives the Crusaders out of Jerusalem to a narrow strip of coast. At the time of his death, Saladin has seventeen sons and one little daughter. Al-Afdal succeeds his father as ruler (emir) of Damascus, and inherits the headship of the Ayyubid family. His younger brother, the 22-year-old Al-Aziz, proclaims himself as independent sultan of Egypt. Al-Zahir receives Aleppo (with lands in northern Syria), and Turan-Shah receives Yemen. The other dominions and fiefs in the Oultrejordain (also called Lordship of Montréal) are divided between his sons and the two remaining brothers of Saladin. The Pisan colony at Tyre plots to seize the city, and hand it over to Guy of Lusignan – the ruler of Cyprus. King Henry I of Jerusalem arrests the ringleaders, and orders that the colony be reduced to only 30 people. The Pisans retaliate, by raiding the coastal villages between Tyre and Acre. Ghurid forces under Qutb al-Din Aibak capture Delhi. General Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji sacks and burns the ancient city of Nalanda, India's greatest Buddhist seat of learning, and the university of Vikramashila.

In the 1190s, the 12th century.