Battle of al-Jassora

On June 11, Sunqur with the Levant's soldiers left Damascus and camped in al-Jassora and waited there until the Egyptian army numbering 6,000 men arrived on June 16 under the command of Emir Alam al-Din Sanjar. Two days later, on June 18, a battle broke out between the two armies at al-Jassora. At the beginning of the battle, al-Ashqar withstood the Egyptian attacks, but was surprised by the escape of the Damascus forces from the battlefield and their joining the Egyptians. In the midst of all this, before the battle, al-Ashqar had agreed with the Arab tribes led by Ibn Muhanna that they would attack the Egyptian army camps from behind and plunder them in order to occupy the Egyptians who would be dispersed, but the commander of the Egyptian army, Emir Alam al-Din Sanjar, was an experienced military commander, so he ordered the Egyptian forces not to look back, even if they saw that the Arabs were taking their clothes from their tents, thus foiling the plan of Sunqur al-Ashqar.^[1][2][3]

After that, the soldiers of Aleppo and Hama, along with the Arabs, and most of the soldiers of the Levant, fled from the battlefield to the point that the historian Ibn Taghribirdi says that the soldiers of the Levant hid in the orchards and gardens of Damascus, and among them were those who fled to Baalbek, so the rebellious emir Sunqur al-Ashqar remained alone on the battlefield and was defeated.^[1][2][3]

After that, the Egyptian forces headed to the Citadel of Damascus and brought its people to safety. The people of Damascus were reassured and opened the doors, and no case of looting or any case of aggression was recorded by the Egyptian forces towards the people of Damascus, which makes it clear that the conflict was with Sunqur al-Ashqar as a person, and whoever followed him. A number of princes loyal to al-Ashqar came to the commanders of the Egyptian army and declared their loyalty to the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, represented by Sultan al-Mansur Seif al-Din Qalawun. Then 3,000 Egyptian soldiers went to arrest Sunqur al-Ashqar and the princes loyal to him and those who were still with him, and with them a decree from the Sultan of Egypt of safety for whoever would hand over themselves for justice.^[1][3]

Omens or messages were followed to Egypt with news of the Egyptian victory. Sultan al-Mansur Qalawun was very happy and ordered the decoration of Cairo and the major Egyptian cities. The long period of Qalawunid rule over Egypt began, which would continue for more than a century, most of which was a period of prosperity and glory that Egypt had not witnessed since ancient times.^[1][3]