Baha al-Din Qaraqush, regent of Egypt and builder of the Cairo Citadel

Baha al-Din Qaraqush al-Asadi al-Rumi al-Maliki al-Nasiri was a eunuch military commander in the service of Saladin. He served as palace chamberlain and gaoler of the deposed Fatimid dynasty, and undertook for his master the construction of the Citadel of Cairo and the fortification of Acre. After Saladin's death, he served as regent of Egypt for the Ayyubid sultans al-Aziz Uthman and al-Mansur, until he was forced to retire. He died in 1201. Although highly esteemed by contemporaries and historians, his posthumous reputation derives chiefly from a satirical pamphlet by a political opponent that lampoons him as a stupid and tyrannical monarch.

April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 268 days remain until the end of the year.