Draft:Husam Al-din Abu Al-hayja

Husam Al-din Abu Al-hayja, also known as Al-samin and Al-hadhbani, was a Kurdish general and aristocrat in service of the Ayyubid dynasty. He was the commander of Salahiya regiment of Saladin and prominent figure in the third crusade.

Husam Al-din played an important role in Saladin's war against the crusades and conquest of Levant and upper Mesopotamia. He also aided Al-afdal on his power struggle against his relatives.

Early life
Husam Al-din Abu al-Haija was born in Erbil, a Kurd hailing from Hadhbani tribe. He was known as as Abu-Hayja "Man of war" or "Father of war" and Al-samin "fat, the obese" for his unusual fatness. although the fat fat should be read as a sign of good health.

Zengid and Ayyubid Service
Abu al-haija was the Supasalar of the Kurdish Mihraniyya corps, in the service of the Zengids and later the Ayyubids in 1171. In 1174 he was given a fiefdom in upper Egypt by Saladin. In 1182 he was appointed as governor of Nisibis up until 1189. he was the commander of Ayyubid garrison in Siege of Acre from August 1189-1191. after the death of Saladin in 1193, Abu Al-Haija participated in internal Ayyubid power struggle. He first sided with Al-aziz Uthman, but defected to Al-Afdal's side in 10th September 1195. Al-Afdal rewarded him with the governorship of Jerusalem. However when Al-Aziz Uthman retook Jerusalem in 13 July 1196 and stripped Abu-l-Hayja’ al-Samin of the governorship of Jerusalem and appointed Shams al-Din Sungur al-Kabir. Abu-l-Hayja’ was sent to go into exile, abandoning the Ayyubids, he went to Iraq to seek service with the Abbasid Caliphate.

Abbasid service
After his exile by Al-Aziz uthman in 1196, he went to Mosul and stayed there for 2 years. After that he went to the caliph of Baghdad and served as a military commander. The caliph sent him against the atabek of Azarbayjan Ozbek, who by that time was occupying Hamadan. Despite his monstrous obesity Abul-Hayja displayed much energy on this new ground and was able to capture Ozbek and his associates. The caliph was alarmed by his forceful methods and ordered him to return.

Death
After his campaign against The eldiguzids, he died in Daquqa while on his way to return to his hometown Erbil.