In 1271 Kublai Khan dispatched envoys to obtain persons skilled in the management of mangonels from his kinsman Abaqa, the Ilkhan in Persia. The latter sent Al al-Din and Ismail, together with their families, by post route to Hangzhou, where they began by building large mangonels which they erected in front of the city gates. Al-Din was subsequently attached to the staff of the general Alihaya, with whom he crossed the Yangtse River, being present at the capture of many towns.