all the houses destroyed, all Christians who fell
into the hands of the troops were murdered, and several strongholds in
the mountains conquered. Laden with rich booty, the Moslem army set out
for Hemessa. From here Beybars proceeded towards Hamah and divided the
army into three divisions; one division, under the Emir Bedr ed-Din
Khaznadar (treasurer), was to take the direction of Suwaidiya, the port
of Antioch; the second, under Emir Izz ed-Din Ighan, struck the route
towards Der-besak; the third, which he led himself, proceeded in a
straight line over Apamaa and Schoghr towards Antioch, which was the
meeting-place for the two other emirs, and would so be shut in from the
north, the west, and the south. On the 16th May the sultan found himself
in front of the town, which contained a population of over one hundred
thousand. Fighting soon ensued between the outposts of the sultan and
the constable who advanced against him at the head of the militia. The
latter was defeated, and the constable himself taken prisoner. On the 3d
of Ramadhan the whole army had united and preparations were made for
the siege. Meanwhile the sultan had already attempted to persuade the
imprisoned constable to return to the town and enduce them to surrender,
and to leave his own son behind as a hostage. But when several days had
passed in fruitless discussions, at last the sultan gave the word for
the attack. In spite of the resistance of the Christians, the walls
were scaled on the same day, and the garrison retired thereupon into the
citadel; the inhabitants were massacred or taken prisoner and all the
houses plundered. No one could escape, for Beybars had blocked all the
entrances. On the next day the garrison, women and children included,
which numbered eight thousand, surrendered on account of lack of water
and meal. The chiefs apparently made their escape during the confusion
and fled into the mountains. The garrison only saved their lives by
surrendering. Beybars had them chained and distributed as slaves amongst
his troops; he then had the other prisoners and the rest of the booty
brought together, and proceeded with the lawful distribution. When
everything had been settled, the citadel was set on fire, but the
conflagration was so great that the whole town was consumed.

Beybars died soon after his return from Asia Minor (July 1, 1277).
According to some reports his death was occasioned by a violent fever;
other accounts say that he died