Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Subutai

Сүбээдэй (Subutai Baghatur)

Khamag Mongol

c. 1175 CE – c. 1248 CE (73 years old)

Primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ogedei Khan who conquered more territory than any general in human history, orchestrating campaigns across China, Persia, Russia, and Central Europe.

Central Tuv Province, Mongolia

2 Full Record →

Mai Dunama Dibbalemi

Dunama Dibbalemi

🌐 Kanem Empire

c. 1210 CE – c. 1248 CE (38 years old)

Thirteenth-century Mai of the Kanem Empire who expanded Kanem to its greatest extent from Fezzan in Libya to the Niger River, fielding an army of 40,000 armored horsemen.

Kanem Region, Chad

2 Full Record →

Sciences & Discovery

8

🕯️ 680

Ibn al-Baytar (Diya al-Din al-Malaqi)

ضياء الدين عبد الله بن أحمد المالقي (ابن البيطار)

Spain

c. 1197 CE – 1248 CE (~51 years old)

Greatest botanist and pharmacologist of the Middle Ages who cataloged 1,400 medicinal plants, foods, and drugs in his encyclopedic Compendium on Simple Medicaments and Foods.

Damascus, Syria

8 Full Record →

Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (Al-Shaykh al-Akbar)

12

🕯️ 1,220

Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (Al-Shaykh al-Akbar)

محيي الدين بن عربي

Spain

28 July 1165 CE – 16 November 1240 CE (75 years old)

Visionary Andalusian philosopher and mystic revered as "Al-Shaykh al-Akbar" (The Greatest Master). Formulated the profound metaphysics of Wahdat al-Wujud (The Unity of Being) in Fusus al-Hikam and Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya.

Damascus, Syria

12 Full Record →

Humanitarian & Peace

8

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet

Hungary

1207 – 1231 (24 years old)

Princesse royale de Hongrie et sainte médiévale, qui renonça à toute gloire princière pour construire un hôpital à Marbourg et soigner personnellement les plus misérables.

Marburg, Hesse, Germany

8 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

5

Walther von der Vogelweide

Holy Roman Empire

c. 1170 – c. 1230 (60 years old)

Supreme Middle High German lyric poet and Minnesänger who elevated courtly love songs (Under der linden) and political Spruchdichtung across the courts of Europe.

Würzburg, Germany

5 Full Record →

3

Qiu Chuji

丘處機

Jin Dynasty

1148 – 1227 (79 years old)

Leader of Quanzhen Daoism who undertook an epic journey across Central Asia to the Hindu Kush in 1222 to counsel Genghis Khan against mass slaughters, saving millions.

Beijing, China

3 Full Record →

8

🕯️ 1,550

Genghis Khan (Temüjin Borjigin)

Чингис хаан (Universal Ruler)

Mongolia

c. 1162 CE – 18 August 1227 (~65 years old)

Visionary military strategist and founder of the Mongol Empire—the largest contiguous land empire in world history. United the nomadic steppe tribes, instituted absolute religious freedom, created the postal relay network (Yam), and codified the Yassa law.

Yinchuan (Western Xia), China

8 Full Record →

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (Saint Francis of Assisi)

10

🕯️ 1,410

Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (Saint Francis of Assisi)

San Francesco d'Assisi

Italy

c. 1181 CE – 3 October 1226 CE (~45 years old)

Beloved friar and mystic who renounced aristocratic wealth to embrace absolute poverty, brotherly love for all creatures, and peaceful interfaith dialogue, composing the Canticle of the Sun and founding the Franciscan Order.

Assisi, Italy

10 Full Record →

5

Philip II of France (Philippe Auguste)

Philippe II Auguste

Kingdom of France

1165 – 1223 (57 years old)

First monarch to officially use the title 'King of France', who defeated the Anglo-German coalition at Bouvines and built the medieval Louvre.

Saint-Denis, Paris, France

5 Full Record →

Military Leaders & Strategists

Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah

ابن قدامة المقدسي

🌐 Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem

c. 1147 – 1223 (76 years old)

Supreme Hanbali jurist, ascetic, and theologian whose ten-volume 'Al-Mughni' is the definitive masterpiece of comparative Islamic jurisprudence, highly praised by Saladin.

Damascus, Syria

2 Full Record →

Jebe

Зэв (Jebe Noyan)

🌐 Mongol Empire

c. 1180 CE – c. 1223 CE (43 years old)

Legendary Mongol general and one of Genghis Khan's 'Four Dogs of War', who earned his name 'The Arrow' by shooting Genghis Khan's horse in battle and went on to conquer the Qara Khitai.

Southern Steppes, Russia

2 Full Record →

Abu Hamid bin Abu Bakr Ibrahim

فريد الدين عطار

🌐 Seljuk Empire

c. 1145 – c. 1221 (76 years old)

Persian mystical poet, apothecary, and hagiographer whose allegorical masterpiece 'The Conference of the Birds' and 'Memorial of the Saints' deeply inspired Rumi.

Nishapur, Iran

2 Full Record →

1

King Lalibela

ላሊበላ (ገብረ መስቀል)

🌐 Zagwe Kingdom

c. 1162 CE – c. 1221 CE (59 years old)

King of Ethiopia of the Zagwe Dynasty who carved the eleven monolithic rock-hewn churches of Lalibela out of volcanic basalt, creating a 'New Jerusalem' in the Ethiopian highlands.

Lalibela, Ethiopia

1 Full Record →

4

Emperor Gebre Mesqel Lalibela

ላሊበላ

Zagwe Kingdom (Ethiopia)

c. 1162 – c. 1221 (59 years old)

Zagwe Emperor of Ethiopia venerated as an Ethiopian Orthodox saint, who carved the world-famous rock-hewn monolithic churches of Lalibela as a 'New Jerusalem'.

Lalibela, Ethiopia

4 Full Record →

Literature & Poetry

4

Military Leaders & Strategists

Wolfram von Eschenbach

Holy Roman Empire

c. 1170 – c. 1220 (50 years old)

Greatest Middle High German epic poet and knight whose masterpiece Parzival redefined the Arthurian Grail quest as a spiritual journey of empathy and faith.

Wolframs-Eschenbach, Germany

4 Full Record →

3