Al-Mansur Nasir al-Din Muhammad

Al-Mansur Nasir al-Din Muhammad (Arabic: المنصور ناصر الدين محمد بن العزيز‎‎; 1189 – after 1216) was the third Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, reigning in 1198–1200.

Biography

The grandson of the Ayyubid dynasty's founder, Saladin, al-Mansur succeeded his father al-Aziz Uthman on the latter's death in 1198, at the age of twelve.^[1] A struggle subsequently ensued between different military factions as to who should serve as his atabeg al-asakir or commander in chief, and effective regent. One faction, the Salahiyya or mamluks of Saladin, wanted Saladin's brother al-Adil to take on this role, as he was viewed as able and experienced. The other faction, the Asadiyya mamluks of Saladin's uncle Asad ad-Din Shirkuh favored Saladin's eldest son, al-Afdal.^[2]

In the struggle which followed al-Afdal had the initial advantage of being based in Egypt, while al-Adil was in Syria. Al-Afdal was duly proclaimed atabeg. War broke out between them and al-Afdal attacked Damascus, but he soon lost the advantage and in February 1200 (Rabi' II 596), al-Adil entered Cairo. Within days he had removed the name of al-Mansur in the Friday prayer khutbah and replaced it with his own, thereby deposing al-Mansur.^[3]

After his deposition al-Mansur was exiled to Aleppo in Syria. There, he lived in the court of his uncle, Emir az-Zahir Ghazi, who, in 1216, placed him in the line of succession for the emirate should his own sons predecease him. Nothing further is known of al-Mansur.

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