On the night connecting Saturday to Sunday, the sixth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Emir Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri, together with his soldiers, established a camp outside Dimashq between Oesvere and Maydān al-Hāʾā to capture Emir Aḥmad b. Nāṣir, the son of the sultan who had come from Miṣr and was besieging Kerek. He waited on the hilltop and laid siege to Emir Aḥmad, maintaining the siege until the deputy of Dimashq departed for Ḥalab. One day, before the people could realize what was happening, al-Fāri suddenly came with his soldiers and captured Emir Aḥmad, giving him the name Nāṣir b. Nāṣir. His brother Malik Ashraf, using the youth of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Kūchak as a pretext, renounced the bayʿah (pledge of allegiance) they had made to him. Atabeg Emir Sayf al-Dīn Koson an-Naʿīr also wronged the sultan’s two sons and had them drowned in the town of Saʿīd, according to reports. Those assigned to the drowning were Malik Manṣūr Abū Bakr and Ramaḍān.
Emir Aḥmad was deeply saddened by this situation, saying that the Atabeg intended to destroy this dynasty and seize the country for himself. Everyone exerted effort for this cause and the sons of the masters offered their bayʿah to Emir Aḥmad. Then they decided to follow the army and assist the deputy of Ḥalab, Emir Sayf al-Dīn Tāshdamīr, and wrote letters to the emirs to persuade them to join their side. When they reached outside Dimashq, the great emirs, qāḍīs, and administrators of Dimashq, such as the governor of Berr, the governor of Dimashq, Ibn Samandar, and others, came to them. At dawn, the entire population of Dimashq, from seven to seventy years old, went to them. They welcomed them as they did for the arrival of sultans and the return of pilgrims, even showing them greater respect. The qāḍīs, the owners, the notables, and the great administrators were among this group.
Emir Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā went to the council of the deputy of the sultan, a position to which Malik Nāṣir had appointed him. On his right was the Shāfiʿī qāḍī, and on his left the Ḥanafī qāḍī. All the soldiers surrounded Emir Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri with their lances, trumpets, arrows, and banners, praising him with dua and showering him with compliments. They were all extremely joyful and delighted, waving the banners of the sultan and the caliph. Some ignorant people cursed the former deputy who had gone to Ḥalab. The soldiers who had come from Miṣr entered one by one to Kutlubāghā al-Fāri. That day was a day of resurrection. Emir Fahreddīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri stayed at a place east of Dimashq near the Laçin Khan. On the same day, he sent an emirnāmah (official decree) to the qāḍīs and the owner. He took 500,000 dinars from the property of orphans and others.
In return, he gave them a village belonging to Bayt al-Māl (the public treasury). This matter was recorded in the register. The remaining emirs also came from Dimashq and joined them. Tīmūr al-Sāqī Muqaddam, Ibn Karā Sungur, Ibn Kāmil, Ibn Muʿaẓẓam, Ibn Baladī, and others came and offered their bayʿah to Malik al-Nāṣir b. Nāṣir. Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri stayed at the Laçin Khan. Those who earned their livelihood by craftsmanship returned to their work. On the sixteenth of Jumādā al-ʾAwwal, Tuesday morning, drums of joy were played in the fortress and an announcement was made throughout the city: “Your sultan is Malik al-Nāṣir Aḥmad b. Nāṣir Muḥammad b. Qalāwūn. Your deputy is Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri!” People rejoiced greatly at this news. The deputy of Suğd and the deputy of Baʿlabakk also came and joined the ranks of Malik Nāṣir Aḥmad, offering their bayʿah. They placed their soldiers and men under his command.
Emir Sayf al-Dīn Sanjar al-Jamakdār also came to Sultan Malik al-Nāṣir. This person was the head of the right wing in Dimashq. He had been sent on a campaign by the former deputy of Dimashq, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Tanbūghā, but was delayed due to illness. When Kutlubāghā al-Fāri arrived, he returned to him and offered his bayʿah to Nāṣir b. Nāṣir. Then the deputy of Ḥamā, Ṭūghirdamīr, wrote a letter from Miṣr to Malik Manṣūr, informing him of his desire to come. When Malik al-Nāṣir accepted this request, on the twentieth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Saturday, he came to Dimashq with his soldiers in great splendor and pomp, bringing his treasury with him.
