alongside Iqbāl and the vizier al-Jamāl al-Qifṭī, while every affair was in reality dependent on al-Ṣāḥiba.
The judge of Aleppo, Zayn al-Dīn Ibn al-Ustād, was dispatched as an envoy to al-Kāmil, taking with him al-ʿAzīz’s weapons and equipment; al-Kāmil was grieved by this.

In 648 AH, in the month of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, the sultan marched on Damascus; the city opened its gates to him, he took possession of it and made it the seat of his rule. He then hastened to seize Egypt but was defeated, and his deputy Luʾluʾ was killed.

In 652 AH he wed the daughter of the ruler of Rūm, and she bore him children.

He was generous and much praised, of pleasant manners, fond of jest and play, exceedingly patient, and a lover of literature and learning. Yet during his reign laxity and moral slackness spread because he lacked firmness. He used to set out a dazzling banquet of stuffed poultry, and four hundred head were slaughtered for him every day. The palace attendants would then sell off large, fine bowls filled with the remaining delicacies, so much so that, when al-Nāṣir once visited al-ʿIzz al-Muṭarriz and the latter laid before him sumptuous dishes, al-Nāṣir marveled at how he had procured them. Al-ʿIzz said, “My lord, do not be surprised; it is all from what is left over from the Sultan’s banquet—may Allah aid him.”

The Sultan had memorized a wealth of anecdotes and poetry and would converse freely with his companions. It is said that a single banquet might cost him twenty thousand.

He founded his own madrasa in Damascus and attended its inaugural lesson; he also built the Great Ribat and the Khān al-Taʿm (public refectory).

When the Mongols advanced, he withdrew to Qaṭiyā; then, fearing the Egyptians, he went eastward into the desert, returned to the Balqāʾ, and there the Mongols surprised him, so he fled. He was then deceived by their offer of safe-conduct, went to them, regretted it, and remained—together with his brother al-Malik al-Ẓāhir—in humiliation and exile.

It is also said that when they closed in upon him he entered the wilderness; they pressed him until he was parched with thirst, so he surrendered himself. He was taken to Kitbughā, who was besieging ʿAjlūn; Kitbughā promised him safety and then broke his word.