Al-Kamil Becomes Sultan

Date: August 31, 1218 • Location: Cairo, Egypt

Al-Kamil became the fourth sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt.

Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad, titled Abu al-Maʽali, was an Egyptian ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Latin/Frankish crusaders as Meledin, a name by which he is usually referred to in older Western sources and often but less frequently continues to be. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded West Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.