Al-Suri was born and brought up in
Tyre, then part of the
Crusader-ruled
Lebanon and derives his name
al-Suri from the name of the city in
Arabic "Sur". After completing his preliminary education in Tyre, he moved to
Jerusalem, under
Ayyubid control, where he served as a physician at a hospital. He later met and greatly impressed the Ayyubid sultan
al-Adil in the early 13th century. Al-Adil brought al-Suri to
Cairo and made him his personal physician. He also served al-Adil's son,
al-Mu'azzam and grandson,
an-Nasir Dawud, the successive governors of
Damascus. == References ==