hundred. The Berber armies, together with Sulaymān al-Mustaʿīn, laid siege to him for a time, and the blockade continued until Shawwāl 403 AH. The Berbers then stormed Córdoba with the sword, and al-Muʾayyad bi-Allah was killed.

I have read, in the handwriting of Abū al-Walīd ibn al-Ḥāj, that a faction rose up against al-Mahdī and slew him; they next brought out al-Muʾayyad bi-Allah, and ʿAnbar carried al-Mahdī’s head before al-Muʾayyad. The populace quieted down, and al-Muʾayyad wrote to the Berbers, asking them to enter into obedience, but they refused. He began to ride out publicly, and the people were overawed by him; meanwhile the Berbers went on ravaging, committing deeds no Muslim would commit. They encamped before Córdoba in 402 AH; drought and calamity intensified, and the people perished. In 403 AH the Berbers forced their way in by the sword, killing even the children. The inhabitants fled, and al-Muʾayyad bi-Allah himself fled eastward and performed the pilgrimage. Thus he experienced in this world both honor and humiliation—yet all honor belongs to Allah alone. (1)

Another source says: As for al-Muʾayyad, news of him ceased and his memory was forgotten.

ʿAzīz relates in The History of Kairouan that al-Muʾayyad bi-Allah fled from Córdoba alone and remained a fugitive in hiding until he made the pilgrimage. He carried a pouch of jewels, but the highwaymen of Mecca discovered it and took it from him. He withdrew to a corner of the Sacred Precinct, staying two days without tasting food. He then went to al-Marwah, where a man met him and asked, “Can you knead clay well?” “Yes,” he replied. The man took him along, but he did not do the work well. They agreed on a wage of one dirham and a loaf of bread. “Hurry with the loaf,” he said, “for I am hungry.” The man brought it, he ate, worked until he was exhausted, slipped away, and left with a caravan for Syria in the worst of conditions. He reached Jerusalem and, as he walked, saw a man weaving reed mats. The man looked at him and asked, “Who are you?” He answered, “A stranger.” “Do you know this craft?” “No.” The man said, “Then stay with me and hand me the reeds…"