On the twenty-eighth of Jumādā al-Ākhirah, Sunday before noon, a solar eclipse occurred. The next day, the deputy of Ghazzah, Emir Aksungur, entered Dimashq with nearly 2,000 soldiers and joined Kutlubāghā al-Fāri’s army. Kutlubāghā and his companions rejoiced greatly. Thus, the number of soldiers exceeded 5,000.
At the beginning of Rajab, a group of great merchants were summoned to the presence of Kutlubāghā al-Fāri. Kutlubāghā requested wealth and money from them to strengthen the army. The amount he requested was approximately 1,000,000 dirhams. He had a firmān (imperial decree) from Sultan Nāṣir b. Nāṣir ordering the sale of the properties of Emir Sayf al-Dīn Koson, Malik Ashraf’s Atabeg ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Kūchak, and Nāṣir’s son in Dimashq. These people had not given their bayʿah. Some advised Kutlubāghā al-Fāri to sell Koson’s private properties to the merchants. This advice was accepted. It was also proposed to sell the village of Dāwīh, valued at 1,500,000 dinars. This was decided. After two or three nights, God granted them relief and expansion. They covered the costs with Koson’s properties.
Fāri and his companions, along with the emirs and soldiers who joined their ranks, continued to reside in Sanīyat al-ʿUqāb. They employed more than 1,000 archers from the Biqaʿ region in their service. Emirs were in charge of these. They guarded the road entrances. The time for Emir ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Tanbūghā to come with soldiers from Dimashq, Ḥalabīs, and a group from Ṭarāblus was approaching. They had also begun necessary preparations against them. On the first of Rajab, news spread that Tanbūghā had reached Kastel and sent scouts who encountered Kutlubāghā al-Fāri’s scouts, but no battle occurred between them. Praise and thanks be to Allah.
Kutlubāghā al-Fāri sent word to the qāḍīs, the deputies of the qāḍīs, and a group of fuqahāʾ (jurists) to come to him. They set out from the city to join Kutlubāghā. The Shāfiʿī qāḍī turned back on the way. When they reached Kutlubāghā, he ordered them to exert the necessary effort to reconcile him with Tanbūghā. He asked them to do their utmost to bring about peace, to have Tanbūghā submit to him, enter his service, and pledge bayʿah to Nāṣir b. Nāṣir. They immediately met with Tanbūghā and presented the necessary proposals. However, Tanbūghā rejected all their offers and refused to accept their requests. On Monday, the fourth of Rajab, at ʿaṣr prayer time, Kutlubāghā al-Fāri’s messenger went to the city superintendent and ordered him to close the city gates. The gates were closed because the soldiers had already gone to the front and formed battle lines. Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn (Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.)
When ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Tanbūghā learned that Kutlubāghā’s army was in Sanīyat al-ʿUqāb, he circled the hill from Muaysira and brought his soldiers from there. Sayf al-Dīn Kutlubāghā al-Fāri turned his soldiers toward him and stood in his way, preventing him from entering the city. People became very uneasy about this situation. Passages and bazaars were closed. People frightened each other, fearing looting. The city superintendent Emir Nāṣir al-Dīn b. Bakbāshī, his sons, deputies, and men took action and patrolled the city. People found calm and prayed for him. When evening approached, the city gate of Jābiyya was opened to allow entry for people from the city. It is said that a great crowd gathered at the gate. The soldiers were very angry with the people that night. That night was the beginning of the Christian era year. Muslims spent the night sorrowfully and mournfully due to the soldiers’ conflict. On the morning of the next day, all other city gates except Jābiyya remained locked. The situation remained as before. That evening, the two armies faced each other. Tanbūghā and his emirs held a meeting. The emirs of Dimashq and their soldiers agreed not to fight the Muslims and not to draw swords against Kutlubāghā al-Fāri and his men. The qāḍīs of Dimashq also went repeatedly to ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn Tanbūghā to seek peace. However, he refused to make peace and persisted in his obstinacy. Truly, the All-Glorious Allah, free from deficiencies, knows best.