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 took advantage of this delay to bring a fleet up in the rear of the Egyptian ships, which, in combination with the fleet stationed near Mansuria, attacked and completely destroyed them.  As soon as they were masters of the Nile, the Egyptians landed troops below the Christian camp, which was thus completely cut off from Damietta, and soon suffered the greatest hardships from lack of provisions.  Under these circumstances, Louis opened negotiations with Turan Shah, and when these proved fruitless, nothing remained for him but to return to Damietta.  Although they began their retreat by night, they did not thus escape the vigilance of the Egyptians.  The fugitives were overtaken on the following morning, and so shut in by the enemy that resistance was impossible.  A large portion of the army was cut to pieces, in spite of their surrender; the rest, together with the king and his brother, were taken prisoners and brought in triumph to Cairo.  Turan Shah treated the king