Mostansir was, as is said, a man of great strength and good courage, with a loftiness of bearing very different indeed from Mostassim, the last Kalif of the Kalifat, who was trampled to death under horsehoofs at Hulagu’s camp ground. But whatever his merits this adventure reached the acme of folly. It is difficult to explain how the Sultan of Egypt with all his shrewd management could have spent so much treasure on a journey foredoomed beyond doubt to disaster, unless he had a sinister motive in the enterprise, and wished it to end in the destruction of that Kalif whom he had perhaps inaugurated through diplomacy and for his own aggrandizement. One historian declares that Beibars was sending ten thousand warriors to set up the Kalif in Bagdad, and giving him as aids the Prince of Mosul and his brothers, when one of these warned the Sultan that the Kalif if settled in Bagdad might take Egypt from him. We may well suppose that Beibars wished simply to establish his own power with firmness, and give himself freedom in Islam, and that he wished to be rid of the new Kalif so as to put in his place a man who could not be strong, and who would be obedient. Hakim, who met the late Kalif at Anbar, claimed to be fourth in descent from Mostershed who was slain in 1135 by the Assassins. This Hakim now fled to Egypt, where Beibars received him with distinction and gave him a residence in the palace called Munasir al Kebesh. His duties were simply to legitimize with the holiness of Islam the Sultan of Egypt, [[278]]and ward off all Fatimid pretensions. His power beyond that was as nothing. He was styled “Shadow of God upon Earth, Ruler by command of God.” He lived this life for forty years and was first in that line of Egyptian Kalifs who were puppets of the Mameluke sovereigns. An end was put to that line only when Egypt was conquered by Selim I. and the Turkish Sultans took to themselves the Kalifat, and became the successors of Mohammed.
Salih, the eldest son of Bedr ud din of Mosul, met a worse fate by far than the Kalif. Soon after the accession of Beibars Salih’s brother Saïd, who had been driven from Aleppo by the Mamelukes, went to Egypt, whence he wrote to his brother advising a visit to Beibars, who when he had conquered the Mongols could make Salih ruler not of some petty place in the West but of great Eastern regions. This letter was kept very carefully by Salih, who took it to bed with him. Ibn Yunus, an official who had been a great personage in Bedr ud din’s day, stole it from under the coverlet while Salih was sleeping. He set out immediately for Baashika his birthplace in the province of Nineveh.
On missing the letter Salih sent two slaves to Baashika. Ibn Yunus, fearing dire punishment if caught, turned toward Erbil and at Bakteli, on the way, he advised one Abad Ullah to flee with all his people without waiting, for Salih would destroy every Christian and escape straightway to Egypt. He fled then to Erbil.
Meanwhile Salih, fearing lest Ibn Yunus might give the letter to the Mongols, withdrew with his son, Alai ul Mulk, toward Syria. Turkan Khatun, his wife, would not go with him. She remained in Mosul with Yasan, the Mongol prefect. She and Yasan shut the gates and prepared a defence for the city. One of Salih’s officers, Alam ud din Sanjar, left him while journeying and returned to occupy Mosul. He found the gates closed and began to attack them. This attack lasted several days unsuccessfully. At last a number of citizens threw the gates open and he entered. The prefect and Salih’s wife fled to the citadel.
Sanjar killed all the Christians who would not accept Islam, hence many renounced their religion to save themselves.
Meanwhile the Kurds attacked places in the surrounding country, and slew a great number of Christians. They took the Kudida convent by storm and put to death many of its inmates. [[279]]The monastery of Mar Matthew they besieged during four months with warriors on foot and one thousand on horseback. They attempted to storm it, but the monks repelled every effort, and burned all scaling ladders with naphtha. The Kurds now let down two immense rocks from a neighboring mountain top. One of these remained fast in the wall and was fixed there like a stone in its setting; the other passed through and left a wide breach behind it. When the Kurds tried to rush through the opening the monks met them with a desperate valor, using stones, darts, and every weapon in the monastery. They kept the Kurds out and filled up the great breach. The Abbot, Abunser, fought with the foremost and lost one eye in that venomous struggle. But in time the defenders were failing and would have been forced to surrender had the attacks been continued. But the Kurds too had their weakness. They greatly feared an attack from the Mongols, though this they concealed very cleverly, and even extorted a ransom. The monks gave the silver and gold of the churches, and all the treasure which they could get from the people, after which the Kurds left them.
At Erbil the Mongol emir, Kutleg Beg, cut down men and women without mercy. Salih’s officer, Sanjar, having heard that the Mongols were moving on Mosul, marched out and engaged them; he was killed and his forces defeated. Salih, the Melik of Mosul, and his son had gone meanwhile to Beibars who was then at Damascus with the new Kalif. He was received with great pomp by the Sultan, as were also his brothers. Horses and banners and robes of honor were presented to them, also diplomas confirming their titles. These diplomas were strengthened further by the Kalif. The three brothers then escorted the Kalif to Rahbah, as has been already stated, where they left him, each going back to his own place.
Salih returned to Mosul which was at that time invested by Mongols. Samdagu, the commander, having learned from a spy that Salih was coming, withdrew to a point not remote from the city where he waited. When Salih had passed the gate, Samdagu reinvested it with two tumans of warriors and twenty-five catapults. He then began siege work which lasted from December till summer.
Salih gave good gifts to his garrison, and promised that the Sultan [[280]]would send reinforcements. The defence was a brave one and effective. One day eighty Mongols succeeded in scaling the bulwarks, but were killed every man of them and their heads shot out from catapults to their comrades.
Samdagu felt need of reinforcements which came to him promptly from Hulagu. At last the Sultan commanded Akkush, who was governing Aleppo, to march on Mosul and relieve it. He set out, and sent a pigeon with news of his coming. This bird settled down, by a wonderful chance, on a catapult in Samdagu’s army, was caught, and through the letter attached to it gave notice not to the Prince of Mosul but to Samdagu.