Ascent To Power
He was born in Acre, the son of Badr al-Jamali, an Armenian who became Muslim. Badr was vizier for the Fatimids in Cairo from 1074 until his death in 1094, when al-Afdal succeeded him. Caliph Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah died soon afterwards, and al-Afdal appointed as caliph al-Musta'li, a child, instead of al-Mustali's much older brother Nizar. Nizar revolted and was defeated in 1095; his supporters, led by Hassan-i-Sabah, fled east, where Hassan established the Ismaili community, sometimes erroneously called the Hashshashin, or Assassins.
At this time Fatimid power in Palestine had been reduced by the arrival of the Seljuk Turks. In 1097 he captured Tyre from the Seljuks, and in 1098 he took Jerusalem, expelling its Ortoqid governor Ilghazi in place of a Fatimid. Al-Afdal restored most of Palestine to Fatimid control, at least temporarily.
Read more about this topic: Al-Afdal Shahanshah
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