Pro-Fatimid conspiracy against Saladin

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Saladin
Family Father and uncle Najm ad-Din Ayyub Shirkuh Siblings Al-Adil Turan-Shah Tughtakin Wife Ismat ad-Din Khatun Children Al-Aziz Uthman Al-Zahir Ghazi Al-Afdal
Life Service under Nur al-Din Battle of al-Babein Siege of Alexandria Taking power in Egypt Battle of the Blacks Conspiracy of 1174 Battle of the Horns of Hama Wars with the Crusaders Battle of Montgisard Battle of Marj Ayyun Siege of Jacob's Ford Battle of Belvoir Castle Battle of al-Fule Siege of Kerak Battle of Hattin Capture of Jerusalem Siege of Tyre Siege of Safed Siege of Acre Battle of Arsuf Battle of Jaffa
People Al-Adid Ali ibn al-Athir Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad Baha al-Din Qaraqush Ibn al-Tuwayr Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani Qadi al-Fadil Sharaf al-Din Qaraqush Husam al-Din Abu'l-Hayja
Legacy Cairo Citadel Cultural depictions Eagle of Saladin Mausoleum
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In 1173–1174, a conspiracy took place in Cairo in favour of restoring the Isma'ili Shi'a Fatimid Caliphate, which had been abolished in 1171 by Saladin, the first Ayyubid ruler of Egypt. The conspiracy, which is known only from sources favourable to Saladin, was led by elites of the fallen Fatimid regime, and aimed to seize control over Cairo by taking advantage of Saladin's absence from the city on campaign. To this end, they are alleged to have contacted the Crusaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, inviting them to invade Egypt in order to lure Saladin away. The conspirators are also said to have contacted the Nizari Isma'ili Order of Assassins to assassinate Saladin. The veracity of these claims is disputed by modern historians, who consider them inventions aimed to discredit the conspirators. In the event, the conspiracy was betrayed to Saladin, although the sources differ on how exactly. Some even hold that the conspiracy was precipitated by Saladin as a political purge, or as a means of demonstrating to his increasingly hostile nominal master, the emir of Aleppo and Damascus, Nur al-Din Zengi, that Egypt was still unruly and that Saladin was indispensable to keep the opposition in check. The Ayyubid ruler struck on 31 March 1174 and arrested the ringleaders, among them the celebrated poet Umara al-Yamani. The chief conspirators were executed at the Bayn al-Qasrayn square from 6 April until 23 May, while others were exiled. A pro-Fatimid revolt in Upper Egypt followed, but was suppressed in September by Saladin's brother, al-Adil.