Nizzar the Great

Nizza ad-Din (8 August 1216 - 2 May 1297), better known as Nizzar the Great, was one of the most influential and respected generals in the service of the Ayyubids. He led the Ayyubid armies during the Mongol Invasion of Syria. Nizzar successfully defended the Holy City of Jerusalem and ultimately defeated the Mongol armies in the Battle of Damascus, during which the Ayyubid boy-Sultan was killed in action.

The untimely and unexpected death of the boy-Sultan caused the other members of the Ayyubid dynasty to fight for power. The internal struggle soon erupted into the Ayyubid Civil War. Initially, Nizzar had sworn to fight for the late Sultan's uncle, but seeing the chaos and instability which had befallen the Sultanate, Nizzar betrayed his former master and was proclaimed Sultan of Egypt and Syria by his troops.

As the leader of the Nizzarid Pretenders, Nizzar led his supporters to victory against the last Ayyubid Sultan As-Salih in the Battle of Cairo. After the battle, he officially assumed the title of Sultan of Egypt and Syria, becoming the first Sultan of the newly-established Nizzarid Sultanate.

In the west, he was also called the Invictus, mainly thanks to the fact that he never lost a single battle.