This sultan seized the crown after his two previous attempts were foiled by officers and emirs. After gaining power, he dismissed all those who had suspected him of disloyalty and imposed a regime of accusations, suspicion, and slander. Because of his humiliating experiences before his rise to power, he had a burning desire to show the Muslim world that he was a mighty ruler. He squandered his wealth and was extravagant, purchased luxuries, held processions, and spent huge sums on construction and renovation. Many building enterprises in Jerusalem have been attributed to him, including: repairing the southern city wall, regilding the Dome of the Rock and the el-Aqsa Mosque, building a pillared portico along the western wall of the Temple Mount, renovating the Citadel, and continuing the construction of the aqueduct running from Solomon's Pools to Jerusalem. |
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