The Ayyubid or Ayyoubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origins which ruled Egypt, Syria, Yemen (except for the Northern Mountains), Diyar Bakr, Mecca, Hejaz and northern Iraq in the 12th and 13th centuries. The Ayyubids are also known as Ayoubites, Ayyoubites, Ayoubides or Ayyoubides.