Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Religion

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Abu Yaqub Youssef Ben Ali al-Sanhaji

أبو يعقوب يوسف بن علي الصنهاجي

Morocco

c. 1130 – 1196 (~66 years old)

Enduring symbol of spiritual patience and detachment, a Sufi mystic afflicted with leprosy who lived in a cave outside Marrakech's walls, honored as one of the Seven Saints of Marrakech.

Marrakech, Morocco

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Religion

7

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Sidi Yusuf ibn Ali al-Sanhaji

سيدي يوسف بن علي الصنهاجي

Morocco

c. 1130 – 1196 (~66 years old)

The first of the revered Seven Saints of Marrakech (Sebaatou Rijal), an ascetic afflicted with leprosy who achieved sublime spiritual ecstasy and patience in a cave outside Bab Aghmat.

Marrakech, Morocco

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Religious Figures & Theologians

31

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Basaveshwara

ಬಸವೇಶ್ವರ

India

c. 1134 – c. 1196 (62 years old)

12th-century Kannada statesman, philosopher, and social reformer who founded the Lingayat tradition, established the Anubhava Mantapa (parliament of experience), and abolished caste distinctions.

Bagalkot, India

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

36

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Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Sultan Saladin)

صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب

Iraq

c. 1137 CE – 4 March 1193 CE (~56 years old)

First Sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders following the Battle of Hattin (1187) and won universal admiration in both the Muslim world and Christian Europe for his legendary chivalry, mercy, and justice.

Damascus, Syria

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Philosophy & Thought

35

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Lu Jiuyuan

陸九淵

China

1139 – 1193 (53 years old)

Song dynasty Neo-Confucian master 'Lu Xiangshan' who founded the School of the Heart/Mind (Xinxue), famously debating Zhu Xi at the Goose Lake Temple and declaring that 'The Mind is the Principle'.

Fuzhou (Jiangxi), China

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Military Leaders & Strategists

34

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Prithviraj Chauhan

पृथ्वीराज चौहान

India

c. 1166 CE – c. 1192 CE (26 years old)

Last Hindu king to rule Delhi and Ajmer before the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, celebrated in the epic poem Prithviraj Raso for defeating Muhammad of Ghor at the First Battle of Tarain.

Mehrauli (New Delhi), India

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Philosophy & Thought

34

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Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi

شهاب الدين يحيى السهروردي

Iran

1154 CE – 29 July 1191 (~37 years old)

Founder of the School of Illumination (Hikmat al-Ishraq) who synthesized ancient Persian Zoroastrian wisdom, Pythagorean thought, and Platonism into a luminous ontology of radiant Light.

Aleppo, Syria

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Literature & Poetry

31

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Chrétien de Troyes

Chrétien de Troyes

France

c. 1160 – c. 1191 (31 years old)

Great French medieval trouvère and poet who originated the Arthurian courtly romance, inventing the Holy Grail quest and the tragic romance of Lancelot and Guinevere.

Troyes, France

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

31

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Henry II of England

Henry Plantagenet

France

1133 – 1189 (56 years old)

First Plantagenet King of England who established the English Common Law, the jury system, and the vast Angevin Empire.

Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Anjou, France

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Military Leaders & Strategists

32

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Minamoto no Yoshitsune

源義経

Japan

1 – 1189 (30 years old)

Brilliant samurai commander of the Genpei War who led the Minamoto clan to total victory over the Taira at Ichi-no-Tani, Yashima, and Dan-no-ura.

Hiraizumi (Iwate), Japan

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Literature & Poetry

6

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Usama ibn Munqidh

أسامة بن منقذ

Syria

4 July 1095 – 17 November 1188 (93 years old)

Syrian warrior-diplomat from Shayzar Castle whose delightful autobiography 'Kitab al-I'tibar' offers vivid eyewitness accounts of Crusader customs.

Damascus, Syria

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Humanities

6

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Abu al-Qasim Abd al-Rahman al-Suhayli

أبو القاسم عبد الرحمن السهيلي

Spain

1114 – 1185 (71 years old)

Blind Andalusian-Moroccan polymath, master grammarian, and author of Al-Rawd al-Unuf who was summoned to Marrakech by Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf and is celebrated as one of the Seven Saints of Marrakech.

Marrakech, Morocco

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Philosophy & Thought

35

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Ibn Tufail

أبو بكر محمد بن عبد الملك بن طفيل القيسي الأندلسي

Spain

c. 1105 CE – c. 1185 CE (80 years old)

Andalusian Muslim philosopher and physician who authored the philosophical novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan (The Self-Taught Philosopher), which inspired John Locke's tabula rasa and Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.

Marrakesh, Morocco

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Sciences & Discovery

36

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Bhaskara II (Bhaskaracharya)

भास्कराचार्य

India

1114 CE – 1185 CE (71 years old)

Preeminent medieval Indian mathematician who authored the Siddhanta Shiromani and Lilavati, solving Pell's equation (Chakravala method) and discovering differential calculus principles.

Chalisgaon (Maharashtra), India

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

11

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Abu Yaqub Yusuf I

أبو يعقوب يوسف بن عبد المؤمن

Morocco

1135 – 1184 (49 years old)

Cultured second Almohad Caliph (1163–1184) who constructed the monumental Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh and the Great Mosque of Seville (Giralda), personally commissioning Averroës to comment on Aristotle.

Tinmel, Morocco

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Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

39

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Abu Yaqub Yusuf

أبو يعقوب يوسف بن عبد المؤمن

Morocco

1135 – 1184 (49 years old)

Second Almohad Caliph, distinguished philosopher-monarch who commissioned the Giralda in Seville, assembled the greatest imperial library in the Mediterranean, and personally sponsored philosopher Averroes.

Tinmel (High Atlas), Morocco

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Military

4

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Abu Yahya ibn Abi Sinan al-Masmudi

أبو يحيى بن أبي سنان المصمودي

Morocco

c. 1125 – 1184 (~59 years old)

Supreme Almohad naval commander and master shipbuilder who developed the imperial dockyards of Salé and Ceuta, securing dominance over the Atlantic and Mediterranean sealanes.

Salé, Morocco

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Religious Figures & Theologians

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Ahmad ibn Ali al-Rifa'i

أحمد بن علي الرفاعي

Iraq

c. 1118 – 1182 (64 years old)

Venerated Iraqi Sufi master, jurist, and founder of the Rifa'iyya order who taught radical humility, service to animals and the afflicted, and legendary devotion to the Prophet.

Wasit, Iraq

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