and the emir Mufarrij al-Taʾi had already seized Ramla. He came to terms with the troops to wage war against Abū Taghlib, and a pitched engagement took place at Ramla in Safar 369 AH. Mufarrij took him captive, then executed him while he was in fetters, and dispatched his head to Egypt.

216 – Hiftakin the Turk *
He is also called Aftakin the Turk. A renowned warrior and champion, he was one of Subuktakin’s commanders in Iraq.

When his patron Subuktakin died at Wāsiṭ, with the caliph al-Tāʾiʿ present, Hiftakin assumed leadership over the Turks. They fought ʿIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyār ibn Būwayh for several days, the advantage remaining with the Turks. ʿIzz al-Dawla therefore sought aid from his cousin ʿAḍud al-Dawla. Hiftakin thereupon marched to Syria, seized much of it, and encamped outside Ḥimṣ. The emir Ẓālim al-ʿUqaylī advanced to fight him, but Hiftakin hastened to Damascus at the invitation of its leading men, took possession of the city, delivered the Friday sermon in the caliph al-Tāʾiʿ’s name, and erased all mention of al-Muʿizz al-ʿUbaydī. After mustering his forces he moved, in Shaʿbān 364 AH, to Sidon, fought the Muʿizziyya, routed them, slew many, and captured their ships.

Jawhar, the commander of the Fatimid armies, hurried to meet him, so Hiftakin fortified himself in Damascus. Jawhar besieged him for seven months, but when word reached him that the Qarmaṭians were coming from al-Aḥsāʾ he lifted the siege. Hiftakin pursued him with the Qarmaṭians in his train, and the two armies met at ʿAsqalān. Hiftakin blockaded him there for fifteen months, after which Jawhar emerged under a guarantee of safety and surrendered the town.

Al-ʿAzīz, the ruler of Egypt, then arrived with seventy thousand men. Hiftakin took heart, engaged them in battle, stood firm and displayed great valor, but his forces eventually broke apart, and he was captured at the beginning of the year