While the Sultan was still encamped before the Castle of the Kurds, word reached him that the ruler of the island of Cyprus had sailed with his army to Acre to assist its people, fearing the Sultan’s advance. The Sultan resolved to seize the moment, so he sent a large force aboard seventeen (1) shinīs to capture Cyprus in its lord’s absence. The vessels sped on their way, but as they neared the island (2) a fierce wind struck them, causing the ships to collide; by Allah’s decree fourteen of them were wrecked, many lives were lost, and the Franks captured nearly 1,800 craftsmen and soldiers. We belong to Allah and to Him we return.
The Sultan then advanced and set up the mangonels (3) against the fortress of Acre. Its inhabitants asked for safe-conduct on the condition that they be allowed to depart, and he granted it. He entered the city on the day of Eid al-Fitr and took possession of it. The fortress had long been a grave menace to the Muslims; it lay in a valley between two mountains.
Next he marched toward Tripoli. Its lord sent to inquire, “What is the Sultan’s purpose in this land?” He answered, “I have come to graze on your crops and devastate your country; next year I shall return to besiege you.” The ruler sought to appease him, requesting peace and a ten-year truce, to which the Sultan agreed.
The Ismaʿilis then appealed to him on behalf of their father, who was imprisoned in Cairo. He replied, “Surrender to me the fortress of al-ʿAliqah, come down and receive fiefs in Cairo, and you may take your father.” When they complied, he ordered that they be imprisoned in Cairo and appointed a deputy over the fortress of al-ʿAliqah.
On Sunday, the twelfth of Shawwal, a great flood (4) swept into Damascus, destroying vast amounts of property. Many people drowned, especially the Christian pilgrims camped between the two rivers; the torrent carried off them, their camels, and their loads, and they all perished. The city gates were shut, yet water poured in through the scuppers of the walls and through Bab al-Faradis, flooding Khan Ibn al-Muqaddam and ruining much else. This occurred in summer, during the apricot season.
The Sultan entered Damascus on Wednesday, the fifteenth of Shawwal. He dismissed Judge Ibn Khallikān (5), who had served on the bench for ten years, and appointed Judge ʿIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Ṣāʿigh (6), bestowing upon him a robe of honour. The decree of appointment had been drafted outside Tripoli during the embassy of the vizier Ibn al-Ḥinā. Ibn Khallikān departed for Egypt in Dhū al-Qaʿdah.