Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (17/346)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

and two horses, and two banners whose knots al-Qādir tied with his own hand; he then recited the formal oath for him in the hearing of the vizier Abū Ghālib and the leading dignitaries. The entire mission was dispatched to Fars with the judge Abū Khāzim Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn and two attendants.

The opening lines of the decree read:
“From ʿAbd Allah Aḥmad, the Imam al-Qādir bi-Allah, Commander of the Faithful, to Fannā Khusraw son of Bahāʾ al-Dawla, client of the Commander of the Faithful: peace be upon you. The Commander of the Faithful praises Allah on your behalf….”

Elsewhere it states: “To proceed—may Allah prolong your life—…,” until the clause: “Written in Rabīʿ al-Awwal of the year 404 AH.”

Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Malik says in his History:
“When power passed to Sultan al-Dawla, he appointed in Baghdad his brother (1) Musharraf al-Dawla (2) Abū ʿAlī as his deputy and placed under him, in particular, the command of the Turkish troops. They encouraged him to rebel, so he seized Baghdad and Wāsiṭ. The Turks kept going back and forth to the dīwān, whereupon he ordered that the Friday sermon in Sultan al-Dawla’s name be discontinued and that it be delivered instead for Musharraf al-Dawla (3).

Sultan al-Dawla entered Baghdad in the year 409; the caliph went out to meet him, and the nawba (ceremonial drumbeat) was sounded for him at the times of the five daily prayers. This alarmed al-Qādir, for since the days of ʿAḍud al-Dawla the nawba had been beaten only three times (4)…

When Musharraf al-Dawla had consolidated his power, his brother withdrew to Arrajān (5); his affairs unraveled, and he persisted in drinking until his character was ruined. He then sent for a physician

(1) The base manuscript reads “akhaf,” which is a mistake. (2) His biographical notice will be given under no. 268. (3) See Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 9, pp. 317–319, 323; Ibn Khaldun, Tarikh, vol. 4, p. 472. (4) See Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, vol. 9, p. 305. (5) The name is vocalised with an initial fat-ha and a doubled ra—Arrajan—and most Persians pronounce it Arghan. It is a large, prosperous city located sixty farsakhs from Shiraz and the same distance from Suq al-Ahwaz. See Yaqut, Mu jam al-Buldan, vol. 1, p. 142.

وَفَرَسَان، وَلوَاءان عقدهُمَا القَادِر بِيَدِهِ، وَتَلَفَّظَ بِالحلفِ لَهُ بِمسمع مِنَ الوَزِيْر أَبِي غَالِب وَالكِبَار وَنُفِّذَ ذَلِكَ مَعَ القَاضِي أَبِي خَازمٍ مُحَمَّدِ بن الحُسَيْنِ وَخَادمِين إِلَى فَارس، أَوّلُ العَهْدِ: مِنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ أَحْمَد الإِمَامِ القَادِر بِاللهِ أَمِيْر المُؤْمِنِيْنَ إِلَى فَنَّاخُسْرو ابنِ بَهَاءِ الدَّوْلَة مَوْلَى أَمِيْرِ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ: سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْك - فَإِنَّ أَمِيْرَ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ يَحْمَدُ إِلَيْكَ اللهَ. وَمِنْهُ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ - أَطَال اللهُ بَقَاءَك - إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ: وَكُتِبَ فِي رَبِيْعٍ الأَوَّلِ سَنَةَ أَرْبَعٍ وَأَرْبَع مائَة. قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ عَبْدِ المَلِكِ فِي (تَاريخه) :لمَا صَارَ الأَمْرُ إِلَى سُلْطَان الدَّوْلَة، اسْتخلَف بِبَغْدَادَ أَخَاهُ (١) مُشَرِّف الدَّوْلَة (٢) أَبَا عَلِيّ، وَجَعَلَ إِلَيْهِ إِمَارَةَ الأَترَاكِ خَاصّةً فَحَسَّنُوا لَهُ العصيَانَ، فَاسْتولَى عَلَى بَغْدَاد وَواسط، وَتردَّد الأَترَاكُ إِلَى الدِّيْوَان، فَأَمر بِقطع خُطبَة سُلْطَانِ الدَّوْلَة، وَأَنَّ يُخْطَبَ لمُشَرِّف الدَّوْلَة (٣) . وَكَانَ دخولُ سُلْطَانِ الدَّوْلَة بَغْدَاد سَنَة تِسْعٍ، وَتلقَّاهُ الخَلِيْفَةُ، وضُربت لَهُ النَّوبَةُ فِي أَوقَات الصَّلواتِ الْخمس، فَأُوحش القَادِرُ، وَكَانَتِ العَادَةُ جَارِيَةً مِنْ أَيَّام عَضُد الدَّوْلَة يضْرب النَّوبَة ثَلاَثَ أَوقَات (٤) ، إِلَى أَنْ قَالَ: وَلَمَّا تَمَكَّنَ مُشَرِّف الدَّوْلَة، انحَاز أَخُوْهُ إِلَى أَرَّجَان (٥) ، وَتنَاقضت أَمورُه، وَكَانَ يُوَاصِلُ الشُّرب حَتَّى فسد خُلُقه، وَطلب طَبِيْباً

(١) في الأصل: " أخاف " وهو خطأ. (٢) سترد ترجمته برقم (٢٦٨) . (٣) انظر " الكامل " ٩ / ٣١٧ - ٣١٩ و٣٢٣، و" تاريخ " ابن خلدون ٤ / ٤٧٢. (٤) انظر " الكامل " ٩ / ٣٠٥ (٥) بفتح أوله وتشديد الراء وجيم وألف ونون، وعامة العجم يسمونها أرغان: مدينة كبيرة كثيرة الخير، بينها وبين شيراز ستون فرسخا، وبينها وبين سوق الاهواز ستون فرسخا. انظر " معجم البلدان " ١ / ١٤٢.