Al-Malik Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salah Ad-Din Yusuf (1171 – 29 November 1198) was the second

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally i ...

. He was the second son of Saladin. Before his death, Saladin had divided his dominions amongst his kin: Al-Afdal received

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, al-Aziz was made ruler of Egypt, Al-Zahir received Aleppo, Al-Adil I received

Karak Karak may refer to: Places * Al-Karak or Kerak, city and Crusader castle in Jordan ** Karak Governorate, Jordan * al-Karak, Syria, city in Syria's Daraa Governorate * Karak Nuh, village in the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon * Karak, Iran (disambiguation) ...

and Shawbak, and Turan-Shah retained Yemen. However, conflict soon broke out between them with Al-Adil becoming the undisputed ruler of Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Yemen. Despite Al-Aziz having specifically inherited suzerainty over the whole Ayyubid empire, soon he had to face revolts by the Zengid emirs of Mosul and by the Artuqids in southern Iraq. When Al-Afdal expelled all the ministers left by his father to support him, they came to Egypt, asking Al-Aziz to reconquer Syria. In 1194, Al-Aziz besieged

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. Al-Afdal asked for help from Saladin's brother, Al-Adil I, who met Al-Aziz and managed to bring about a reconciliation. The following year Al-Aziz again attacked Syria, but Al-Afdal was able to persuade some of the Emirs of Al-Aziz's army to desert. Later Al-Adil allied with al-Aziz against Al-Afdal, who was besieged and captured in Damascus on 3 July 1196. Al-Afdal was exiled to Salkhad, while Al-Aziz was proclaimed supreme overlord of the Ayyubid Empire. However, most of the effective power was in the hands of Al-Adil I, who installed himself in Damascus. During his reign, Al-Aziz tried to demolish the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, but had to give up because the task was too big. However, he did succeed in damaging Menkaure's Pyramid. Al-Aziz also played an important role in the history of the building enterprises and construction at Banias and Subaybah. He died in a hunting accident in late 1198. He was interred in the tomb of his elder brother Al-Mu'azzam.Humphreys, R. Stephen. ''From Saladin to the Mongols: the Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260''. Albany: State University of New York, 1977. Print.

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