As-Salih Ayyub, before he became sultan, had…

As-Salih Ayyub, before he became sultan, had purchased Shajar al-Durr in the Levant as a bondmaid; of Turkic origin, she is described by contemporary historians as a beautiful, pious and intelligent woman.

She had in 1239 accompanied him with his Mamluk Baibars (not Baibars who would later become a Sultan) at Al Karak during his detention.

Later, when he became Sultan in 1240, she had gone with him to Egypt and delivered their son Khalil, who will later be called al-Malik al-Mansour.

Ayyub, who had been gravely ill in Syria, returns in April 1249 to Egypt and stays in Ashmum-Tanah, near Damietta, after he hears that King Louis IX of France has assembled a crusade army in Cyprus and is about to launch an attack against Egypt.