 Al @-@ Ashraf 's rule in Damascus was stable , but he and the other emirs of Syria sought to assert their independence from Cairo . Amid these tensions , al @-@ Ashraf died in August 1237 after a four @-@ month illness and was succeeded by his brother as @-@ Salih Ismail . Two months later , al @-@ Kamil 's Egyptian army arrived and besieged Damascus , but as @-@ Salih Ismail had destroyed the suburbs of the city to deny al @-@ Kamil 's forces shelter . In 1232 , al @-@ Kamil installed his eldest son as @-@ Salih Ayyub to govern Hisn Kayfa , but upon al @-@ Kamil 's death in 1238 , as @-@ Salih Ayyub disputed the proclamation of younger brother al @-@ Adil II as sultan in Cairo . As @-@ Salih Ayyub eventually occupied Damascus in December 1238 , but his uncle Ismail retrieved the city in September 1239 . Ismail 's cousin an @-@ Nasir Dawud had Ismail detained in Karak in a move to prevent the latter 's arrest by al @-@ Adil II . Ismail entered into an alliance with Dawud who released him the following year , allowing him to proclaim himself sultan in place of al @-@ Adil II in May 1240 . 
