on one another. Then the sultan bestowed robes of honour upon the emirs and holders of office; the total number of robes distributed in Egypt reached one thousand three hundred. Rescripts were sent to Syria authorising similar bestowals for its people. The sultan also laid out an immense banquet attended by the elite and the common folk, by residents and travellers alike. At that gathering he detained the envoys of the Mongols and of the Franks, all of them arrayed in imposing robes of honour. It was a day long remembered. The ruler of Ḥamāh forwarded copious gifts and rode to Egypt to present his congratulations.
On the eleventh of Shawwāl the mahmal and the new kiswa for the noble Kaʿbah were paraded through Cairo; that, too, was a memorable day.
[The Battle of al-Balastīn and the Capture of Caesarea]
The sultan set out from Egypt with the armies and entered Damascus on the seventeenth of Shawwāl, where he remained for three days. He then marched on until he reached Aleppo on the first of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, stayed there for a single day, and instructed the governor of Aleppo to station the Aleppine troops on the Euphrates to protect the fodder depots. The sultan himself continued his advance, crossing the Darband (1) in half a day. En route Sunqur al-Ashqar encountered three thousand Mongols and defeated them on Thursday, the ninth of Dhū al-Qaʿdah. The army then climbed the mountains and looked down upon the plain of al-Balastīn, where they saw that the Tatars had arrayed their forces—eleven thousand fighting men. For fear of treachery they had detached the Roman (Byzantine) contingent.
When the two hosts came into view, the Tatars’ left wing charged and struck the sultan’s standards; a party of them broke through, split the ranks and pressed on toward the right flank. Seeing this, the sultan personally brought up reinforcements from among the Muslims who were with him. A moment later he glanced back and noticed that the left wing was on the verge of collapse, so he ordered a group of emirs to support it. He then led the entire army (2) in a single assault against the Tatars, who all dismounted to fight on foot. They engaged the Muslims with fierce determination, and the Muslims displayed remarkable steadfastness. Allah then sent down His help: the troops surrounded the Tatars on every side and slew great numbers of them, though a number of Muslims were also killed. Among the notable Muslim martyrs were the great emir Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Khaṭīr, Sayf al-Dīn Qayran al-ʿAlāʾī (3), Sayf al-Dīn Qafjaq (4) the jashnkir, and ʿIzz al-Dīn Aybak al-Shaqīfī (5). A number of Mongol emirs and Roman emirs were captured. The Barwānāh (6) fled and saved his life.
He entered Caesarea at daybreak on Sunday, the twelfth of Dhū al-Qaʿdah, and informed their emirs that the Tatars had been crushed at al-Balastīn (7). He advised them to retreat, so they withdrew and abandoned the city. Al-Malik al-Ẓāhir then entered Caesarea and led the Friday prayer there on the seventh—