Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (17/512)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

—403 AH.

He was placed among the ḥujariyya mamluks (1), over whom he soon asserted his dominance and high-handedness, even striking their governor. He then devoted himself to court service and courted the favour of the emirs; al-Ḥākim approved of him and was impressed, so he appointed him commander and sent him to Damascus in the year six, 406 AH. Tizbar rode out to receive him; he observed due decorum and dismounted before his master. He was then returned to Egypt and dispatched to the countryside, after which he was appointed governor of Baalbek, where his administration was commendable. Next he was transferred to Caesarea. Around that time the governor of Aleppo, Fātik, was killed by his own slave. Nushthakīn was thereafter given the governorship of Palestine, at which the King of the Arabs, Ḥassān ibn Mufarrij al-Ṭāʾī, became fearful and perturbed. This Commander of the Armies fought several engagements and subdued the Bedouin; Ḥassān resorted to intrigue and wrote against him to the Egyptian vizier al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ, who seized him by means of a stratagem devised for that purpose in 417 AH. Saʿīd al-Suʿadāʾ interceded on his behalf, so he was released; thereafter he rose still higher, and the number of his retainers and the size of his fortune increased greatly.

Meanwhile, in Syria the Bedouin were marauding and spreading corruption. When Najīb al-Dawla al-Jarjaraʾī became vizier, he placed Nushthakīn at the head of an army of seven thousand. Nushthakīn marched against Ḥassān and Ṣāliḥ ibn Mirdās; the battle took place at al-Uqḥuwāna, where he routed the Arabs and Ṣāliḥ was killed (2). Robes of honour were then sent to Nushthakīn. He next laid siege to Aleppo, returned to Damascus and lodged in the palace, before being dispatched again to Aleppo, which he entered. At first he treated the populace well and ruled justly; later he changed and took to drinking wine. A letter arrived censuring and threatening him; he became anxious and disavowed his misconduct, writing: “From the servant of the ʿAlid, Imāmī, Fāṭimid state, repudiating his sins…”

(1) The mamalik al-hujariyya (literally, “the chamber mamluks”), also known as sibyan al-hujra (“boys of the chamber”), were, according to Ibn Khallikan, young slaves each provided with a horse and weapons so that they could be dispatched on any mission without delay. Their organization was modeled on that of the dawiyya and the isbitar (the Templars and the Hospitallers, two Crusader military orders). When one of these youths distinguished himself by intelligence and bravery, he was promoted to command. See: Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-a‘yan, 3:418; R. Dozy, Takmilat al-ma‘ajim al-‘arabiyya, vol. 3 (Arabic version). (2) See: Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-a‘yan, 2:487; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil, 5:369; Ibn Taghribirdi, al-Nujum al-zahirah, 4:252–253.

ثَلاَث وَأَرْبَع مائَة. وَجُعِلَ بَيْنَ المَمَالِيْك الحُجَريَّة (١) ، فَقهرهُم وَاسْتطَال، فَضَرَبَهُ وَاليهُم، ثُمَّ لزم الخِدْمَةَ، وَتودَّدَ إِلَى الأُمَرَاء، فَارتضَاهُ الحَاكِمُ، وَأُعْجِبَ بِهِ، فَأَمَّرَهُ وَبَعَثَهُ إِلَى دِمَشْق سَنَة سِتٍّ، فتلقَّاهُ تِزْبر، فتَأَدَّبَ وَتَرَجَّل لمَوْلاَهُ، ثُمَّ أُعِيْدَ إِلَى مِصْرَ، وَجُرِّدَ إِلَى الرِّيْف، ثُمَّ بُعِثَ وَالِياً عَلَى بَعْلَبَك وَحَسُنَتْ سِيْرَتُهُ، ثُمَّ نُقِلَ إِلَى قَيْسَارِيَّة، وَاتَّفَقَ قتلُ مُتَوَلِّي حلب فَاتِك؛ قتلَه غُلاَمه، ثُمَّ وَلِي فِلَسْطِيْنَ، فَخَافَهُ مَلِكُ العَرَب حَسَّانُ بنُ مُفَرِّج الطَّائِيُّ، وَقلق، وَجرتْ لأَمِيْرِ الجُيُوش هَذَا وَقَائِع، وَدَوَّخ العَرَبَ، فَخبُثَ حَسَّانُ، وَكَاتبَ فِيْهِ وَزِيْرَ مِصْر الحَسَنَ بنَ صَالِح، فَأَمسكه بحيلَةٍ دُبِّرَتْ لَهُ سَنَةَ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ وَأَرْبَع مائَة، فشَفعَ فِيْهِ سَعِيْدُ السُّعَدَاء، فَأُطْلِقَ لَهُ، ثُمَّ ترقَّى، وَكَثُرت غِلْمَانُهُ وَأَمْوَالُهُ. وَأَمَّا الشَّامُ، فَعَاثت العَرَبُ فِيْهَا، وَأَفْسَدَتْ، وَوزرَ نَجِيْبُ الدَّوْلَة الجَرْجَرَائِيّ، فَقَدَّم نوشتكين عَلَى العَسَاكِر سَبْعَة آلاَف، فَقصد حَسَّانَ وَصَالِح بنَ مِرْدَاس، فَكَانَتِ المَصَافُّ عَلَى الأُقْحُوَانَة، فَهَزَم العَرَبَ، وَقُتِلَ صَالِح (٢) ، فَبُعثَت الخِلَعُ إِلَى نوشتكين، ثُمَّ نَازل حلبَ، ثُمَّ عَادَ إِلَى دِمَشْق، وَنَزَلَ بِالقصرِ، ثُمَّ ردّ إِلَى حلب وَدخلَهَا، فَأَحسن إِلَى الرَّعِيَّة، وَعدل، ثُمَّ تغيَّر، وَشرب الخَمْرَ، فَجَاءَ كِتَابٌ بذَمِّه وَتهديده، فَقَلِقَ وَتَنَصَّلَ، وَكَتَبَ: مِنْ عَبْدِ الدَّوْلَة العَلَوِيَّة، وَالإِمَامِيَّة الفَاطمِيَة مُتَبرِّئاً مِنْ ذُنُوبه

(١) المماليك الحجرية، ويقال لهم أيضا صبيان الحجر (جمع حجرة) قال ابن خلكان: ومعناه عندهم، أن يكون لكل واحد منهم فرس وسلاح، فإذا قيل له عن شغل، ما يحتاج أن يتوقف فيه، وذلك على مثال الداوية والاسبتار (منظمتان للصليبيين) . فإذا تميز صبي من هؤلاء بعقل وشجاعة، قدم للامرة. انظر " وفيات الأعيان " ٣ / ٤١٨، و" تكملة المعاجم العربية " لدوزي، الجزء الثالث (النسخة العربية) . (٢) انظر وفيات الأعيان ٢ / ٤٨٧، و" الكامل " ٥ / ٣٦٩، و" النجوم الزاهرة " ٤ / ٢٥٢، ٢٥٣.