the worsening of affairs and the confusion of the populace; therefore we beseech Allah to aid us in gathering the people’s scattered ranks by extinguishing the flame of conflict.

Abu al-Hasan al-Bayhaqi says in his Wishāḥ Dumyat al-Qaṣr: “Along with the caliphate, Allah granted al-Rāshid bi-Llāh the beauty of Joseph and the conduct of ʿUmar.”

His envoy once recited to me on his behalf:

An age whose changing seasons have come full circle,
and tamed the noble lions before a shorn-headed wretch.(1)
Its very fodder laments the turns of time,
for it has neither refuge nor pasture to claim.
So, heart, do not grieve for him; perhaps one day
you will see those folk lying slain within his courts.

Al-Rāshid also composed a lengthy ode, from which are these verses:

I swear by Allah—and can a caliph break his oath?—
that once I have sworn, I shall never forswear.
With truthful valor I shall gird myself for war,
to strip away the shame that hangs over me,
Tucking up the hem of resolve, seeking
revenge for the faithful Imam, my father.
By my life—by what has been decreed for me—
the writing upon my brow shall never be effaced.

Ibn Nāṣir relates: “Power remained with al-Rāshid for one year; then Masʿūd entered, accompanied by the supporters of al-Mustarshid—the vizier ʿAlī ibn Ṭirād, the keeper of the treasury Ibn Ṭalḥah, and the chancellor Ibn al-Anbari. Al-Rāshid came out with the pages of his household, seeking….”