The siege of Damascus in 1229 was part of an Ayyubid succession war over Damascus that broke out following the death of al-MuÿaáºÂáºÂam I in 1227. The late ruler's son, al-NÃÂá¹£ir DÃÂÃ¾à «d, took de facto control of the city in opposition to al-KÃÂmil, the Ayyubid sultan in Egypt. In the ensuing war, al-NÃÂá¹£ir lost Damascus but preserved his autonomy, ruling from al-Karak.
The main sources for the siege are Ibn WÃÂá¹£il's Mufarrij and Taþrëkh al-á¹¢ÃÂliḥë, Abà « ShÃÂma's al-Dhayl ÿalaþl-rawá¸Âatayn, Ibn al-Athër's al-KÃÂmil fi þl-tÃÂþrëkh, KamÃÂl al-Dën Ibn al-ÿAdëm' Zubdat al-Ḥalab min tÃÂþrëkh Ḥalab, Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë's MirþÃÂt al-ZamÃÂn, Ibn Abi þl-Dam's al-ShamÃÂrëkh and al-Makën ibn al-ÿAmëd's chronicle. Ibn WÃÂá¹£il, Abà « ShÃÂma and Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë were eyewitnesses of the siege. Abà « ShÃÂma provides the most precise dating.
Within the Ayyubid realm, the sultan of Egypt was suzerain over the emir of Damascus, although the latter was largely autonomous. When al-MuÿaáºÂáºÂam I died in 1227, he was succeeded by his son, al-NÃÂá¹£ir DÃÂÃ¾à «d, without any opposition from the sultan, al-KÃÂmil. This soon changed. When the sultan moved north in 1229 to confront the army of the Sixth Crusade, he planned to secure Damascus as well. To that end, while negotiating with the crusaders, he also opened negotiations with his brother al-Ashraf, who agreed to cede ḤarrÃÂn to al-KÃÂmil in exchange for Damascus, after the latter was taken from al-NÃÂá¹£ir, who immediately showed his intention to resist. In the negotiation with the crusaders, al-KÃÂmil promised access to Jerusalem in exchange for European pressure on Damascus to submit to Egypt's authority.
In March 1229, al-Ashraf marched up to the walls of Damascus. He had under his command his personal troops, a contingent from Aleppo, the army of Homs and troops of al-á¹¢ÃÂliḥ IsmÃÂÿël and al-Mughëth Maḥmà «d. He was not equipped for an assault or a siege and probably intended only to pen up al-NÃÂá¹£ir DÃÂÃ¾à «d. He cut off the two streams that supplied the city with water, but a sally by the garrison supported by local volunteers restored them. The suburbs of Qaá¹£r Ḥajjaj and Shaghur were burnt in the subsequent fighting.
In response to repeated calls for reinforcements from al-Ashraf, al-KÃÂmil sent 2,000 regular cavalry in two contingents under Fakhr al-Dën ibn al-Shaykh and al-MuáºÂaffar Maḥmà «d. These probably arrived in late March or early April. The troops of Homs loyal to the Emir al-MujÃÂhid Shërkà «h thus fought side by side with the pretender to Homs, al-MuáºÂaffar Maḥmà «d.
In response to the attack engineered by al-KÃÂmil, al-NÃÂá¹£ir DÃÂÃ¾à «d ordered Sibá¹ ibn al-Jawzë to preach a sermon in the Umayyad Mosque denouncing the treaty of Jaffa finalized in February between the sultan and the Christian emperor Frederick II. Al-KÃÂmil probably delayed going to Damascus in person so as to supervise the fulfillment of the treaty. In late April, possibly earlier, he finally march north with the bulk of the army of Egypt.
The Egyptian army arrived on 6 May and al-KÃÂmil encamped near the mosque of Qadam. The following day, al-NÃÂá¹£ir sent two envoys, the fuqahÃÂþ JamÃÂl al-Dën al-Hasirë and Shams al-Dën ibn al-ShërÃÂzë, to the sultan to discuss terms. On 8 May, representatives met for formal negotiations. Al-KÃÂmil's representative was ÿImÃÂd al-Dën, brother of Fakhr al-Dën, while al-NÃÂá¹£ir was represented by ÿIzz al-Dën Aybak.
Negotiations soon broke down. On 13 May, there was heavy fighting in the suburb by the BÃÂb Tà «mÃÂ. It was burnt. A week later, al-NÃÂá¹£ir expelled the refugees from the Ghà «á¹Âa because the city did not have enough provisions for them. By 3 June, the besiegers had completely surrounded the city and controlled all territory up to the walls. Nevertheless, al-NÃÂá¹£ir launched daily sallies against the enemy front lines without success.
During the siege, al-KÃÂmil launched a strike against al-Karak, where al-NÃÂá¹£ir's mother was staying. She ordered a sortie, which scattered the strike force and captured its commanders, two former emirs of al-MuÿaáºÂáºÂam.
The population of Damascus played an energetic role in its defence. Ibn WÃÂá¹£il credits this to their devotion to al-NÃÂá¹£ir and his late father, al-MuÿaáºÂáºÂam. The Damascenes were almost certainly also fighting for the autonomy or independence that only a local dynasty could provide. The local militias that took part in the siege of 1229 are never heard of again.
There were two instances of dissension within the city. A small detachment of the Damascene army deserted to the enemy, and al-NÃÂá¹£ir imprisoned his kÃÂtib (secretary) Fakhr al-Quá¸ÂÃÂt and his cousin al-Mukarram on suspicion of conspiring with the enemy. The most serious problem for al-NÃÂá¹£ir, however, was his lack of money, since his treasury was in al-Karak. He quickly used up his local funds and had to melt down his gold and silver to mint coin. The jewellery and fine clothing of the women of his court he sold, but he did not extort a loan from the merchants of the city.
On 14 June, al-NÃÂá¹£ir secretly slipped out of Damascus with a small guard entered the besiegers' camp to seek terms. He was ordered back into the city. On 16 June, Fakhr al-Dën arrived at the citadel to escort him to al-KÃÂmil. A peace treaty was signed and al-NÃÂá¹£ir returned to the city. The gates of Damascus were opened on 25 June 1229 to al-KÃÂmil and the Egyptian army.
According to the terms of the treaty, al-NÃÂá¹£ir would govern Transjordan, the Jordan Valley between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee, the city of Nablus and the districts around Jerusalem, which city al-KÃÂmil had handed over to Frederick II in the treaty of Jaffa. Al-KÃÂmil would retain control of Ascalon, Gaza, Hebron, Tiberias and the Transjordanian castle of al-Shawbak. ÿIzz al-Dën Aybak retained his iqá¹ÂÃÂÿ of á¹¢alkhad. After a short while, al-KÃÂmil relinquished Damascus to al-Ashraf, who went on to seize Baalbek.