The conflict started when the Mamluk Sultan Baibars summoned the Armenian ruler Hetoum I to abandon his allegiance to the Mongols, and accept himself as a suzerain, and remit to the Mamluks the territories and fortresses Hetoum has acquired through his alliance with the Mongols. Following these threats, Hetoum I went to the Mongol court of the Il-Khan in Persia to obtain military support. During his absence however, the Mamluks marched on Cilician Armenia, led by Al-Mansur Ali and the Mamluk commander Qalawun.