Be that as it may, when conditions of the truce had been resolved King Louis, his brothers, and the principal barons proceeded downstream on four galleys. Imbert who was High Constable, that most worthy knight Guillaume de Flandre, Comte Pierre de Bretagne, and the brothers Ibelin accompanied me. One week before Ascension we anchored in sight of a wooden tower draped with blue canvas that marked the entrance to a huge encampment. Inside was a pavilion where knives, swords, and other weapons were deposited by nobles who came to visit Turanshah. Beyond this, a second tower giving access to the pavilion where this despicable monarch held court. A third tower, very high, gave access to his private chambers. They say he climbed up here if he wished to observe his camp or meditate upon the scenery. There was yet another pavilion beside the river to insure privacy when he wished to bathe.
It had been arranged that Damietta would be given up on Saturday before Ascension. However the Egyptians suddenly took to quarreling among themselves with such excitement that we were astonished. We did not know the cause, nor would they answer questions, but it seemed we might be slain at any instant. I am told that King Louis, fearing the worst, ordered the Office of the Cross to be sung, together with that of the Holy Ghost and that of the Requiem. We did not learn until afterward what happened. Sultan Turanshah had dismissed from his counsel several emirs he mistrusted. So, feeling insulted and shamed, those who had been deposed consulted one another. The sultan has stripped us of the high office to which we were appointed by his father, said one. Therefore when he gains control of Damietta he will arrest us. We will die in prison.
These emirs approached the Halca, which is to say the imperial bodyguard, and demanded that Turanshah be assassinated following a banquet to which they themselves were invited. So at the appointed moment one of the Halca, said to have been the royal sword-bearer, struck a blow with that very sword at Turanshah’s hand, splitting it between the fingers all the way through the wrist up to the arm. Turanshah cried to his emirs for help, but they did nothing. The bodyguards shouted that they would kill him because otherwise he would do the same to them and kettledrums were beaten, which was a signal to divert the army to Mansourah. And so Turanshah, being young and nimble, dashed away from the banquet, got inside the highest tower and climbed to the top. The bodyguard wrecked his pavilions and crowded about the tower shouting for him to come down. He replied that he would not unless they spared his life. They shouted again for him to come down and set about burning the tower. Those of us aboard the galley could see flames licking up the planks. Turanshah cried out that he would abdicate his throne and return to Huns-Keifa, which is on the banks of the Tigris very far from Egypt, but they paid no attention. As the fire got close he leapt from the tower. His garment caught on a pole and for a few moments he hung suspended. Then he fell to the ground, jumped up and ran toward the Nile with conspirators after him. One of them thrust a lance into his side but he continued running and the lance dangling from his ribs. He plunged into the Nile but they waded after him and caught him and murdered him a short distance from our galley. A blue-eyed Turk called Baibars, who was leader of the Halca, is said to have finished him off. I have heard also that a knight called Faris al-Din Octai cut open Turanshah’s breast and pulled out the heart, which he brought to King Louis. What will you give me? asked the Saracen knight whose hands were slick with blood. What will you give, now that I have killed the sultan? To this our noble king answered not a word.
According to these people, fire, water, and iron put an end to the life of Turanshah. They left his corpse on the bank of the Nile for three days. Such are the Egyptians. God affright them.
Concerning the bodyguard, they feel no allegiance to anyone because they are poor youths brought from distant lands and sold at high prices. The emblem they wear is that of a sultan except that they add red roses, crooks, or another device. If one proves himself in battle he will be made emir, given command of two or three hundred knights. Yet as they become famous and powerful the sultan wonders if they might dethrone or kill him, so he may put them to death. That is how Sultan Bondocdar punished some who approached while he was hunting. We have troubled the king of Armenia, they said, and come to you for a fine reward. I salute you not, answered Bondocdar, since you have disturbed the chase. Whereupon these Halca lost their heads.
Now having murdered Turanshah the guards did not know what to do. After consultation they decided to place Sultana Chegeret on the throne. She, like them, was of lowly birth. She had been a slave, Armenian or Turk, until Sultan Ayub bought her and fell desperately in love with her and took her with him wherever he went and would not let her be separated from him. Muslims called this woman Shajar al-Durr, which is said to mean Tree of Pearls. So in love was Ayub that he stamped her name on a coin. However that
