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Historians tell us that  Shajarat Al-Dorr was superbly beautiful, white with a rich black mane, had a captivating voice, and that her very strong presence and personality was supported by equally strong logic and reasoning.

On that crucial day, she knew that the morale would collapse if news of her husband's death leaked out. Only a handful of the closest attendants knew of the sad event, carried the dead Sultan in the night to the Qala'a (citadel) of Cairo, and buried him secretly. For nearly three months his doctors continued as usual to enter his room every day with medicines, while official Decrees were taken in and then brought out carrying his seal.

Shajarat Al-Dorr did not wait for his son, Toran Shah, whom she summoned from Syria to take over. She re-organized the defenses, and in fact moved brilliantly to the offensive that resulted in encircling the invaders. By the time Toran Shah arrived, all was under complete control. He led the final attack which sealed the fate of the Seventh Crusade and captured its leader, King Louis IX.

"Shajarat Al- Dorr was strong in the face of death as she was in the face of trouble"

Toran Shah turned his attention immediately after that to getting rid of his stepmother, whom he never trusted. But his scheme against her was doomed because he underestimated the loyalty of the Memluki Princes and commanders who killed him, and surprisingly, selected Shajarat Al-Dorr to succeed him as the new Sultana. (Contrary to the belief that Shajarat Al-Dorr was the first and only Sultana in the history of Islam, another woman by the name of Radhiyatuddin, was crowned as the Sulana of Delhi, India, one decade before Shajarat Al-Dorr's rein. She remained in power for 4 years.)

But she could not last long on the throne in face of the severe opposition led by Chief Justice Al Ezz Bin Abdul Salam who issued a religious Fatwa stressing the Islamic concept that a woman is not entitled to become a ruler. The Caliph in Baghdad – despite the fact that he virtually had no power – sent a letter to the Memluki princes telling them "If there is no man amongst thou all, tell us to send you one".  The Fatwa stirred angry demonstrations against her, while a rebellion led by the Ayyubids broke out in Syria as news of the murder of Toran Shah reached them.

During her 80 days in power, Shajarat Al-Dorr proved to be very efficient and hard working. She had coins issued carrying her title as "Al Musta'simiya Al Salehiya (the strong believer), Queen of Moslems, Mother of King Khalil".

Although she had to abdicate under the multiple pressure, Shajarat Al-Dorr had her own plans. She selected the young commander of the arm, Prince Izzeddin Eibek, married him and convinced his comrades to elect him as a new Sultan. Eibek in fact was merely a toy in her hands. He was so eager to sit on the throne that he succumbed to her terms, abandoned his first wife, Umm Ali, and left all matters of the State to be run by his beautiful wife. Although many reports talk about how much they loved each other, their relation was described by the famous historian Ibn Taghri Bordi as "Eibek was completely under her spell and control. He had no power whatsoever…" In fact, Eibek served merely to legitimize the rule of the Memlukis.

After a little more than seven years, Eibek was finally fed up. He started scheming to rein his wife, left the palace and made it clear that he was planning to marry the daughter of Badruddin Lu'lu', the powerful wali of Mosul.

Obviously, Eibek was heavily relying on the support of his Memluki comrades, and never took into his consideration the reaction of a wounded female. When her messengers came beseeching him to visit her and to give her the chance to show him how repentant she was, he hurried to the palace where she showered him with love. Later in the day, as he was bathing, her maids broke into the bathroom, and beat him to death with their wooden clogs.

Shajarat Al-Dorr tried to convince everyone that her husband died after falling of his horse, but nobody believed that story. Umm Ali, the first wife of Eibek, who was waiting patiently for the right moment, paid Shajarat Al-Dorr's maids handsomely to repeat the same scenario with their mistress. When she realised the bitter fate awaiting her, Shajarat Al-Dorr hurried to her closet, got out her precious jewelry and smashed them with a mortar, to prevent her adversary from  using them

Her body, covered only by a flimsy slip was tossed over the wall of the qala"a. A few days later it was taken and buried in a place that remained unknown. 

Thus ended the life a woman who changed the course of history. Ibn Taghri Bordi, the Historian, described her as "religious, very attentive to the welfare of her subjects… had very strong presence…"  and added in his final eulogy: Shajarat Al-Dorr stands unique in Islam.

The first wife of Prince Izzeddin Eibek, Umm Ali, vowed to invite the whole population of Cairo to a meal of sweets on the same day she succeeds in eliminating her adversary, Shajarat Al-Dorr.

When Shajarat Al-Dorr was killed, she made sure the invitation reached every quarter of the city, and ordered the palace cooks to prepare the meal. Time was short, and thousands were expected to attend. She came with a simple recipe: huge amounts of bread were toasted, immersed in milk and honey and then covered with a generous layer of almonds and pistachio.

That delicious sweet, served today in the plushiest restaurants, gained its name from the woman who made it first, Umm Ali!