Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Simon de Montfort (6th Earl of Leicester)

Simon de Montfort

France

1 – 1265 (57 years old)

French-English nobleman and military leader who defeated King Henry III at the Battle of Lewes and convened England's first representative Parliament.

Evesham, United Kingdom

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Military Leaders & Strategists

Narasimhadeva I

ନରସିଂହ ଦେବ ପ୍ରଥମ (Langula Narasimha)

India

Unknown – 1264

Powerful monarch of the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga (1238–1264) who soundly defeated the Bengal Sultanate forces and commissioned the world-renowned Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage architectural marvel.

Cuttack (Odisha), India

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Saint Alexander Nevsky

Александр Ярославич Невский

Russia

1221 – 1263 (42 years old)

Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir who crushed the Swedish invasion at the Neva and defeated the Teutonic Knights in the Battle on the Ice.

Saint Petersburg, Russia

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Shinran

親鸞

Japan

1173 – 1263 (89 years old)

Disciple of Honen and founder of Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) who rejected monasticism, married, and proclaimed radical salvation through the absolute 'Other-Power' (Tariki) of Amida Buddha.

Kyoto, Japan

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Military Leaders & Strategists

Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd al-Salam

العز بن عبد السلام

Syria

c. 1181 – 1262 (81 years old)

Revered Syrian-Egyptian jurist known as 'Sultan of the Scholars' who confronted Crusader alliances, forced Mamluk princes to auction themselves for public welfare, and inspired victory at Ain Jalut.

Cairo, Egypt

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Qutuz

سيف الدين قطز

Uzbekistan

c. 1200 CE – 1260 (60 years old)

Mamluk Sultan of Egypt who rallied the Islamic world following the Mongol sack of Baghdad, executed Hulagu Khan's envoys, and personally led the Muslim army to victory at Ain Jalut.

Al-Qusayr (Sharqia), Egypt

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Saif ad-Din Qutuz

سيف الدين قطز (محمود بن ممدود)

Uzbekistan

c. 1221 CE – 1260 (~39 years old)

Mamluk Sultan of Egypt who united the Muslim world to inflict the first major battlefield defeat upon the Mongol Empire at the Battle of Ain Jalut.

Al-Salihiyya, Sharqia, Egypt

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Humanities

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Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abdallah Ibn al-Abbar

ابن الأبّار البلنسي

Spain

1199 – 1260 (60 years old)

Master Andalusian-Tunisian historian, diplomat, and poet who served as Grand Secretary of the Hafsid Chancery in Tunis, author of Al-Hulla al-Siyara and Al-Takmila.

Tunis, Tunisia

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Politics

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Badr al-Din Lu'lu'

بدر الدين لؤلؤ

Iraq

c. 1165 – July 1259 (94 years old)

Visionary 13th-century ruler of Mosul who transformed his capital into a global center of inlaid metalwork, manuscript painting, and architecture.

Mosul, Iraq

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Literature & Poetry

9

Baha al-Din Zuhayr

بهاء الدين زهير

Saudi Arabia

1186 – 23 November 1258 (72 years old)

Celebrated 13th-century Ayyubid court poet and chancellor known for his effortless, delicate lyricism and witty epigrams.

Cairo, Egypt

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Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Shadhili

أبو الحسن الشاذلي

Morocco

c. 1196 – c. 1258 (62 years old)

Moroccan-born Sufi master and founder of the Shadhiliyya order, whose practical path of gratitude, inward detachment without outward poverty, and 'Hizb al-Bahr' shaped North Africa.

Humaithara (Red Sea), Egypt

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Shajar al-Durr

شجر الدر

Mongolia

c. 1215 CE – April 28, 1257 CE (~42 years old)

Formidable Sultana of Egypt who held the realm together following the death of Sultan As-Salih Ayyub, orchestrating the crushing defeat of King Louis IX's Seventh Crusade at the Battle of Fariskur, and serving as the first monarch of the Mamluk era.

Cairo, Egypt

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Eihei Dogen (Founder of Soto Zen in Japan)

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Eihei Dogen (Founder of Soto Zen in Japan)

道元禅師 (Dōgen Zenji)

Japan

26 January 1200 CE – 29 September 1253 CE (53 years old)

Thirteenth-century Japanese philosopher and monk who brought Soto Zen from China, founded Eihei-ji Temple, and authored the Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye). Revolutionized philosophy with his concept of Being-Time (Uji).

Kyoto, Japan

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Religion

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Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Hattab

سيدي علي الحطاب

Tunisia

c. 1180 AD – 1250 AD (~70 years old)

Revered 13th-century Sufi saint and contemporary of Abu Said al-Baji and Lalla Manoubia, who earned his living as a humble woodcutter (al-Hattab) in the hills west of Tunis.

El Batan (Manouba), Tunisia

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Abu Zakariya Yahya I

أبو زكرياء يحيى الأول الحفصي

Morocco

1203 – 1249 (46 years old)

Founder of the independent Hafsid dynasty in 1229, who declared independence from the Almohads, established Tunis as an imperial capital, and built the Kasbah Mosque.

Tunis, Tunisia

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Abu Zakariya Yahya

أبو زكرياء يحيى الحفصي

Tunisia

1203 – 1249 (46 years old)

Almohad governor who declared independence in Tunis in 1229, founding the Hafsid Dynasty that ruled Tunisia and eastern Algeria for three and a half centuries.

Tunis, Tunisia

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Politics

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