The Ayyubid dynasty ruled over Egypt as well as territories in regions that are now part of Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Their control extended from the late 12th into the early 13th century. Eventually the slave-soldiers who rose to power and prominence militarily, the Mamluks. The Mamluks took over power in Egypt in 1250. Ayyubid rule continued in some parts of Syria after that, but the Ayyubids were fading from the scene.