 After al @-@ Adil I seized the throne in Cairo and with it the sultanate of the Ayyubid oligarchy , the period of rivalry between Damascus and Cairo to become capital of the Ayyubid empire commenced . Under al @-@ Adil and al @-@ Kamil , Damascus continued as an autonomous province whose ruler reserved the right to designate his own heir , but during as @-@ Salih Ayyub 's rule , military campaigns against Syria reduced Damascus to a vassal of Cairo . In addition , Ayyub established new rules both in administration and government in order to centralize his regime ; he conferred the most prominent positions of the state to his close confidants , instead of his Ayyubid relatives . His wife Shajar al @-@ Durr , for example , managed the affairs of Egypt while he was in Syria . Ayyub officially delegated his authority to his dead son Khalil and made al @-@ Durr act formally on Khalil 's behalf . 
