 There is no accurate figure for the population of the various territories under Ayyubid rule . Colin <unk> and Richard Jones suggest that in the 12th century , Syria had a population of 2 @.@ 7 million , Palestine and Transjordan had 500 @,@ 000 inhabitants , and Egypt had a population of under 5 million . Josiah C. Russel states that in this same period there were 2 @.@ 4 million people in Syria living in 8 @,@ 300 villages , leaving a population of 230 @,@ 000 – 300 @,@ 000 living in ten cities , eight of which were Muslim cities under Ayyubid control . The largest were Edessa ( pop . 24 @,@ 000 ) , Damascus ( pop . 15 @,@ 000 ) , Aleppo ( pop . 14 @,@ 000 ) , and Jerusalem ( pop . 10 @,@ 000 ) . Smaller cities included Homs , Hama , Gaza , and Hebron . 
