In that same year:
• al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb ibn al-Kāmil, lord of Ḥiṣn Kayfā, enlisted the Khwarazmian troops who had remained from Jalāl al-Dīn’s army and had broken away from the Sultanate of Rūm; thus al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb’s position was greatly strengthened.
In this year as well:
• al-Ashraf Mūsā ibn al-ʿĀdil asked his brother al-Kāmil for the city of al-Raqqah, that it might serve as a strong base for him and provide fodder for his mounts whenever he crossed the Euphrates with his brother early in the campaigning season.
Al-Kāmil replied, “Is it not enough for him that he already possesses Damascus, the former realm of the Umayyads?”
al-Ashraf therefore sent the amir Falak al-Dīn (1) ibn al-Masīrī to press the matter with al-Kāmil, but the latter answered sharply, saying, “What does he want with kingship (2)? It is enough for him to consort with the songstresses and study their craft.”
al-Ashraf was angered by this (3), estrangement arose between the two brothers, and al-Ashraf dispatched envoys to Ḥamāh, Aleppo, and the eastern regions, forming an alliance with their rulers against al-Kāmil. Had al-Ashraf lived longer he would have undone his brother’s sovereignty, for many of the kings (4) inclined toward him on account of his generosity and courage, while al-Kāmil was known for his stinginess. However, (5) death overtook al-Ashraf at the beginning of the following year—may Allah Most High have mercy upon him.
Among the notable deaths this year were:
• al-Malik al-ʿAzīz (6) ibn al-Ẓāhir, lord of Aleppo—Muḥammad, son of Sultan al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Ghiyāth al-Dīn Ghāzī, grandson of al-Malik al-Nāṣir Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, the conqueror of Jerusalem. He, his father, and his son al-Nāṣir had ruled Aleppo since the days of al-Nāṣir. His mother was al-Khātūn, daughter of al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Abū Bakr ibn Ayyūb. Handsome in appearance, generous, and chaste, he died at the age of twenty-four. The affairs of his state were managed by the eunuch Shihāb al-Dīn—one of the amirs (7), may Allah Most High show him mercy. He was succeeded by his son al-Nāṣir Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf. Allah, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.
• The ruler of Rūm (8), Kayqubād—Sultan ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn, sovereign of the lands of Rūm.