# Shawar
**Shawar** (شاور) was the vizier of Fatimid Egypt and the central figure in the three-way struggle for Egypt among himself, King Amalric I of Jerusalem, and the Syrian general Shirkuh, uncle of Saladin.[1](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) • [3](https://www.historyatlas.com/events/the-war-between-amalric-and-nur-ad-din-has-gr/) He was restored by Nur al-Din's army in 1164 and was executed in Cairo on 18 January 1169 after Shirkuh's final victory.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf) • [6](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name and title | Shawar, vizier of Egypt[1](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) |
| Polity | Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, serving caliph al-Adid in his final years[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) |
| Restoration | Restored by Shirkuh's expedition sent by Nur al-Din in AH 559 (1163–1164)[5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf) • [6](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224) |
| Death | Executed in Cairo on 18 January 1169, with the caliph's official backing[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) |
| Known for | The three-way power struggle among Shawar, Amalric I of Jerusalem, and Shirkuh during the Crusades[2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) • [3](https://www.historyatlas.com/events/the-war-between-amalric-and-nur-ad-din-has-gr/) |
## Origins and family
Al-Dhahabi describes him as bold, courageous, a knight, and a capable leader of men.[1](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842)
## Career
**Deposition and appeal to Damascus.** Shawar's position weakened, and he fled to Damascus, where he persuaded Nur al-Din, the ruler of Syria, to send an army to restore him.[1](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842) • [6](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224) • [4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) For this help he offered Nur al-Din one-third of Egypt's revenues, fealty, and service under his command; the first expedition, in AH 559 (1163–1164), was led by Asad al-Din Shirkuh, who restored Shawar to his office.[5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf) • [6](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224) Shawar then broke the agreement, sending Shirkuh only 30,000 dinars, which Shirkuh refused; after fighting between the former allies a settlement left Shawar in the vizierate.[5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf)
**The Frankish alliance and the second campaign.** In AH 562 (1166–1167) Nur al-Din sent a second campaign under Shirkuh, who coveted rule of Egypt. According to a 2025 study in the Journal of Babylon College for the [Humanities](https://www.edgepedia.org/humanities), Shawar sought Frankish help against this danger; the Frankish commander marched along the coast to [Bilbeis](https://www.edgepedia.org/bilbeis), where Shawar met him with his army, while Shirkuh evaded the combined forces, crossed the Nile, moved to [Upper Egypt](https://www.edgepedia.org/upper-egypt), and raided Atfih.[5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf)
**Babain and Alexandria.** The armies met at the battle of Babain on 18 March 1167, a tactical draw in which Saladin commanded the Syrian center and carried out a feigned retreat that pulled Amalric away from the main battle.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [3](https://www.historyatlas.com/events/the-war-between-amalric-and-nur-ad-din-has-gr/)
## Political influence
Shawar's decisions reshaped Egypt's government and, ultimately, its dynasty. His appeal to Damascus brought Nur al-Din's armies into Egyptian politics, and his subsequent alliance with Amalric I made Egypt the battleground of Zengid and Crusader ambition from 1164 to 1169.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [5](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf) When Shirkuh entered Cairo in triumph on 9 January 1169, caliph al-Adid gave official backing to Shawar's removal and made Shirkuh vizier and commander of the Egyptian army, serving both Nur al-Din in Damascus and al-Adid in Cairo.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [7](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/) The vizierate thus passed from an Egyptian court figure to a Syrian general, the step that placed Saladin's family at the head of Egyptian government.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [7](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/)
## Death and successors
Shawar was executed on 18 January 1169.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) One account relates that Shawar, who acted his best to appear happy and unaffected, could not be trusted by Saladin and hence was killed.[7](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/) Shirkuh succeeded him as vizier but died on 23 March 1169, two months after taking the office.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [7](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/)
## Historians' assessment
Al-Dhahabi's verdict is that Shawar was bold, courageous, a knight, and a capable leader, qualities visible in his march across the oases to seize Cairo and in his survival between Syrian and Frankish armies for five years.[1](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842) The same tradition records the rupture with Shirkuh that followed his restoration, the pattern of shifting alliances that defines his career.[6](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224) Modern narrative accounts treat him as the third party in the race for Egypt, a vizier who alternately invited and resisted the two outside powers, and whose removal left Egypt open to Nur al-Din's command.[4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html) • [7](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/)
## Legacy
Shawar is remembered chiefly through the three-way struggle in which he figured, the contests that brought Saladin to prominence as Shirkuh's officer at Babain and [Alexandria](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandria).[2](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/) • [4](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html)
## References
1. [Siyar A'lam al-Nubala', vol. 20, p. 514 (al-Dhahabi) - entry for Shawar](https://shamela.ws/book/10906/12842)
2. [Shawar - History Atlas](https://www.historyatlas.com/people/shawar/)
3. [1167 CE: The war between Amalric and Nur ad-Din - History Atlas](https://www.historyatlas.com/events/the-war-between-amalric-and-nur-ad-din-has-gr/)
4. [Nur ad-Din's Wars in Egypt, 1164-1169 - History of War](https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_nur_ad_din_egypt.html)
5. [الحملات المصرية لنور الدين زنكي - مجلة كلية بابل للعلوم الإنسانية](https://becj-iq.org/journal/uploads/1848-1873.pdf)
6. [Siyar A'lam al-Nubala' (ed. al-Hadith), vol. 15, p. 224 - digital copy](https://lib.eshia.ir/40383/15/224)
7. [Zengids & the Crusaders Race for Egypt, 1163-1169 CE - World History Encyclopedia](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1487/zengids--the-crusaders-race-for-egypt-1163-1169-ce/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Other history › Middle East and North Africa › Crusades, Zengids, and Ayyubids (1097 to 1260) › Battles and military campaigns*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license