accompany Shawar back to Egypt and return him to power. The force set out in May 1163 and quickly entered Cairo where they deposed Dirgham. Once Dirgham had been overthrown, however, it quickly became clear that Shawar was not going to uphold his agreement, neither paying tribute to Nur al-Din nor giving Shirkuh's troops the fiefs he had promised. Shawar then entered into negotiations with Amalric in an attempt to garner support against his former benefactor. He ultimately enticed Amalric into an alliance against Nur al-Din by making several concessions including the release of Christian prisoners and submitting to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Together Amalric and Shawar marched on the city Bilbays, which Shirkuh was using as his base. Neither of the allies wanted to storm the city so they chose to put it under siege (the native Egyptians understood the flood cycles of the Nile and thus knew they would not suffer the same fate as Amalric's previous siege of the city). Nur al-Din took advantage of the absence of Amalric and Jerusalem's army to attack the Crusader States, winning a pitched battle and retaking the city of Harim. Nur al-Din continued his advance and took the city of Baniyas, forcing Amalric to return from Egypt. A peace deal was brokered in November 1163 which required both Amalric and Shirkuh to withdraw from Egypt in exchange for large payments from Shawar. Shawar emerged as the ultimate victor having both gained personal control of Egypt and having avoided submission to either Nur al-Din or Amalric. Campaign of 1167 The ambitious Shirkuh was discontented with the result of the 1163 campaign and began preparing for a new invasion of Egypt. Shawar was aware of Shirkuh's intentions and entered into negotiation with Amalric to renew their alliance in the event of Shirkuh's invasion. In late 1166 and early 1167, Shirkuh, again with Saladin, attacked Egypt with Nur al-Din's support. Amalric and Shawar quickly mobilized against Shirkuh's coming force. Shirkuh managed to avoid Amalric's army in the open and travel south into Egypt and use the west bank of the Nile to stave off an attack from the combined forces of Amalric and Shawar. Finally in March 1167 the allies forced a battle which Shirkuh won, despite heavy losses to both sides. Shirkuh then proceeded to Alexandria where the largely Sunni population opened their gates to him and offered support. Amalric and Shawar