in the neighbourhood of Gaza (October,
1244). The Christians, left to themselves, were not in a position to
resist the enemy's attacks; and the Egyptians made themselves masters
of Jerusalem and Hebron, and in the following year obtained Damascus,
Balbek, Ascalon, and Tiberias. In 1248 Ayyub came again into Syria, in
order to chastise El-Malik en-Nasir, Prince of Aleppo, who had seized
upon Hemessa when he heard of the coming Crusaders under Saint Louis.
To this end he made peace with the natives of Aleppo, and returned to
Jerusalem in order to make the necessary preparations for defence. The
pilgrims, however, succeeded in landing, for Emir Fakhr ed-Din, the
Egyptian commander, had taken to flight after a short skirmish, and the
fortress was allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy (June, 1249).
Ayyub now established a firm footing in the town of Cairo--which his
father had founded--in a district intersected by canals, and harassed
the Christian camp with his light cavalry. Louis was expecting
reinforcements, but they did not arrive until the inundations of the
Nile made any advance into the interior almost impossible. At last, on
the 21st of December, the Christian army arrived at the canal of
Ashmum Tanah, which alone separated them from the town of Mansuria.
The Egyptians were now commanded by Emir Fakhr ed-Din. Ayyub had died
a month before, but his wife, Shejret ed-Durr, kept his death a secret
until his son Turan Shah should arrive from Mesopotamia. Fakhr ed-Din
did everything in his power to retrieve his former error. He attacked
the Christians when they were engaged in building a dam across
the canal, hindering their work on the southern bank with his
throwing-machines, destroying their towers with Greek fire; and when, in
spite of all discouragements, their toilsome work was nearly finished,
he rendered it useless by digging out a new basin, into which he
conducted the water of the Ashmum canal.

On the 8th of February, 1250, the French crossed the canal, but, instead
of collecting there, as the king had commanded, so as to attack the
enemy _en masse_, several troops pressed forward against the Egyptians,
and many, including the Count of Artois, the king's brother, were killed
by the valiant enemy under Beybars. The battle remained long undecided,
for the Egyptians had barricaded Cairo so well that it could only be
stormed at the cost of many lives, and after the capture the army needed
rest. The Egyptians