older amirs,
whom they could not trust so well, but who in turn became still more
disaffected. Husam al-din fell a victim to the jealousy of the older
amirs whom he had incensed by bestowing arbitrary power on his own
Mameluke Mengutimur, and was murdered on the 16th of January 1299. His
short reign was marked by some fairly successful incursions into
Armenia, and the recovery of the fortresses Marash and Tell Hamdun,
which had been retaken by the Armenians. He also instituted a fresh
survey and division of land in Egypt and Syria, which occasioned much
discontent. After his murder the deposed sultan Malik al-Nasir, who had
been living in retirement at Kerak, was recalled by the army and
reinstated as sultan in Cairo (February 7th, 1299), though still only
fourteen years of age, so that public affairs were administered not by
him, but by Salar the viceroy, and Bibars Jashengir, prefect of the
palace. The 7th Ilkhan, Ghazan Mahmud, took advantage of the disorder in
the Mameluke empire to invade Syria in the latter half of 1299, when his
forces inflicted a severe defeat on those of the new sultan, and seized
several cities, including the capital Damascus, of which, however, they
were unable to storm the citadel; in 1300, when a fresh army was
collected in Egypt, the Mongols evacuated Damascus and made no attempt
to secure their other conquests. The fear of further Mongolian invasion
led to the imposition of fresh taxes in both Egypt and Syria, including
one of 33% on rents, which occasioned many complaints. The invasion did
not take place till 1303, when at the battle of Marj al-Saffar (April
20th) the Mongols were defeated. This was the last time that the Ilkhans
gave the Egyptian sultans serious trouble; and in the letter written in
the sultan's name to the Ilkhan announcing the victory, the former
suggested that the caliphate of Bagdad should be restored to the titular
Abbasid caliph who had accompanied the Egyptian expedition, a suggestion
which does not appear to have led to any actual steps being taken. The
fact that the Mongols were in ostensible alliance with Christian princes
led to a renewal by the sultan of the ordinances against Jews and
Christians which had often been abrogated, as often renewed and again
fallen into abeyance; and their renewal led to missions from various
Christian princes requesting milder terms for their co-religionists. The
amirs Salar and Bibars having usurped the whole of the sultan's
a