all of greater Syria, the Egyptian territories, and the rest of the coastal lands, together with what he had seized at the Battle of Hattin and from Jerusalem (1)—and the city was crammed with it. The Sultan therefore resolved to attack the enemy (2). At daybreak he mounted with his army and saw that the Franks, positioned behind their trench, had mounted as well; their infantry had formed a wall around the cavalry, appearing like a solid block of iron through which nothing (3) could pierce. Aware that his troops would shrink from the assault he intended, he refrained, and they even taunted him about his bravery—may Allah have mercy on him.

Meanwhile the siege of the city tightened severely. Some of their infantry entered the moat, hung a badana (a wooden chamber) (4) against the wall, packed it with combustibles, and set it ablaze. The wall collapsed and the Franks poured into the city, but the Muslims resisted and fought with the utmost intensity, killing six of their leaders. Because of that, the Franks’ fury against the Muslims (5) rose sharply. Night then fell and separated the two sides.

When morning came, the Muslim commander inside the city, Sayf al-Din ʿAlī b. Aḥmad (6) b. al-Mashtūb, went out to meet the King of the Franks and asked him for safe-conduct for their lives, offering to hand the city over. The king refused (7) and said, “Now that the wall has fallen, you come asking for safety?” The emir Ibn al-Mashtūb answered him harshly and returned to the city in a condition (8) known only to Allah. When he told the townspeople what had transpired, they were struck with intense fear (9) and sent word to the Sultan informing him of the situation.

The Sultan replied that they must leave the city by sea without delay that very night and that no Muslim was to remain. Many of those inside, however, busied themselves collecting (10) their belongings and weapons, and so they postponed their departure (11) for that night. By morning the matter had reached the Franks through two young mamluks who had overheard the Sultan’s orders; they fled to their own people and informed them (12). The Franks thereupon placed a strict guard over the sea: no one in the city could make a move, and nothing at all could be taken out. [These two mamluks had been captives; the Sultan had seized them when they were children of the Franks] (13).

The Sultan determined to raid the enemy that very night, but the army would not agree with him.