219; al-Kamil thereupon proclaimed the Jihad, and
was joined at his fortified camp, afterwards the site of Mansura, by
troops from various parts of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia, including the
forces of his brothers 'Isa and Musa. With these allies, and availing
himself of the advantages offered by the inundation of the Nile,
al-Kamil was able to cut off both the advance and the retreat of the
invaders, and on the 31st of August 1221 a peace was concluded, by which
the Franks evacuated Egypt.

For some years the dominions of al-'Adil remained divided between his
sons: when the affairs of Egypt were settled, al-Kamil determined to
reunite them as before, and to that end brought on the Sixth Crusade.
Various cities in Palestine and Syria were yielded to Frederick II. as
the price of his help against the son of Mu'azzam 'Isa, who reigned at
Damascus with the title of Malik al-Nasir. About 1231-32 Kamil led a
confederacy of Ayyubite princes against the Seljuk Kaikobad into Asia
Minor, but his allies mistrusted him and victory rested with Kaikobad
(see SELJUKS). Before Kamil's death he was mentioned in public prayer at
Mecca as lord of Mecca (Hejaz), Yemen, Zabid, Upper and Lower Egypt,
Syria and Mesopotamia.

At his death (May 8th, 1238) at Damascus, his son Abu Bakr was appointed
to succeed with the title _Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din_; but his elder
brother Malik al-Salih Najm al-din Ayyub, having got possession of
Damascus, immediately started for Egypt, with the view of adding that
country to his dominions: meanwhile his uncle Isma'il, prince of Hamath,
with the prince of Homs, seized Damascus, upon hearing which the troops
of Najm al-din deserted him at Nablus, when he fell into the hands of
Malik al-Nasir, prince of Kerak, who carried him off to that city and
kept him a prisoner there for a time; after which he was released and
allowed to return to Nablus. On the 31st of May 1240 the new sultan was
arrested at Bilbeis by his own amirs, who sent for Najm al-din to
succeed him; and on the 19th of June of the same year Najm al-din
entered Cairo as sultan, and imprisoned his brother in the citadel,
where he died in 1248. Meanwhile in 1244 Jerusalem had been finally
wrested from the Franks. The administration of Najm al-din is highly
praised by Ibn Khallikan, who lived under it. He made large purchases of
slaves (Mamelukes) for his army, and when the inhabitants of Cairo
complained of their lawlessness, he built barracks for