Syria, and they reached al-Kharba (1). They laid siege to the Fortress of al-Tur, which al-Muʿaẓẓam had spent some time constructing, yet they could not take it and withdrew. Al-Muʿaẓẓam then arrived, conferred robes of honor upon its garrison, and he and his father agreed to demolish it. A force of 500 Franks seized Jizzīn, but its men fled into the mountains. They launched a night attack against the Franks, and slaughter raged until only three Franks escaped.

The Franks next hurried toward Egypt, which lay empty of troops. The populace stood on the brink of ruin, and al-ʿĀdil did not dare face them because of the few soldiers at his disposal, so he retreated.

When the year 615 AH began, the Franks invested Damietta. Al-Kāmil advanced to relieve it, and the siege lasted four months. During that time al-ʿĀdil died—delivered at last and at rest.

In that same year al-Ashraf defeated the ruler of Rum, then marched with the army of Aleppo to raid the Frankish coasts.

The Franks captured Damietta’s Chain Tower, the key that bars the way to Egypt: a massive tower standing in mid-Nile. Damietta lies opposite it, with Giza on the western bank. Two chains stretch from the tower across the Nile, one to Damietta’s wall and the other to Giza, preventing any vessel from the sea from entering the river. The Franks crossed back to the landward side of Damietta; the Muslim troops fled their tents, emboldening the enemy. Al-Kāmil then wheeled on them, crushed them, and they retreated into Damietta.

Kaykaus, the ruler of Rum—an arrogant oppressor—died.

Al-Qāhir Masʿūd, lord of Mosul, also died.

Khwarazm Shāh returned from the lands of Bukhara to Nīshāpūr after learning that the Tatars