Az-Zahir Ghazi

Ghazi
Al-Malik az-Zahir
Coin of al-Zahir
Emir of Aleppo
Reign	4 March 1193–8 October 1216
Predecessor	Salah ad-Din Yusuf as Sultan of Egypt and Syria
Successor	Al-Aziz Muhammad
Born	1172
Died	8 October 1216
Consort	Dayfa Khatun
Issue	Al-Aziz Muhammad
Dynasty	Ayyubid
Father	Salah ad-Din Yusuf
Religion	Sunni Islam

Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern Syria and a small part of Mesopotamia.

In 1186, when az-Zahir was 15 years of age, his father appointed him governor of Aleppo, Mosul and supporting areas which had recently been taken from the Zengids. At the same time his two older brothers were appointed, respectively, as governor of Syria (al-Afdal) and Egypt (al-Aziz). The lands that az-Zahir received had been under the control of his uncle, Saladin's brother al-Adil, and al-Adil took an avuncular interest in az-Zahir. As the third son, when he inherited in 1193 he was to owe suzerainty to his eldest brother, al-Afdal, in Damascus. However, he failed to do so, and he conducted his affairs independently from his brothers.

In 1193, faced with the ongoing revolt of Zengid 'Izz al-Din in Mosul, he called upon his uncle, al-Adil, to provide the forces to suppress the revolt, which was quickly quelled. In 1194 az-Zahir received Latakia as part of a settlement in which he recognized al-Afdal's authority. However, by 1196 al-Afdal had proved himself incompetent as a ruler, and had lost the support of his uncle, al-Adil. Az-Zahir joined with his brother al-Aziz and uncle al-Adil in deposing and exiling al-Afdal. In October 1197, noting that Amalric of Lusignan had retaken the port at Beirut and that Bohemond III of Antioch was threatening the ports of Latakia and Jableh, az-Zahir destroyed the ports. Although Bohemond took the two locations, they were no longer advantageous, and he soon withdrew. At which point az-Zahir reoccupied them, and rebuilt the fortress at Latakia.