Al-Kamil

Al-Malik al-Kamil Nasir ad-Din Muhammad became the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt around 1177. During his reign he commanded the forces that defeated the Fifth Crusade, holding the line against the Frankish armies. A decade later, facing the Sixth Crusade, he took a different path: he negotiated, ceding West Jerusalem to the Christians in a settlement that avoided bloodshed. Somewhere in that span he sat down with Saint Francis. He died on 6 March 1238, having defended his dynasty by knowing when to fight and when to deal.