In late 1172, Aswan was besieged by former Fatimid soldiers from Nubia and the governor of the city, Kanz al-Dawla—a former Fatimid loyalist—requested reinforcements from Saladin who complied. The reinforcements had come after the Nubians had already departed Aswan, but Ayyubid forces led by Turan-Shah advanced and conquered northern Nubia after capturing the town of Ibrim.

From Ibrim, they raided the surrounding region, halting their operations after being presented with an armistice proposal from the Dongola-based Nubian king. Although Turan-Shah's initial response was hawkish, he later sent an envoy to Dongola, who upon returning, described the poverty of the city and of Nubia in general to Turan-Shah. Consequently, the Ayyubids, like their Fatimid predecessors, were discouraged from further southward expansion into Nubia due to the poverty of the region, but required Nubia to guarantee the protection of Aswan and Upper Egypt.

In 1174, Sharaf al-Din Qaraqush, a commander under al-Muzaffar Umar, conquered Tripoli from the Normans with an army of Turks and Bedouins. Subsequently, while some Ayyubid forces fought the Crusaders in the Levant, another of their armies, under Sharaf al-Din, wrested control of Kairouan from the Almohads in 1188.