in the Sanctuary. The Khwarazmian host then forded the Euphrates, ten thousand strong; wherever they passed they plundered everything in sight. As they advanced, the Franks fled before them from Jerusalem. They killed a number of Christians, demolished the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (1), and exhumed the bones of the dead. Robes of honour and funds reached them from Egypt. Shortly thereafter al-Manṣūr, lord of Ḥimṣ, marched against the Syrian princes, and the Franks came out to support him.

Al-Manṣūr later said, “That day I fell short, and I realised that we would never prevail through the Christians.” They closed for battle, and the Syrian forces were routed.

The army of the Sultan Najm al-Dīn now arrived under the command of Muʿīn al-Dīn ibn al-Shaykh, bringing with it a full treasury. They invested Damascus for some time, after which the city surrendered on a guarantee of safety—its ruler had too few men, and the Aleppans had deserted him. He therefore abandoned Damascus and withdrew to Baalbek. The Khwarazmians, emboldened, began to demand the larger stipends, but when their request was denied they grew angry, broke ranks, and swore allegiance to Ismāʿīl. A caliphal diploma then arrived appointing the Sultan ruler over Egypt, Syria, and the eastern provinces, whereupon he donned the black turban and robe.

Before long al-Ṣāliḥ Ismāʿīl wheeled back with the Khwarazmians toward Damascus and laid siege to it, though the city held no sizeable garrison. Rashīd the eunuch occupied the Citadel, while Ḥusām al-Dīn ibn Abī ʿAlī guarded the town. Famine there grew so severe that the people ate carrion; it was even said that a man who died in prison was eaten.

Grievous events followed. The Aleppans engaged the Khwarazmians, broke them, and slew many, while Ismāʿīl fled to Aleppo. The Sultan demanded his surrender from the city’s ruler, al-Malik al-Nāṣir Yūsuf, who exclaimed, “How can my father’s maternal uncle seek refuge with me!”

So he delivered him up. An army then moved out, seized Baalbek from Ismāʿīl’s sons, and sent them—together with Amīn al-Dawla the vizier and Ibn Yaghmūr—under guard to Egypt, where they were imprisoned. The lands were now secure for the Sultan, and the lord of al-Karak was left virtually besieged.

Thereupon the Sultan consented