over the affairs of state, and the senior amirs withdrew from him. A group among them grew angry, renounced him, left his side, and stationed themselves on the route of the troops (1) who had marched to Sis, along with others. The troops then turned back and joined them; once they had gathered, they set their hearts against al-Malik al-Saʿīd and stirred up the army’s misgivings toward him. They said, “A king ought not to spend his time in play and amusement (2); rather, the concern of kings must be justice, the interests of the Hereafter, and the defense of their realm—just as his father did.” What they said was true, for the frivolity of kings, amirs, and others is a sign of blessings being withdrawn, kingdoms collapsing, and subjects becoming corrupt.

The army therefore wrote to him, demanding that he dismiss the khāṣṣakiyyah (his personal retainers) and draw near to men of wisdom and sound judgment, as his father had done. He refused (3), for he was unable to do so on account of the retainers’ strength and great numbers. Consequently, the troops mounted and set out for Marj al-Ṣufar. They could not pass through Damascus (4) and instead skirted it from the east; when they had all assembled at Marj al-Ṣufar (5) the sultan sent his mother to them. They came out to receive her and kissed the ground before her. She sought to conciliate them (6) and set matters right, and they responded favorably but imposed certain conditions upon her son, the sultan. When she returned to him, he did not fulfill those conditions, nor did the khāṣṣakiyyah allow him to do so.

The troops therefore marched toward the Egyptian lands, and the sultan pursued them, hoping to remedy the situation before it worsened (7) and unraveled. He did not overtake them; they reached Cairo ahead of him. He had already dispatched his children, family (8), and baggage train to al-Karak, fortifying them there. He himself rode out with a contingent of the troops who had remained (9) with him, together with the khāṣṣakiyyah, toward Egypt (10). When he drew near, they barred his way and fought him, and only a few men were killed on either side. One of the amirs then took him, broke through the ranks, and brought him into Qalʿat al-Jabal (the Citadel of the Mountain) to calm matters (11), but this only increased their hostility. They thereupon besieged the citadel and cut off its water supply, and many grave events and trying circumstances ensued. The affair was later settled with the Emir Sayf al-Din Qalāwūn al-Alfī al-Ṣāliḥī—who was the man in question at the time—