Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din

Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din
Emir of Damascus
Reign	1193 - 1196
Coronation	1193
Full name	Al-Afdal ibn Salah Al-Din ibn Najm al-din
Born	c. 1169
Birthplace	Damascus
Died	1196, Aged c.36
Place of death	Salkhad, Syria
Predecessor	Salah Al-Din
Successor	Al-Adil I
Dynasty	Ayyubid
Father	Salah Al-Din ibn Ayyubi

Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din (Arabic: الأفضل‎, "most superior"; c. 1169 - 1225) popularly known as Al-Afdal was one of seventeen sons of Saladin. He succeeded his father as the second emir of Damascus. He was the leader of the Ayyubids in the Battle of Cresson.

Biography

When Saladin died in 1193, al-Afdal inherited Damascus, but not the rest of his father's territories; Egypt was inherited by al-Aziz and Aleppo by az-Zahir. He was very attached to his uncle al-Adil, and sought his aid at various points when he was attacked by his own brother al-Aziz. In 1196, al-Aziz lost his patience as a result of al-Afdal's incompetent reign. He allied with their brother az-Zahir, who was also al-Afdal's enemy, and they both raided Damascus. Al-Afdal was later exiled to Salkhad, Hauran. There are no records of his death but it is supposed that he died there in exile in 1225.

Battle of Cresson

Main article: Battle of Cresson

In 1187, al-Afdal led Saladin's forces against Gerard of Ridefort, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, at the Battle of Cresson. Al-Afdal's troops consisted of about 7000 men. Gerard unexpectedly ran into al-Afdal's army on May 1, and in the subsequent battle, the Muslims feigned a retreat, a common tactic which should not have fooled Gerard; nevertheless, he ordered a charge, against the advice of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Roger des Moulins, and the knights were separated from the foot-soldiers. The Muslims easily repulsed a direct Christian attack, killing both the exhausted knights, and, later, the foot-soldiers.

Gerard survived but almost all the others were killed. However, according to the Itinerarium Peregrinorum, a history of the Third Crusade which followed the battle, Gerard did not rashly engage the enemy, but was actually caught unaware and was the victim of an attack himself.

References

• Husain, Shahnaz (1998). Muslim heroes of the Crusades. ISBN 1-897940-71-8. 

Regnal titles
Preceded by Saladin	Emir of Damascus 1186–1196	Succeeded by Al-Adil I