Background
His mother was Dayfa Khatun, the daughter of Saladin's brother al-Adil. Al-Aziz was aged just three when his father az-Zahir Ghazi died in 1216 at the age of forty-five. He immediately inherited his father’s position as ruler of Aleppo.
His mother was Dayfa Khatun, the daughter of Saladin's brother al-Adil. Al-Aziz was aged just three when his father az-Zahir Ghazi died in 1216 at the age of forty-five. He immediately inherited his father’s position as ruler of Aleppo.
A regency council was formed, which appointed Shihab ad-Din Toghril as his atabeg or guardian. Toghril was a mamluk of az-Zahir Ghazi and the effective ruler of Aleppo for the next fifteen years. Al-Aziz did not take actual control of power until the age of seventeen, at which point he retained Toghril as his treasurer.
Among the construction works begun by az-Zahir Ghazi and completed by al-Aziz Muhammad were the re-fortification of the citadel, and, within it, the building of the palace, the mosque, the arsenal and the water cisterns. Al-Aziz is known to have married Fatima Khatun, daughter of al-Kamil, who apparently shared his passion for building and commissioned the construction of two madrasas in Aleppo. Aleppo was the only emirate which stood aloof and contributed no troops.
However, in 1234, Al Aziz did furnish units which he contributed to another army led by al-Kamil which went out to invade Anatolia, probably heading for Malatya. Al-Aziz did not himself take part in the campaign, which in any case was driven back by the Seljuq forces of Sultan Ala ad-Din Kayqubad. Al-Aziz died on 26 November 1236 at the age of just twenty-three.
Al-Aziz’s daughter, Ghaziya Khatun, married the Seljuq Sultan of Rum, Kaykhusraw II.
In general, he avoided becoming drawn into the complex disputes between different members of the Ayyubid dynasty, and concentrated instead on strengthening the defenses and infrastructure of Aleppo.