The late ruler's son, al-Nāṣir Dāʾūd, took de facto control of the city in opposition to al-Kāmil, the Ayyubid sultan in Egypt.
When the sultan moved north in 1229 to confront the army of the Sixth Crusade, he planned to secure Damascus as well.
[3] In the negotiation with the crusaders, al-Kāmil promised access to Jerusalem in exchange for European pressure on Damascus to submit to Egypt's authority.
He cut off the two streams that supplied the city with water, but a sally by the garrison supported by local volunteers restored them.
[6] In response to repeated calls for reinforcements from al-Ashraf, al-Kāmil sent 2,000 regular cavalry in two contingents under Fakhr al-Dīn ibn al-Shaykh and al-Muẓaffar Maḥmūd.
[7] In response to the attack engineered by al-Kāmil, al-Nāṣir Dāʾūd ordered Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī 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.
In late April, possibly earlier, he finally march north with the bulk of the army of Egypt.
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.
[13] On 14 June, al-Nāṣir secretly slipped out of Damascus with a small guard entered the besiegers' camp to seek terms.
Al-Kāmil would retain control of Ascalon, Gaza, Hebron, Tiberias and the Transjordanian castle of al-Shawbak.