During this time, the Ayyubid sultan died, and a sudden power shift took place, as the sultan's wife Shajar al-Durr set events in motion which were to make her Queen, and eventually place the Egyptian army of the Mamluks in power.

* 1250 Shajar al-Durr ( al-Salih Ayyub's Widow de facto ruler of Egypt )

His wife Shajar al-Durr called a meeting of all the war generals and thus became commander-in-chief of the Egyptian forces.

Meanwhile, Ayyub died, but Shajar al-Durr and Ayyub's Bahri Mamluk generals, including Baibars and Aibek, countered the assault and inflicted heavy losses to the Crusaders.

Al-Mu ' azzam Turan-Shah alienated the Mamluks soon after their victory at Mansurah and constantly threatened them and Shajar al-Durr.

Aibek married Shajar al-Durr and subsequently took over the government in Egypt in the name of al-Ashraf II who was now the nominal sultan.

In December 1250, he attacked Egypt after hearing of al-Mu ' azzam Turan-Shah's death and the ascension of Shajar al-Durr.

His wife Shajar al-Durr, for example, managed the affairs of Egypt while he was in Syria.

In 1250, when the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub died, the Mamluks he had owned as slaves murdered his son and heir Turanshah, and Shajar al-Durr the widow of as-Salih became the Sultana of Egypt.

He is noted for his opposition to the rise of Shajar al-Durr to the Egyptian throne during the Seventh Crusade.

* 1250 Shajar al-Durr ( al-Salih Ayyub's Widow de facto ruler of Egypt )

In medieval Egypt, Shajar al-Durr, a former slave of Turkic origin, ascended the throne in 1250, thereby becoming the only Muslim woman to rule a country in North Africa and Western Asia.

Qutuz led the Mu ' izi Mamluks who arrested Aybak's widow Shajar al-Durr and installed al-Mansur Ali as the new Sultan of Egypt.

As-Salih's heir, al-Muazzam Turanshah, was far away in Hasankeyf, and his widow, Shajar al-Durr, hid his death until Turanshah arrived.

After the death of as-Salih Ayyub during the Frankish invasion of Damietta in 1249 and the tragic murder of his heir and son Turanshah in 1250, Shajar al-Durr, the widow of as-Salih Ayyub, with the help and support of the Mamluks of her late husband, seized the throne and became the Sultana of Egypt.

Feeling uneasy when the Syrian Emirs refused to pay homage to Shajar Addur and granted Damascus to an-Nasir Yusuf the Ayyubbid emir of Aleppo, Shajar al-Durr married Aybak then abdicated and passed the throne to Aybak after she ruled Egypt for 80 days.

Shajar al-Durr, who already had disputes with Aybak, felt betrayed by the man who she made a Sultan and had him murdered after he ruled Egypt seven years.

Before their deaths, Aybak and Shajar al-Durr firmly established the Mamluk dynasty that would ultimately repulse the Mongols, expel the European Crusaders from the Holy Land, and would remain the most powerful political force in the Middle East until the coming of the Ottomans.

Shajar al-Durr ( Arabic: شجر الدر, " Tree of Pearls ") ( Royal name: al-Malikah Ismat ad-Din Umm-Khalil Shajar al-Durr ( Arabic: الملكة عصمة الدين أم خليل شجر الدر ) ( nicknamed: أم خليل, Umm Khalil ; mother of Khalil ) ( d. 1257, Cairo ) was the widow of the Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub who played a crucial role after his death during the Seventh Crusade against Egypt ( 1249 – 1250 ).

Shajar al-Durr was purchased as a bondmaid by as-Salih Ayyub.

On April 1249, al-Salih Ayyub, the Ayyubid Sultan and husband of Shajar al-Durr who was gravely sick in Syria, returned to Egypt and stayed in Ashmum-Tanah, near Damietta after he heard that King Louis IX of France had assembled a crusade army in Cyprus and was about to launch an attack against Egypt.

