The Nāṣirī Generations 111: VI. MALIK-UL-AFZAL, ’ALI, SON OF SALAH-UD-DIN, YUSUF, SON OF AIYUB, AL-KURDI.

111

Malik-ul-Afzal, 'Ali, was the heir of Sultan Salah-ud-Din, Yusuf; and on the death of the Sultan he ascended the throne of the territories of Damashk and Sham.
All presented themselves before him, and paid him homage, and submitted to him, with the exception of Malik-ul-'Aziz, his brother, who was ruler of Misr. He led an army into Sham in order to claim the sovereignty from 'Aziz; and Malik-ul-'Adil, Abu-Bikr, son of Aiyub, the brother of [the late] Salah-ud-Din, and who held the territory of Diyar-i-Bakr, took part with [his nephew] Malik-ul-'Aziz. They invested Malik-ul-Afzal within the walls of Damashk, and for a considerable time contention continued between them. At length it was agreed that Damashk should be given up to Malik-ul-'Aziz, and peace was effected. The territory of “Sar-hadd” which is a tract of country in Sham, was assigned to Malik-ul-Afzal.
He was a learned and very enlightened man, and composed beautiful poetry. The situation in which he was [now] placed, together with the condition of his brother, who was named 'Usman [Malik-ul-'Aziz], and their uncle, Abu-Bikr [Malik-ul-'Adil], he depicted in the two following couplets, and sent them to the Court of Baghdad, to the Khalifah, Un-Nasir-ud-Din-Ullah; for the office of Khalifah had fallen to Imam, Un-Nasir. The two couplets are as follows:—
“My lord! Abu-Bikr and his companion, ’Usman, Have, by the sword, deprived ’Ali of his right. Remark the fatality of the name; how it suffers, from the last, The same wrong as from the first [generation] it endured.”
After some time expired, Malik-ul-'Aziz died, and Malik-ul-Afzal was entreated to come into Misr. He proceeded thither, and from thence he brought an army into Sham. Malik-ul-'Aziz had made over Sham to his uncle, Malik-ul-'Adil, and he and Malik-ul-Afzal came to a battle, and the latter was defeated. At length, however, Malik-ul-Afzal chanced to have a meeting with his uncle, who gave him Samisat. He remained there for a long time, and he died.