Boleslaw mounts a counteroffensive against Shvarn and his uncle Vasilko Romanovich and defeats the former on June 19, 1266 at Wrota.

This weakens Shvarn's position in his own domain.

Mamluk Sultan Baibars, having seized power in 1260 and united Egypt and Syria, now embarks on a systematic conquest of Crusader strongholds, expanding his domain by capturing the city of Byblos (in present-day Lebanon) and …

…the important castle of Toron.

The conflict between the Armenians and the Mamluks had begun when the Mamluk Sultan Baibars summoned the Armenian ruler Hethum I to abandon his allegiance to the Mongols, accept himself as a suzerain, and remit to the Mamluks the territories and fortresses Hethum has acquired through his alliance with the Mongols.

Following these threats, Hetoum I had gone to the Mongol court of the Il-Khan in Persia to obtain military support.

During his absence, however, the Mamluks march on Cilician Armenia, led by Al-Mansur Qalawun.

Hethum I's two sons, Leo (the future king Leo II) and Thoros lead the defense by strongly manning the fortresses at the entrance of the Cilician territory.

The Mamluks, however, overtake the forts by going through the mountains, and encounter the Armenians at Mari, near Darbsak on August 24, 1266, where the Armenians are defeated.

Leo is made a prisoner, and Thoros is killed in action.

The Armeno-Mongol son of the Constable Sempad, named Vasil Tatar, is also taken prisoner by the Mamluks and is taken into captivity with Leo, although they are reported to have been treated well.

Following their victory, …

… the Mamluks invade Cilicia, ravaging the three great cities of the Cilician plain: Mamistra, …

…Adana and …

…Tarsus, as well as …

…the harbor of Ayas.

Another group of Mamluks under Mansur takes the capital of Sis.

The pillage lasts twenty days, and forty thousand Armenians are made prisoners.

When Hethum I returns with Mongol troops, the country is already devastated.

The king has to negotiate the return of his son Leo by paying a large quantity of money, handing over several fortresses, and accepting to intercede with the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan in order to have one of Baibars's relatives freed.

Baibars receives the town of Safad from the Knights Templar garrison in July 1266, after a heavy siege.

After conquering Galilee, …