Shajar al-Durr was informed at the Citadel of the Mountain in Cairo and she agreed.

Before he died, the Sultan signed thousands of blank papers which were used by Shajar al-Durr and Emir Fakhr ad-Din in issuing decrees and giving Sultanic orders and they succeeded in convincing the people and the other government officials that the Sultan was only ill — not dead.

Shajar al-Durr took the royal name " al-Malikah Ismat ad-Din Umm-Khalil Shajar al-Durr " with a few additional titles such as " Malikat al-Muslimin " ( Queen of the Muslims ) and " Walidat al-Malik al-Mansur Khalil Emir al-Mo ' aminin " ( Mother of al-Malik al-Mansur Khalil Emir of the faithfuls )

After paying homage to Shajar al-Durr and matters were settled, Emir Hossam ad-Din was sent to King Louis IX who was still imprisoned in Al Mansurah and it was agreed that Louis IX leaves Egypt alive after paying half of the ransom that was imposed earlier on him in exchange for his life and Damietta.

Then, Aybak, fearing the growing power of the Salihiyya Mamluks who actually with Shajar al-Durr installed him as a Sultan, had their leader Faris ad-Din Aktai murdered.

Badr ad-Din Lo ' alo ' a warned Aybak that Shajar al-Durr was in contact with an-Nasir Yusuf in Damascus.

Political pressure for a male leader made Shajar marry the mamluk commander Aybak ; he was later killed in his bath, and in the power struggle that ensued vice-regent Qutuz took over.

After the assassination of Turanshah the Mamluks and Emirs met at the Sultanic Dihliz and decided to install Shajar al-Durr as the new monarch with Izz al-Din Aybak as Atabeg ( commander in chief ).

When the Egyptian sultan As-Salih Ayyub died, the power passed briefly to his son Turanshah and then his favorite wife Shajar Al-Durr ( or Shajarat-ul-Dur ).

The tale which is a mix of fiction and facts reflects the marvel of the Egyptian commons for both Baibars and Shajar al-Durr.

Turanshah, knowing he would not have full sovereignty while Shajar al-Durr, the Mamluks and the old guards of his late father were there, detained a few officials and started to replace old officials, including the vice Sultan, with his followers who came with him from Hisnkifa then he sent a message to Shajar al-Durr while she was in Jerusalem warning her and requesting her to hand him the wealth and jewels of his late father.

He married Shajar al-Durr who abdicated and passed him the throne after she ruled Egypt as a Sultana for about three months.

Aybak became the sole and absolute ruler of Egypt after the Salihiyya Mamluks who were the supporters of Shajar al-Durr left Egypt and turned to his foes.

By 1257 disputes and suspicion became part of the relation between Aybak, a Sultan who was searching for security and supremacy, and his wife Shajar al-Durr, a former Sultana who had a strong will and managed and saved a country that was on edge of collapse during an external invasion.

Shajar al-Durr, feeling at risk and betrayed by Aybak, the man who she made a Sultan, had him murdered by servants while he was taking a bath.

Shajar al-Durr claimed that Aybak died suddenly during the night but his Mamluks ( Mu ' iziyya ) who were led by Qutuz did not believe her.

The Syrian Emirs were asked by Cairo to pay homage to Shajar al-Durr but they refused and the Sultan's deputy in Al Karak rebelled against Cairo.

Feeling relieved by the arrival of the new Sultan, Shajar al-Durr announced the death of as-Salih Ayyub.

Though the period of Shajar al-Durr's rule as a monarch was of short duration, it witnessed two important events in history: one, the expelling of Louis IX from Egypt which marked the end of the Crusaders ' ambition to conquer the southern Mediterranean basin and two, the death of the Ayyubid dynasty and the birth of the Mamluk state which dominated the southern Mediterranean for decades.

Shajar al-Durr was stripped and beaten to death with clogs by the bondmaids of al-Mansur Ali and his mother.