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An-Nasir Yusuf (; AD 1228–1260), fully al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Al-Aziz Muhammad ibn Az-Zahir Ghazi ibn Saladin ibn Ayyub ibn Shazy (الملك الناصر صلاح الدين يوسف بن الظاهر بن العزيز بن صلاح الدين يوسف بن أيوب بن شاذى), was the Ayyubids Kurds Emir of Syria from his seat in Aleppo (1236–1260), and the Sultan of the Ayyubid Empire from 1250 until the sack of Aleppo by the Mongolian Empire in 1260.
Alarmed by these developments, the Mamluk leaders in Egypt decided to replace Shajar al Durr with the Atabek (commander in chief) Aybak. In October 1250, An-Nasir Yusuf sent forces to Gaza City to conquer Egypt and overthrow Aybak, but Egyptian forces led by Faris ad-Din Aktai defeated them.
In January 1251, an-Nasir Yusuf led another army to Egypt and clashed with Aybak's army, whose vanguard was led by Qutuz, in a significant battle that led to Yusuf's defeat. He fled back to Damascus, though some of his soldiers who could reach Cairo spread the initial impression inside Egypt that Yusuf had won the battle. Later when the news of Aybak's ultimate victory arrived, the soldiers and their commanders were arrested, and Aybak sent back the soldiers, some 3,000 in number, to Damascus on the backs of donkeys.al-Maqrizi
In 1253, through mediation of some Emirs, an accord was reached between an-Nasir Yusuf and Aybak which gave the Egyptians control over Gaza City, Jerusalem, Nablus, and the coastline of Bilad al-Sham.
In 1254, another power shift occurred in Egypt, as Aybak killed Faris ad-Din Aktai, the leader of the Bahri Mamluks. Some of his Mamluks, among them Baibars and Qalawun, fled to an-Nasir Yusuf in Syria, persuading him to break the accord and invade Egypt. Aybak wrote to an-Nassir Yusuf warning him of the danger of these Mamluks who took refuge in Syria, and agreed to grant him their territorial domains on the coast, but an-Nasir Yusuf refused to expel them and instead returned to them the domains which Aybak had granted.
In 1255, an-Nasir Yusuf sent new forces to the Egyptian border, this time with many of Aktai's Mamluks, among them Baibars al-Bunduqdari, and Qalawun al-Alfi, but he was defeated again.
The Egyptian ruler Aybak was murdered in 1257 and his young son al-Mansur Ali, only 15 years old, became the new sultan, with Qutuz as vice-sultan. The following year (1258) the Mongols led by Hulagu sacked Baghdad.
Baibars al-Bunduqdari argued that an-Nasir Yusuf should mobilize his army and make preparations to fight the Mongols who were marching towards Syria. But instead, Yusuf sent his son al-Malik al-Aziz with a present to Hulagu, requesting Hulagu's assistance in invading Egypt. Hulagu's reply, however, was simply a warning that Yusuf should rapidly submit to Mongol authority. This answer frightened an-Nasir Yusuf, who at once sent a message to Egypt, requesting help. Saif ad-Din Qutuz, the vice-Sultan of Egypt decided to confront the Mongols. Arguing that Egypt could not face the approaching danger while ruled by a young boy, Qutuz proclaimed himself Sultan, and began to raise a large army, though he assured an-Nasir Yusuf that his action was only a temporarily measure till the danger of the Mongols was overcome.
As the Mongols marched toward Aleppo, some of an-Nasir Yusuf's advisors recommended surrendering to Hulagu as the best solution. This angered Baibars and his Mamluks who attempted to assassinate an-Nasir Yusuf, but he escaped and fled with his brother to the castle of Damascus, also sending his wife, son, and money to Egypt. Many of the citizens of Damascus also fled to Egypt.
Damascus fell to the hands of the Mongols, under general Kitbuqa, 16 days after the sack of Aleppo. The Emirs of Damascus surrendered without resistance.
After the capture of Damascus, some of the Mongol troops raided Palestine, and fought with an-Nasir's troops in the olive groves of Nablus, defeating the entire force.
Once arriving at the border with Egypt, some Emirs of an-Nasir Yusuf abandoned him and joined Qutuz. An-Nasir Yusuf, his son al-Aziz, and his brother al-Zahir were abducted in Gaza by one of his servants and were sent to Hulagu,In another account, an-Nasir went to Kitbuga who arrested him and sent him to Hulagu. An-Nasir and his brother were executed, after Hulagu heard the news of the defeat of the Mongol army at Ain Jalut by an Egyptian army led by Qutuz on September 3, 1260.
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