Shāwar now intensified his oppression and indiscriminate confiscations, until the people actually wished that Shīrkūh might rule over them. Shīrkūh therefore set out once more from Syria. Shāwar—may Allah never grant him safety—thereupon appealed to the Frankish king Amaury, who hastened over with a massive host.

Shīrkūh crossed into the Upper Egyptian region, then encamped on the Giza plain, while the Franks encamped opposite him in Fusṭāṭ. Shāwar pledged to the Franks 400,000 dinars in cash and provisions.

Shīrkūh afterward marched southward, and Shāwar with the Franks followed in pursuit, gathering for the Franks abundant plunder. They returned heavily laden and made camp again at Giza, whereupon Shīrkūh wheeled about and reached Alexandria. The Franks trailed him, but the townspeople opened their gates to Shīrkūh and welcomed him gladly. He left his nephew Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn there as his deputy and then turned toward Fayyūm. His troops plundered the villages and committed injustices, while he himself exacted heavy levies from the people of Upper Egypt, going to extremes.

Meanwhile Shāwar and the Byzantines laid siege to Alexandria, with Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn inside the city, and the fighting became fierce. Shīrkūh then entered Egypt; envoys shuttled back and forth seeking a truce, and the Byzantines withdrew to their own realms. Soon after, the tyrant Amaury advanced again at the head of his armies, treacherously breaking his pledge. Shāwar dug a defensive trench around Egypt, and the crisis deepened. The Byzantines overran Bilbays, killing and taking captives; Egyptians fled on swift steeds and slow mounts alike; the houses of Egypt were burned, sanctities were violated, devastation spread everywhere, and the calamity endured for months under the tyrant’s siege.

The Egyptians sued for an armistice, but the dog demanded conditions that could not be met. The caliph al-ʿĀdid and the palace elite therefore resolved to implore Nūr al-Dīn for help. Shīrkūh charged back with his army, and the enemy retreated to the coast, carrying off 12,000 captives.

When Shīrkūh entered Egypt, Shāwar had no choice but to go out to him, disclaiming responsibility and offering apologies. Shīrkūh pardoned him and accepted the excuse. Robes of honor were bestowed upon them both, though mutual suspicion lingered, and each kept his guard up against the other.

In time Shāwar conceived the idea of inviting Shīrkūh to a banquet. He rode out to him, but Shīrkūh sensed the plot, drew up his troops, seized Shāwar as a prisoner, and Shāwar’s forces broke and fled. Shāwar was killed; his sons and supporters were captured, tortured, and then beheaded. Shīrkūh held authority for fifty-eight days before dying at al-Khwāniq. And it was also said: