Early life Al-Afdal was one of the Ayyubid commanders at the
Battle of Arsuf, when Saladin was defeated by
Richard I of England and the forces of the
Third Crusade. When Saladin died in 1193, al-Afdal inherited
Damascus, but not the rest of his father's territories;
Egypt was claimed by his brother
al-Aziz, where he was already installed as governor, and
Aleppo by another brother
az-Zahir. As his father was dying, al Afdal summoned all the emirs then at Damascus to swear allegiance to him. Al-Afdal was in theory the head of the Ayyubid dynasty, but he was not able to exert any level of authority over his siblings, and soon proved that he had little ability as a ruler.
Conflict within the Ayyubid dynasty and ultimate loss of power In May 1194 al-Afdal was attacked by his brother, al-Aziz, in his capital Damascus. The uncle of both,
al-Adil (Saphadin), marched down from the Jezira and brokered a peace. This was broken within a year and al-Aziz again marched on Damascus, but was driven back to Egypt by al-Afdal. By 1196, al-Adil had lost patience with al-Afdal's incompetence and allied himself with al-Aziz. Al-Adil then annexed Damascus, allowing al-Afdal to retire to the town of
Salkhad, in the
Hauran. In November 1198 al-Aziz died from the effects of falling from a horse while hunting. Fearing the ambition of al-Adil, the emirs of Egypt called al-Afdal from retirement to be regent of Egypt for al-Aziz's young son. In 1199 he allied with his brother az-Zahir of Aleppo, who was also al-Adil's enemy, and they besieged their uncle in Damascus. Al-Adil, skilfully played his nephews off against each other, and suborned the vassals of both from their allegiance. The arrival of
al-Khamil, al-Adil's son, at Damascus with reinforcements and continuing quarrels led to the ending of the siege in December 1199. Al-Afdal retreated to Egypt, but his uncle pursued him and defeated his army at
Bilbeis. Fleeing to Cairo, al-Afdal sued for peace on any terms he could get from al-Adil; stripped of Egypt, he was promised the cities of
Samosata and
Mayyafaraqin. On the 17th of February 1200 al-Adil proclaimed himself 'sultan'. Al-Afdal was refused control of Mayyafaraqin by another of al-Adil's sons,
al-Auhad. Al-Afdal once again allied with az-Zahir and the brothers once more besieged Damascus. However, dissension again broke out between the brothers, with al-Afdal eventually losing the will to continue fighting. Al-Adil confirmed al-Afdal's rule over Samosata, Saruj and a number of other towns. Az-Zahir admitted his uncle's suzerainty in the Spring of 1202, and al-Adil had succeeded in exerting his authority over all the Ayyubid dominions.
Last attempt at regaining power In 1218, following the death of az-Zahir, al-Afdal interrupted his seclusion at Samosata to make his last bid for power. He allied himself with
Kaykaus I the
Seljuk Sultan, with the intention of taking the city of Aleppo. True to form, after taking two towns he soon quarrelled with his ally and took no further part in the fighting, Kaykaus being subsequently defeated. Al Afdal died in 1225. ==References==