They therefore pledged among themselves to revolt against him, and within less than an hour none remained at his side but his own household retinue. Seeing how matters stood, he wheeled around and fled the way he had come, accompanied by Emir Sayf al-Dīn Aruqṭāy (1), the deputy governor of Tripoli, and two other emirs (2). The troops and commanders then converged, and the glad tidings reached Damascus before noon. The people—men, women, and children, even those not on duty—rejoiced exceedingly, while the drums of victory were beaten from the victorious Citadel. Pursuers were sent after those who had fled.
Al-Fakhrī remained there for the rest of the day, administering oaths to the emirs concerning the object for which he had come, and they swore to him. On Thursday evening he entered Damascus with great pomp and full honor. He lodged in the Qasr al-Ablaq; Emir Taghrudamur took quarters on the Great Parade Ground, and ʿAmmārī in the Dār al-Saʿāda. They brought out al-Mawsawī (3), who had been held in the Citadel, and bound him to the pack-ropes of Altonbughā’s baggage animals as a warning.
Al-Fakhrī had been angered with a group of emirs, among them Emir Ḥusām al-Dīn al-Jumaqdār, the amir ḥājib, because of his friendship with ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Altonbughā. When events unfolded he fled with the rest, yet he did not come to al-Fakhrī; rather, he entered the city and took a middle course, siding with neither party. Later, realizing what he had forfeited, he returned from al-Bār to al-Fakhrī—some say a writ had been issued against him when he arrived, and he was greatly distressed—after which he was handed the kerchief of safe-conduct. With him was the confidential secretary, Judge Shihāb al-Dīn ibn Faḍl Allāh (4); they were then released. Among them, too, was Emir Sayf al-Dīn Ḥifṭiyya, toward whom resentment had been intense; he was freed that same day and reinstated as ḥājib, and al-Fakhrī displayed notable generosity and high-minded leadership.
Judge ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Munajjā (5), Chief Judge of the Hanbalīs, rendered praiseworthy service in this affair. He repeatedly interceded with Emir ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Altonbughā, to the point that people feared for his safety; he risked his own life, yet Allah granted his aim, protected him, and humbled his foe. Praise and gratitude belong to Allah.
On Saturday, the twenty-sixth of the month, Shaykh Fakhr al-Dīn ibn al-Ṣāʿigh was appointed judge of the victorious armies in place of the Ḥanafī judge (6) who had accompanied the deposed deputy, for they resented that he had issued Altonbughā a fatwa permitting him to fight al-Fakhrī. The followers of Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) rejoiced at the appointment, for Ibn al-Ṣāʿigh had long been one of his closest companions and had received from him many benefits and much knowledge.
On Wednesday, the last day of Rajab, toward the end of the afternoon, Emir Qumārī (7) arrived from al-Malik al-Nāṣir ibn al-Nāṣir from