 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.
