User:Kansas Bear/el Melek ez-Zahir

el Melek ez-Zahir, (b. Apr. 1173 - 4 Oct. 1216), al-Mushammer, Lord of Aleppo, third son of Saladin. In 1183, he was made regent of Aleppo until Saladin restructured his empire in Dec. 1183 and Aleppo was given to his uncle, al-Adil. He was reported as studious, soft spoken man that loved poetry. Following another restructuring ez-Zahir was given Aleppo in Sept. 1186. During Saladin's campaigns against the Crusader states, ez-Zahir proved himself an energetic and capable warrior.

Dynastic struggles
On the death of his father, Saladin, ez-Zahir controlled the principality of Aleppo. In 1193, he supported his uncle, al-Adil, who was suppressing a rebellion in Djazira. He initially sided with al-Adil in the civil war for the Ayyubid Empire against his brother al-Aziz Uthman, sultan of Egypt, but in 1195 he sided with Uthman. Later, Ez-Zahir again switched sides and joined al-Afddal while al-Adil joined Uthman. As a result, Al-Aziz Uthman was recognized as sultan of Egypt with al-Afdal in possession of Damascus and ez-Zahir in Aleppo.

Following his brother Uthman's death during a hunt, a three year struggle ensued for the Ayyubid kingdom. Ez-Zahir supported al-Afdal as regent for Uthman's son, al-Mansur Muhammad. However, al-Afdal gained the title of sultan, but a combined siege of Damascus against al-Adil, consisting of al-Afdal and ez-Zahir's forces proved futile. Ez-Zahir feeling pressured acknowledged al-Adil's suzerainty.

Family
Married Dayfa Khatun, al-Adil's daughter, in 1212. They had one son, al-Aziz Muhammad in 1213.

Domestic issues
Ez-Zahir initiated a series of building projects consisting of fortifications, religious institutions and waterworks. Scholars fled Egypt to his court in Aleppo, namely; Ibn al-Kifti and Ibn Mammati. Ibn al-Adim wrote a treatise on ez-Zahir to commemorate the birth of his son, al-Aziz Muhammad.

The fall of Antioch to Leo II, king of Armenia in 1216, brought ez-Zahir into contact with the Rum Seljuks. Later in the year 1216, Ez-Zahir died from a severe illness.