Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (19/299)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Accordingly, the Franks hand-picked three hundred of their bravest men. His Christian subjects hauled them up by ropes, but each time one of them reached the top Ibn Suliʿah struck him down, until he had annihilated all three hundred. He then lined their heads along the battlements. The Franks renewed the siege and battered down a tower, yet by morning he had rebuilt it during the night.

Ibn Suliʿah would ride out with his cavalry and charge the Franks. On one occasion they grew overconfident; he lured them toward the wall, the garrison sallied out, surrounded them, and they were forced to withdraw.

When he realized that the Franks would not relent, he went to Damascus and offered its ruler, Ṭughtikīn, Jabala together with all its stores. Ṭughtikīn sent his son (1), who took possession of the town.

Ibn Suliʿah then set out for Baghdad, but an army waylaid him and plundered his caravan. He returned to Damascus, where Ṭughtikīn honored him and gave him lodging. Later he purchased the fortress of Balāṭunus (2) from Ibn Munqidh, moved there with his wealth, and left in Jabala a large quantity of treasure.

Afterwards Ibn ʿAmmar seized it from Ṭughtikīn’s son (3). I have not been able to discover the date of Ibn Suliʿah’s death.

190 – The ruler of India, Masʿūd ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Masʿūd ibn Maḥmūd ibn Subuktakīn*

Sultan Masʿūd, ʿAlāʾ al-Dawlah, Abū Saʿīd, son of the ruler of India, Ibrāhīm ibn

(1) He is Taj al-Mulk Buri. (2) *Tuns* (with u-vowel on the ta and nun) is a strongly fortified coastal castle in Bilad al-Sham, facing Latakia. (3) Ibn al-Athir reports (al-Kamil, 10/312) that after Taj al-Mulk took possession of *Jabla* and consolidated his power, he and his men mistreated the inhabitants, committing acts the townspeople resented. They therefore wrote to the qadi Fakhr al-Mulk Abu Ali Ammar b. Muhammad b. Ammar, lord of Tripoli, complaining of the abuses and asking him to send troops so they could surrender the city to him. He obliged, dispatching a force that entered *Jabla*, fought Taj al-Mulk’s troops, routed them, and captured Taj al-Mulk. The prisoner was brought to Tripoli, where Ibn Ammar honoured him, treated him kindly, and sent him on to his father in Damascus with an explanation of the circumstances and his fear that the Franks might otherwise seize *Jabla*. (*) Al-Samʿani, Maʿjam al-Ansab, p. 418; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi al-tarikh, vol. 10, p. 504; al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam.

فَانْتدب مِنَ الفِرَنْج مِنْ شُجعَانهُم ثَلاَث مائَة، فَطَالعهُم النَّصَارَى فِي حبَال، وَكُلَّمَا طَلَعَ وَاحِد، قَتله ابْن صُليحَة حَتَّى أَبَادَ الثَّلاَث مائَة، ثُمَّ صَفَّفَ رُؤُوْسَهُم عَلَى الشُّرُفَات، ثُمَّ حَاصَروهُ، وَدَكُّوا برجاً، فَأَصْبَح قَدْ بنَاهُ فِي اللَّيْلِ. وَكَانَ يَبرز فِي فَوَارسه، وَيَحْمِل عَلَى الفِرَنْج، فَطمعُوا فِيْهِ مرَّة، وَاسْتَجَرَّهُم إِلَى السُّوْر، فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِم المُقَاتلَة، وَأَحَاطُوا بِهِم، فَترحَّلُوا. ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ علم أَنَّ الفِرَنْج لاَ يَفتُرُوْنَ، فَقَدم إِلَى دِمَشْقَ، وَبَذَلَ لِصَاحِبهَا طُغْتِكِين جَبَلَة بذخَائِرهَا، فَبَعَثَ وَلده (١) فَتسلمهَا. وذهبَ ابْن صُليحَة إِلَى بَغْدَادَ، فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ عَسْكَر فَنهبُوْهُ، فَردَّ إِلَى دِمَشْقَ، فَأَكْرَمَهُ طُغْتِكِيْن وَأَنْزَله، ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ اشْتَرَى حصن بَلاَطُنُسَ (٢) مِنِ ابْنِ مُنْقِذ، فَتحوَّل إِلَيْهِ بِأَمْوَاله، وَترك بِجَبَلَة مِنَ الذّخَائِر شَيْئاً كَثِيْراً. ثُمَّ إِنَّهُ أَخَذَهَا ابْن عَمَّار مِنْ وَلَدِ طُغْتكِين (٣) ، وَلَمْ أَعْرِفْ وَفَاة ابْن صُلَيحَةَ. ١٩٠ - صَاحِب الهِنْدِ مَسْعُوْدُ بنُ إِبْرَاهِيْمَ بنِ مَسْعُوْدِ بنِ مَحْمُوْدِ بنِ سُبُكْتِكِيْنَ * السُّلْطَانُ مَسْعُوْد، علاَء الدَّوْلَة، أَبُو سَعِيْدٍ ابنُ صَاحِب الهِنْد إِبْرَاهِيْم بنِ

(١) هو تاج الملك بوري. (٢) بضم الطاء والنون والسين مهملة: حصن منيع بسواحل الشام مقابل اللاذقية. (٣) وسبب ذلك كما في " الكامل " ١٠ / ٣١٢: أن تاج الملك لما ملك جبلة، وتمكن منها، أساء السيرة هو وأصحابه مع أهلها، وفعلوا بها أفعالا أنكروها، فراسلوا القاضي فخر الملك أبا علي عمار بن محمد بن عمار صاحب طرابلس، وشكوا إليه ما يفعل بهم، وطلبوا منه أن يرسل إليهم بعض أصحابه ليسلموا إليه البلد، ففعل ذلك، وسير إليهم عسكرا، فدخلوا جبلة، وقاتلوا تاج الملك ومن معه، فانهزموا، وأخذ تاج الملك أسيرا، وحملوه إلى طرابلس، فأكرمه ابن عمار، وأحسن إليه، وسيره إلى أبيه بدمشق، واعتذر إليه، وعرفه صورة الحال، وأنه خاف أن يملك الفرنج جبلة. (*) معجم الأنساب: ٤١٨، الكامل في التاريخ: ١٠ / ٥٠٤، تاريخ الإسلام: =