In 473 AH the ruler of Yemen, Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Ṣulayḥī (1), died after a reign of nearly twenty years. He adhered to the creed of the Ubaydiyyah (the Fatimids) and by stratagem succeeded in bringing the whole of Yemen under his control.

His father had been one of Yemen’s judges; I have recorded his biography in my Major History. They then brought their case before Niẓām al-Mulk, the vizier of Malikshāh.

Ibn al-Athīr (2) relates: “Niẓām al-Mulk spread a banquet (3) and stationed upon it his mamluks—thousands of Turks with their horses and weapons—while the Sultan was present. He said: ‘I have served you, your father, and your grandfather. You have heard that I appropriate funds—and what you heard is true—but I spend them on these young men, who are in fact yours, and on acts of charity and benevolence; the greater share of the reward is yours. Everything I possess lies before you, and I myself am content with a patched cloak.’”

The Sultan’s heart grew clear toward him; he loved him and had the chief of the dignitaries, Abū al-Maḥāsin (4), who had opposed him, blinded.

At about the same time Sulaymān ibn Qutulmish the Seljuq seized Konya and Aksaray. He then marched on and captured Antioch from the Byzantines, after it had been in their hands for one hundred and twenty years (5). He sent the glad tidings to Sultan Malikshāh, and later, in 477 AH, he and Muslim ibn Quraysh fought, whereupon Muslim was killed. Ibn Qutulmish besieged Aleppo for a month and then withdrew (6).

King Alfonso (7) laid siege to the city of Toledo for several years; afterwards came the Great Battle.