Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/61)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Al-Muʿtaḍid died in 464 AH.

He was succeeded by al-Muʿtamid, the subject of this biography. Al-Muʿtamid was a courageous horseman, a scholar and man of letters, quick-witted and poetic, benevolent, open-handed, widely praised, of lofty standing—indeed better than his father. Among all kings he had the most generous hand and the widest court; his palace was the place where caravans halted and the Kaʿbah of every hope (1).

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Labbāna, the poet (2), said: “Al-Muʿtamid ruled over two hundred fortified towns; he fathered one hundred and seventy-three children; his kitchen consumed eight qintārs of meat each day, and he maintained eighteen secretaries.”

Ibn Khallikān (3) relates: “Alfonso (4) had grown powerful, and the kings of al-Andalus made terms with him and paid him tribute. He captured Toledo (5) in 478 AH, after a long siege, from al-Qādir ibn Dhī al-Nūn; this was the first serious blow the Franks dealt the Muslims. Al-Muʿtamid had been paying him, but once Alfonso felt secure he refused the tribute, threatened him, and demanded the surrender of certain fortresses. Al-Muʿtamid struck the envoy and killed those who accompanied him. The accursed king therefore mobilized. The scholars gathered and agreed to write to the emir Abū Yaʿqūb ibn Tāshfīn, lord of Marrakesh, asking for help. Ibn Tāshfīn crossed the straits with his armies to the Peninsula, met with al-Muʿtamid, and volunteer fighters (muṭṭawwiʿa) streamed in from every region,

(1) Ibn Khallikan offers a more extended account: vol. 5, p. 24, citing Abu l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Qatta al-Saadi in his Lamih al-Mulah. (2) His biography will appear later in this volume under no. 215. (3) See Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 5, pp. 28–30. (4) That is, the Frankish king Ferdinand. (5) Al-Samani notes that the word is vocalized with a damma on the first ta, a fatha on the lam, a sukun on the ya, and a kasra on the second ta; Yaqut, following al-Humaydi, puts a damma on both tas and a fatha on the lam; most North-African scholars pronounce it with a damma on the first ta and a fatha on the second.

هلك المُعْتَضِدُ سَنَةَ أَرْبَعٍ وَسِتِّيْنَ وَأَرْبَعِ مائَةٍ. وَخلفه الْمُعْتَمد صَاحِب التَّرْجَمَة، فَكَانَ فَارِساً شُجَاعاً، عَالِماً أَديباً، ذكيّاً شَاعِراً، مُحسناً جَوَاداً مُمَدَّحاً، كَبِيْرَ الشَّأْنِ، خَيْراً مِنْ أَبِيْهِ. كَانَ أَندَى المُلُوْك رَاحَةً، وَأَرحبهُم سَاحَةً، كَانَ بَابُه مَحطَّ الرِّحَال، وَكعبَةَ الآمَال (١) . قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ اللَّبَّانَة الشَّاعِر (٢) :مَلَكَ المُعْتَمِدُ مِنْ مُسوَّرَات البِلاَد مائَتَيْ مُسور، وَوُلد لَهُ مائَةٌ وَثَلاَثَة وَسَبْعُوْنَ وَلداً، وَكَانَ لِمَطْبَخه فِي اليَوْمِ ثَمَانِيَةُ قنَاطير لحم، وَكُتَّابُه ثَمَانِيَةَ عشرَ. قَالَ ابْنُ خَلِّكَان (٣) :كَانَ الأَذْفونش (٤) قَدْ قوِيَ أَمرُه، وَكَانَتِ المُلُوْكُ بِالأَنْدَلُسِ يُصَالِحونه، وَيَحْمِلُوْنَ إِلَيْهِ ضَرَائِبَ، وَأَخَذَ طُليطلَة (٥) فِي سَنَةِ ثَمَانٍ وَسَبْعِيْنَ بَعْدَ حِصَارٍ شَدِيد، مِنَ القَادِر بنِ ذِي النُّوْنِ، فَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَوَّلَ وَهْنٍ دَخَلَ مِنَ الفِرَنْج عَلَى المُسْلِمِين، وَكَانَ المُعْتَمِدُ يُؤَدِّي إِلَيْهِ، فَلَمَّا تَمَكَّنَ، لَمْ يَقبلِ الضَّرِيبَةَ، وَتَهدَّدَه، وَطلب مِنْهُ أَنْ يُسَلِّم حُصُوْناً، فَضَرَبَ الرَّسُولَ، وَقَتَلَ مَنْ مَعَهُ، فَتحرَّك اللَّعينُ، وَاجتمع العُلَمَاءُ، وَاتَّفَقُوا عَلَى أَنْ يُكَاتِبُوا الأَمِيْرَ أَبَا يَعْقُوْب بن تَاشفِيْن صَاحِبَ مَرَّاكُش لِيُنْجِدَهُم، فَعَبَرَ ابْنُ تَاشفِيْن بِجيوشه إِلَى الجَزِيْرَة، ثُمَّ اجْتَمَع بِالمُعْتَمِد، وَأَقْبَلت المُطَّوِّعَةُ مِنَ النَّوَاحِي،

(١) ذكره ابن خلكان بأطول مما هنا: ٥ / ٢٤، نقلا عن أبي الحسن علي بن القطاع السعدي في كتابه " لمح الملح ". (٢) ستأتي ترجمته في هذا الجزء برقم (٢١٥) . (٣) في وفيات الأعيان: ٥ / ٢٨ - ٣٠. (٤) أي ملك الفرنج فرذلند. (٥) قال السمعاني: بضم الطاء المهملة، وفتح اللام، وسكون الياء، وكسر الطاء الأخرى، وقال ياقوت: ضبطه الحميدي بضم الطائين وفتح اللام، وأكثر ما سمعناه من المغاربة بضم الأولى وفتح الثانية.