He was openly given to scheming, frivolity, and overbearing tyranny⦗1⦘.

He inherited the throne while still a child. When he grew older he murdered al-Afḍal, the Commander of the Armies, and appropriated his wealth, which defied calculation and became proverbial for its vastness. He then installed al-Maʾmūn Muḥammad ibn Mukhtār al-Baṭāʾiḥī as vizier⦗2⦘. The latter oppressed the populace and rebelled, so after four years al-Āmir eliminated him, crucified him, and executed five of his brothers along with him⦗3⦘.

During his reign the Franks seized Tripoli in Syria and Sidon⦗4⦘. Afterwards the Frankish king Baldwin advanced toward Egypt, captured al-Farama—near al-ʿArīsh— and set fire to its great mosque and other mosques. He killed and took captives, though some maintain that al-Farama lies west of Qaṭyā⦗5⦘. Baldwin then withdrew but perished in the Bardawīl marsh⦗6⦘; his body was split open, his entrails were cast away⦗7⦘ and preserved, and to this day people pelt those entrails with stones at that spot. He was buried on a refuse heap. Before this campaign he had already taken Jerusalem, Acre, and several fortresses⦗8⦘.

In the same period Ibn Tūmart emerged in the Maghrib⦗9⦘; his followers grew numerous, formed an army, fought, and came to rule the land.