al-Malik al-Afdal Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn Shadhi ibn Marwan (Arabic: الملك ألأفضل نجم الدين أيوب بن شاﺬي بن مروان)) (died August 9, 1173) was a
Turk soldier and politician from
Dvin, and the father of
Saladin. He is eponymous ancestor of the
Ayyubid dynasty.