Despite al-Afdal's and al-Bata'ihi's repeated military efforts against the Crusaders in Palestine, al-Amir's reign saw the progressive loss of the Fatimid coastal strongholds in the Levant apart from Ascalon.

Fatimid rule was restored with the succession of al-Amir's cousin al-Hafiz li-Din Allah in 1132, which led to the division of Musta'li Isma'ilism into the rival Hafizi and Tayyibi branches.

[1] The Fatimids largely fell back on the coastal city of Ascalon, which developed into a major fortress and outpost (ribat) of the holy war: for the next half-century it was to remain a centre for raids against the Crusader territories, and a guard of the route from Palestine into Egypt.

[8] Medieval Muslim historians often blame al-Amir for these disasters, but in reality he played no role in the Fatimid government during those years;[5] the caliph was confined to the palace and public ceremonies, while al-Afdal ruled almost as a sultan via his own secretaries, first Mukhtar Taj al-Ma'ali and then al-Qa'id al-Bata'ihi.

[5][12] The deed was officially blamed on Nizari agents,[a][1][13] but both medieval historians[b] and modern scholars are skeptical: given his own resentment at the subordinate figurehead role to which al-Afdal had relegated him, al-Amir is suspected of having been the true instigator of the assassination.

[5][17] During their long rule over Egypt as quasi-sultans, al-Afdal and his father, Badr al-Jamali, had accumulated an enormous treasure,[17] "the extent of which no one knew apart from God", according to the 13th-century encyclopaedist Ibn Khallikan.

[5] As historian Michael Brett writes, "The relationship itself was one of alliance, in which the minister was entrusted as before with the responsibilities of government, in return for bringing the monarch out from his seclusion into the public eye".

[5] The changed balance of power was apparent to al-Bata'ihi, who sought to secure his position by extracting a written pledge from al-Amir to communicate any denunciations or accusations directly to him.

[22] In the aftermath of the assassination of al-Afdal, the threat of the Nizaris, who were implacably hostile to the rule of al-Amir and his father, was a major concern of the government, in view of the widespread network of agents they had established.

[5][23] Reports received in Cairo claimed that the chief Nizari leader, Hasan-i Sabbah, celebrated al-Afdal's murder and awaited the same fate for al-Amir and al-Bata'ihi.

With Tyre now again cut off and in danger of falling to the Crusaders, the Fatimids had to accept renewed Turkish control; left unsupported, the city capitulated to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1124.

[5] Al-Amir also paid attention to courting the remaining pro-Fatimid, Musta'li Isma'ili communities abroad, especially in Yemen, led by the Sulayhid queen Arwa.

This allowed Ibn Najib al-Dawla to pursue his own policies regardless of Queen Arwa, but he was heavily defeated while attempting to capture Zabid in 1124, with most of his Fatimid-supplied troops perishing.

His independent activities and arrogant manner met with suspicion and then resistance from the Yemeni chieftains, who began to conspire against him and warned Cairo that he was engaged in Nizari propaganda; fake coins with the name of Nizar ibn al-Mustansir were even produced for the purpose.

[5][36][37] Having ignored the matter for so long, al-Amir's own reputation was left tarnished from the affair, as well as from his extravagance and profligacy: it is said that the palace consumed 5,000 sheep per month, and the rich gifts he made to his favourites were remarked upon.

[5] The caliph saw himself obliged to make public gestures of contrition by freeing slaves, giving alms, and, on the advice of his jurists, extending the Ramadan fast by two months.

[41][42][43] Al-Amir's murder not only undid his attempts to once again concentrate power in the caliph's hands instead of over-mighty generals and ministers, but also, given the fragility of succession, endangered the very survival of the Fatimid dynasty.

[50][51][52] With no other heir available, Abd al-Majid took over as imam and caliph with the regnal name al-Hafiz li-Din Allah in January 1132, proclaiming that he had secretly received the designation by al-Amir before he had died.