The Ayyubids were a famous Islamic dynasty established by the illustrious Saladin (Salah al Din) in Egypt in 1171, and at their brief height they also held sway in greater Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. The Ayyubids replaced the Fatimids and were in turn replaced by the Mamluks of Egypt in 1252.
The Ayyubids are one of the five Kurdish dynasties mentioned by Sharaf Khan Bitlisi in the Sharafnama as enjoying royalty. Clearly, however, the Ayyubids thought of themselves as Muslims first, rather than ethnic Kurds. Other Ayyubids ruled in Syria until 1260. Indeed, the Kurdish writer-prince Abu al-Fida, followed by his son, ruled Hamah in Syria until 1342. The later rulers (meliks) of Hasankeyf in modern Turkey were also in charge of an Ayyubid successor state.
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Michael M. Gunter.