On the fourteenth of Rajab, on a Thursday, the two sides faced each other. At sunrise, the two hostile armies came chest to chest. The Tatar soldiers numbered 100,000 cavalry. The Muslim soldiers were half that number or slightly more. Both sides were positioned in the area from the tomb of Khalid b. Walid to Rastan. They engaged in a great battle unprecedented for many centuries. At the first light of day, the Tatars appeared victorious. They broke the left flank of the Islamic army. The right flank also suffered a shock. The One to turn to for help is the Exalted Allah. The wing on the left side of the center was also broken. Sultan Mansur showed great steadfastness with a small group around him. A large part of the Muslim soldiers were defeated. The Tatars began to pursue them. While chasing, they reached the Homs lake. They came before the city of Homs.
The city gates were locked. They killed some of the people and others. The Muslims had come to a great line of death. Then among them, a group of leading brave and courageous commanders such as Sungur al-Ashqar, Bayseri, Taybars al-Waziri, Badr al-Din Silahdar, Aytmish al-Sadi, Husam al-Din Lachin, Husam al-Din Toruntay, Duwaydari and others, seeing Sultan Mansur's steadfastness, consulted among themselves and decided to return to the sultan. After this decision, they turned back and made heavy successive attacks on the enemy. Finally, by the power and strength of Allah, the Tatars were routed. Mengütemir was wounded. Emir Isa b. Muhanna also came from the lands of Arz and dealt a great blow to the Tatars. The Tatar soldiers were shaken by his strike. Thus, the defeat was completed. Praise be to Allah.
The Muslim soldiers truly killed a great number of Tatar soldiers. The Tatars who had previously been defeated and went to pursue the fleeing Muslim soldiers, upon returning, saw their comrades cut down by the sword, and the Muslim soldiers chasing the other fleeing Tatars, killing some and capturing others; seeing Sultan Mansur steadfast in his place under the banner, with war drums beating behind him and only 1,000 cavalry with him, they thought they could overcome him. They began to fight him. The Sultan showed great steadfastness before them as well, and they were defeated. Those with the Sultan captured many of them and killed many. Thus, the victory was completed. The Tatars' defeat occurred before the group. The defeated Tatar soldiers split into two groups.
One part fled towards Silmiya and Barriya, and the other towards Aleppo and the Euphrates. The Sultan sent soldiers to pursue them. On the fifteenth of Rajab, Friday, a letter announcing the victory of the Muslims arrived in Damascus. Upon this, the city was decorated and drums of joy were played. Candles were lit. People rejoiced. On Saturday, people saw a group of defeated Muslim soldiers, including Bilik al-Nasiri, Halik, and others, arriving in Damascus. They reported the news of the Islamic army's defeat in the first stage of the battle but had no news of the later stages. This caused great anxiety among the people of Damascus. They were seized by intense fear. Most people prepared to flee. At that moment, a courier arrived and delivered news to the public about all the stages of the battle from beginning to end.
People then settled in their places. They were filled with great joy. Praise and thanks be to Allah.
Then Sultan Mansur arrived in Damascus on the twenty-second of Rajab. He had captives before him. They held spears, and on the tips of the spears were the skulls of Tatar soldiers. It was a magnificent day worth seeing. A group of soldiers accompanied the Sultan, these were the men of Sungur al-Ashqar. Among them was Alemuddin al-Duwaydari. The Sultan descended to the citadel strengthened and victorious. The people loved him greatly. They prayed much for him. Sungur al-Ashqar bid farewell to the Sultan in Homs and returned to Sahyun.
As for the Tatars, they were in a miserable state, defeated, near death, struck from all sides, killed from every direction, fleeing, they reached the Euphrates where many drowned in the waters. The people of Bire (Birecik) also attacked them, killed many, and captured the rest. The Muslim soldiers pursued them and drove them out of the country. Finally, Allah delivered the Muslims from them and granted them relief.
A group of leading commanders were martyred in this battle. Among the martyrs was the great emir Haji Izzeddin Özdemir Camdar. He had wounded the Tatar khan Mengütemir in this battle. He approached him feigning surrender, threw his spear and struck Mengütemir, wounding him. However, the Tatars captured and killed him. May Allah have mercy on him. He was buried near the tomb of Khalid b. Walid.
On the second of Sha'ban, Sunday, Sultan Mansur left Damascus to go to Egypt. People prayed for him. Alemuddin al-Duwaydari also set out with him. Then he returned from Gaza. He had been sent back because he was assigned to manage the affairs of Damascus. The Sultan arrived in Egypt on the twelfth of Sha'ban.
At the end of Sha'ban, the Sultan appointed Qadi Wajihuddin al-Bahnasī al-Shāfiʿī as the judge of Egypt and Cairo. On the seventh of Ramadan, Sunday, the opening of the Jawhariyya madrasa in Damascus was held. Sheikh Najmuddin Muhammad b. Abbas b. Abu'l-Makarim al-Tamimi al-Jawhari, who had built and endowed this madrasa, was still alive. There, the Hanafi judge Husamuddin al-Razi taught lessons.
On the twenty-ninth of Sha'ban, Saturday morning, the minaret of the Abu Umar Mosque in the Qasyun neighborhood of Damascus collapsed onto the old mosque. One person present there died. May Allah protect the rest of the congregation.
On the tenth of Ramadan, heavy snow and hail fell in Damascus, and the weather became very cold. The snow reached a depth of one zira (an agricultural measure), vegetables spoiled, many people's livelihoods were disrupted, and life was almost paralyzed. In Shawwal, the owner of Sinjar came to Damascus with his family and possessions. He submitted to the Sultan's obedience. He had come all the way by killing many soldiers from the Tatars. The city's deputy welcomed him, treated him hospitably, and sent him off to Egypt with respect and honor.
In Shawwal, a council was convened regarding the People of the Book who had been forcibly converted to Islam and became dhimmis. A group of muftis issued a fatwa stating that because they had been forced into Islam, they could return to their old religion. The forced conversion was proven before Qadi Jamaluddin b. Abi Yaqub al-Maliki. As a result, many returned to their religion and were again obliged to pay the jizya as before. On the Day of Judgment, when some faces will turn white and others blackened, may Allah blacken the faces of these People of the Book. According to a narration, they spent a great deal of money to obtain this fatwa. May Allah curse them.
In the month of Dhu al-Qi'dah of this year, Sultan Malik Mansur arrested Aytmish al-Sadi and imprisoned him in Jabal Castle. He also arrested the deputy in Damascus, Sayf al-Din Balaban al-Haruni, and threw him into Damascus Castle. On the twenty-ninth of Dhu al-Qi'dah (March 10), in the morning, the people went to the Damascus musalla to pray for rain. Ten days later, rain fell. This year Sultan Malik Mansur sent the children, women, and servants of Malik Zahir from Egypt to Karak so that they would be under the protection of Malik Masud Khidr b. Zahir there.