The deputy of the sultanate and the deputy of Tripoli listened to the khutbah at the Umayyad Mosque on the twelfth of Ramadan and performed the Friday prayer. Afterwards, the deputy of the sultanate went to the Dârüssaâde Palace. After ʿAsr prayer, he left the palace with his patrols, had them perform a formal procession, then returned to the Dârüssaâde Palace and spent the night there. After performing the morning prayer, he set out with his soldiers, accompanied by the deputy of Tripoli. All the remaining soldiers, commanders, patrols, and guards also fully departed. May Allah protect them. Likewise, the judges, the chief secretary, the deputy of Bayt al-Māl, and other council clerks also set out on the campaign. By Saturday morning, no soldiers were seen in Damascus. Only the temporary deputy Emir Sayf al-Dīn b. Ḥamza al-Turkmanī and the nearby governor of Berr (that is, the administrator responsible for the outskirts of Damascus), the city trustee, Emir Badr al-Dīn Ṣadaka b. Awhad, the city muḥtasib, the deputies of the judges, and the castle deputy remained at their posts. The mangonels also remained in their old positions.
On Sunday morning, the judges went early to Damascus. Melikü'l-Ümera and Tornan Timur returned to Damascus together later. All were in uniform and armed. Each feared the other might arrest him. The deputy of the sultanate went to the Dârüssaâde Palace, while Tornan Timur went to the Ablak Palace. After ʿAsr, Mencük and the former deputy of Damascus, Istedmūr, were brought to Damascus in chains. These had been defeated and routed by soldiers sent by Baydemir against Mencük. This operation was organized by the ḥājib al-ḥujjāb (chief chamberlain) and mihmandār (host) Emir Sayf al-Dīn Timur, while Baydemir attacked Mencük to support the Egyptians. Emir Sayf al-Dīn Timur told Mencük, "We are all in the service of the Sultan of Egypt. We will not obey you to support Baydemir," and they exchanged words before beginning to fight.
Mencük was defeated, and Timur, Mencük, and their commanders Ibn Subḥ and Taydemir came to Damascus. By the fifteenth of the month, Monday morning, no trace or sign of Tornan Timur, Tayberof, and the other emirs in Damascus remained. They had all gone to Egypt to declare their obedience to the Sultan of Egypt. Among the emirs of Damascus, only the former ʿumara Ibn Kara Sungur, Baydemir, Mencük, and Istedmūr remained. The castle was ready for any attack, and the mangonels were still set up as before. People were very afraid because Baydemir had entered the castle. During the arrival of the Egyptian soldiers, fatigue and distress occurred in Damascus and the castle during the siege, and people suffered hardship. May Allah bring a good end to this matter. On the sixteenth of Ramadan, Monday, drums of joy were played in the castle.
It was announced to the public that Yelboga Ḥāṣikī had been exiled to Damascus by the sultan. After ʿIshāʾ on Tuesday, drums of joy were again played. Meanwhile, the three commanders named Mencük, Baydemir, and Istedmūr armed themselves, went outside the city, and returned. People were divided into two groups: those who confirmed these accounts and those who denied them. But the reality was that preparations for the siege were underway. Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn (Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return). Later it became clear that the drums of joy had no real basis. Necessary measures were taken to defend the castle. Stones, beams, and supplies were brought there. Meanwhile, news reached Damascus that the sultan had come with Yelboga and the Egyptian soldiers toward Gaza. At that moment, the sahib (owner), chief secretary, Shāfiʿī judge, army inspector, army supervisors, city trustee, and the emir appointed as deputy of Damascus with a firman set out to go toward Hama to meet him.
Only the muḥtasib and judges remained in the city. There was no other administrator or judge. People had become like a flock without a shepherd. Nevertheless, affairs proceeded smoothly. No one attacked anyone else. Meanwhile, Baydemir, Mencük, and Istedmūr were busy fortifying the castle, preparing equipment and provisions. Allah will surely fulfill His command. Wherever you are, even if you are behind strong curtains, in perfect and fortified castles, death will catch you!
On the nineteenth of Ramadan, Friday, Emir Baydemir performed the Friday prayer in front of the Kemāl window of the Mashhad of ʿUthmān. Mencük also prayed beside him in the place of the judges. None of the ḥājibs or supervisors were present there. Only a few soldiers were left. All had gone to meet the sultan. Other officials had gone toward Hama to meet the new deputy of Damascus, Emir ʿAlī. After the prayer, Mencük returned to the castle. Istedmūr did not come to the prayer because it was said that his foot was injured at that time, or he had prayed in the castle.
On the twentieth of Ramadan, Saturday, a messenger who was also a sayyid and sent by the sultan came to the deputy of Damascus and asked whether he was obedient or opposed to the sultan. The deputy of Damascus sent a trusted man to the castle to seize it, deliver the khutbah there, and stockpile war machines and food supplies. The mangonels and curtains in the castle had been destroyed. The sultan's messenger also asked the deputy of Damascus how the sultanic monies were being used. Melikü'l-Ümera answered all questions, saying he was not involved in these matters. He stated that he kept his soldiers in the castle to watch the surroundings but did not enter the castle himself, that the castle gates were kept open, that the ownership of the castle belonged to the sultan, and that he was only responsible to the sultan. He wrote down his answer and sent it to Egypt with the postman Ketkeldi. Ketkeldi was the slave of Quṭb al-Dīn Dawaddār. On the same day, he also sent Sarīm al-Dīn, the commander of ten soldiers, to Egypt.
On the twenty-second of Ramadan, Monday, the city gates remained locked from morning until noon. Only Bab al-Naṣr and Bab al-Faraj were kept open. People were in severe distress and panic. Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn (Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return). But the time for the arrival of the sultan and the Mansure soldiers to Damascus was near. On Wednesday morning, the situation was as before, even worse. Emir Sayf al-Dīn Yelboga al-Ḥāṣikī went near the Yelboga dome. One end of his soldiers was at Sayf-i Dāriyā, the other near the Yelboga dome. There was great pomp and display. The sultan's palanquin was delayed that day and did not arrive. On the same day, Baydemir entered the castle and fortified it. On the twenty-fifth of Ramadan, Thursday, all city gates except Bab al-Naṣr and Bab al-Faraj remained locked.
People were distressed and under siege. The Egyptians had cut off the Banyas River, a stream flowing into it, and the water channels extending to the Dârüssaâde Palace. They had to cut other channels to fill the stream flowing into the Banyas River. The people of Damascus were alarmed by this situation. They filled the cisterns in their houses and madrasas with water. A skin of water was sold for one dirham, and a leather water bag for half a dirham. Then on the same day at ʿAsr time, water was supplied to the channels. Praise and thanks be to Allah. People relaxed and felt relieved. On Friday morning, the city gates were still locked. Bab al-Naṣr and Bab al-Faraj had not yet opened despite sunrise. Yelboga sent four emirs near him—the castle deputy Zayn al-Dīn Zubālī, Melik Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn b. Kāmilī, Shaykh ʿAlī, who had been appointed by Baydemir as deputy of Rahba, and another emir—to Damascus for this task.
They came to Damascus, broke the locks of the city gates, and entered. When Baydemir saw this, he sent the keys of the city to them.