 When Uthman died in a hunting accident near Cairo , al @-@ Afdal was again made sultan ( although Uthman 's son al @-@ Mansur was the nominal ruler of Egypt ) , al @-@ Adil having been absent in a campaign in the northeast . Al @-@ Adil returned and managed to occupy the Citadel of Damascus , but then faced a strong assault from the combined forces of al @-@ Afdal and his brother az @-@ Zahir of Aleppo . These forces disintegrated under al @-@ Afdal 's leadership and in 1200 , al @-@ Adil resumed his offensive . Upon Uthman 's death , two clans of mamluks ( slave soldiers ) entered into conflict . They were the <unk> and <unk> , both of which Shirkuh and Saladin had purchased . The <unk> backed al @-@ Adil in his struggles against al @-@ Afdal . With their support , al @-@ Adil conquered Cairo in 1200 , and forced al @-@ Afdal to accept internal banishment . He proclaimed himself Sultan of Egypt and Syria afterward and entrusted the governance of Damascus to al @-@ Mu 'azzam and al @-@ Jazira to his other son al @-@ Kamil . Also around 1200 , a sharif ( tribal head related to the Islamic prophet Muhammad ) , Qatada ibn Idris , seized power in Mecca and was recognized as the emir of the city by al @-@ Adil . 
