Citadel of Damascus
Baybars died unexpectedly in July 1277 in his palace (called "al-Qasr al-Ablaq") in Damascus after drinking a poisoned cup that was intended for someone else. His death was kept a secret and he was temporarily buried in the Citadel of Damascus while arrangements could be made for his permanent burial and for a transition of power to his 18-year-old son al-Sa'id Barakah. Baybars had reportedly expressed a desire to be buried near the town of Darayya, but his son judged that he should be buried in a more prestigious location near the great mosque and near the tombs of illustrious Ayyubid sultans, including the Mausoleum of Salah ad-Din. On al-Sa'id's orders, the governor of Damascus, emir Aydamur, purchased a house opposite the 'Adiliyya Madrasa, in the al-Amara neighbourhood near the Great Ummayyad Mosque. The house, called "Dar al-'Aqiqi", had originally belonged to the father of Salah ad-Din (Saladin), and Salah ad-Din himself had spent part of his childhood there. It was remodeled into a madrasa and funerary complex. When al-Sa'id himself died in 1280, he was buried in the same mausoleum as his father.