Tarsus had been recaptured by the Prince of Karaman, who had
driven out the Prince of Albustan, whom Sheikh had installed. Ibrahim,
the sultan's son, took command of this army, and occupied Caasarea,
Nigdeh, and Kara-man. Whilst he was occupied in the interior of Asia
Minor, the Governor of Damascus had defeated Mustapha, son of the Prince
of Karaman, and the Prince Ibrahim of Ramadhan, near Adana, which latter
town, as well as Tarsus, he had re-conquered.

The Prince of Karaman, who now advanced against Caasarea, suffered a
total defeat. Mustapha remained on the field of battle, but his father
was taken prisoner and sent to Cairo, where he lingered in confinement
until after the death of the sultan.

[Illustration: 065.jpg THE TOMB OF BERKUK]

Once again was Syria threatened by Kara Yusuf, but he was soon forced
to return to Irak by the conspiracy of his own son, Shah Muhammed, who
lived in Baghdad. As soon as this insurrection was put down, Kara
Yusuf was obliged to give his whole attention to Shah Roch, the son of
Tamerlane, who had raised himself to the highest power in Persia, and
was now attempting to re-conquer the province of Aderbaijan. Kara Yusuf
placed himself at the head of an army to protect this province,
but suddenly died (November, 1420) on the way to Sultania, and his
possessions were divided among his four sons, Shah Muhammed, Iskander,
Ispahan, and Jihan Shah, who all, just as the descendants of Tamerlane
had done, immediately began to quarrel among themselves.

The sultan was already very ill when the news of Kara Yusufs death
reached him. The death of Ibrahim, his son, whom he had caused to be
poisoned, on his return from Asia Minor, weighed heavily upon him
and hastened his death, which took place on January 13, 1421. He
left immense riches behind him, but could not obtain a proper burial;
everything was at once seized by the emirs, who did not trouble
themselves in the least about his corpse. He had been by no means a good
sultan; he had brought much misery upon the people, and had oppressed
the emirs. But in spite of all he had many admirers who overlooked his
misdeeds and cruelty, because he was a pious Moslem; that is, he did
not openly transgress against the decrees of Islam, favoured the
theologians, and distinguished himself as an orator and poet; he also
founded a splendid mosque, a hospital, and a school for theology. His
whole life abounds in contrasts. After he had broken his oath to