Al-Nasir Muhammad - 2nd Reign : 1299 - 1309

1309

In 1296 Kitbugha was deposed by his vice-Sultan Lajin and he fled to Syria and died in 1297 while holding the post of the governor of Hama. Lajin ruled as a sultan until he was murdered with his vice-sultan Mangu-Temur in 1299 known as the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar. Al-Nassir's ar In Egypt, the defeated soldiers of Al-Nasir kept arriving in disorder. The deposed Sultan Kitbugha who was in Syria also fled to Egypt. Cairo became overcrowded as a huge number of Syrians refugees fled to there. Al-Nasir Muhamed and the Emirs began to prepare for a new march to the Levant. Money, horses and arms were collected from all over Egypt. An attempt to reuse an old Fatwa which was issued during the reign of Sultan Qutuz and which obliged each Egyptian to pay one Dinar to support the army failed thus it was decided that the people should pay by free will and not by law. But suddenly the news arrived to Cairo that Ghazan left the Levant after he installed two of his commanders as his deputes there. Sultan Al-Nasir sent letters to Ghazan's deputes asking them to submit to him and they agreed. Kitbugha was granted the post of the governor of Hama and Salar and Baibars al-Jashnakir travelled with an army to the Levant to liquidate the remaining forces of Ghazan. The Druze who looted Al-Nasir's soldiers during their retreat to Egypt were attacked at their strongholds and they were forced to give back the weapons and the properties which they robbed from the retreating soldiers. The submitted deputes arrived in Egypt and were received by Al-Nasir Muhammed. The name of Sultan Al-Nasir was mentioned again at the Syrian Mosques. He was again the sovereign of the Levant.

In addition to Mongols threats in the Levant, the second reign of Al-Nasir Muhammed witnessed also disturbances inside Egypt itself. There were religious riots in Cairo and rebellions in Upper Egypt which were harshly suppressed. In 1301 parts of Armenian Cilicia were looted and Sis was attaked by Al-Nasir's forces led by his Emirs as the Armenians tried to support Ghazan and in 1302 the Crusade island of Arwad was assaulted and looted as the crusaders used it as a base for attacks on Muslim ships. (See also Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar)