Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (20/515)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

so he conspired against Shīrkūh, failed to keep faith with him, committed outrageous deeds, and appealed to the Franks, who all but took possession of Egypt. Extraordinary events followed. Later Shīrkūh gained the upper hand, but he fell ill; Shāwar went to visit him, whereupon Jurdayk al-Nūrī (1) rushed at him and killed him in Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, 564 AH. It is also said that Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, not Jurdayk, was the one who slew him (2).

Ibrāhīm ibn Ismāʿīl al-Hāshimī, imam of the Mosque of al-Zubayr, relates: “Shāwar assumed control of the land, gathered the scattered affairs of the palace, and lavished abundant stipends on its residents—many of which Ṣāliḥ had previously curtailed. But Shāwar then became overbearing and unjust, so Emir Dargham (3) and other commanders rose against him and made ready for war. Shāwar fled to Syria, and his son Ṭayy was killed in Ramadan, 558 AH. Chaos gripped the people. The Byzantines advanced to al-Ḥawf, besieged Bilbays, and a great battle was fought in which multitudes were slain; the enemy was then driven back to Syria.

Shāwar went to Nūr al-Dīn, met with him, was honored, and received a promise of support. Shāwar said to him, “I will hand Egypt over to you.” After solemn oaths had been exchanged, Nūr al-Dīn dispatched Shīrkūh with him. Shīrkūh confronted Dargham’s army; the Egyptians were routed. Dargham was besieged in Cairo, his forces melted away, he fled, was overtaken, and killed near the Ibn Ṭūlūn Mosque, after which his head was carried about in display.

Shāwar entered Cairo, and the Fatimid caliph al-ʿĀḍid reproached him for having opened the way for the Turks into Egypt. Shāwar guaranteed that he would dismiss them, and the caliph invested him with robes of honor. Shāwar then wrote to the Byzantines, summoning them and luring them with promises. This placed Shīrkūh in a tight spot, so he laid siege to Cairo. The Byzantines suddenly descended upon him; he hurried to Bilbays and occupied it. The enemy besieged him there for two months, during which several engagements took place. Eventually they lost heart and withdrew, while a number of Byzantines remained, on whose support Shāwar relied. He fixed them a stipend, but they too soon abandoned him.

(1) He bore this nisba because he was the freedman (atiq) of Nur al-Din the Martyr. (2) See Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 2, pp. 440–441. (3) For his biography, see Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat al-Ayan, vol. 2, pp. 442–443.

فَتلاَءمَ عَلَى شِيرْكُوْه، وَلَمْ يَفِ لَهُ، وَعَمِلَ قبَائِح، وَاسْتنجد بِالفِرَنْج، وَكَادُوا أَنْ يَملِكُوا مِصْر، وَجَرَتْ أُمُوْرٌ عَجِيْبَة، ثُمَّ اسْتظهر شِيرْكُوْه، وَتَمرض، فَعَادَهُ شَاور، فَشدّ عَلَيْهِ جُرديك النُّوْرِيّ (١) ، فَقَتَلَهُ فِي رَبِيْعٍ الآخِرِ، سَنَةَ أَرْبَعٍ وَسِتِّيْنَ. وَقِيْلَ: بَلْ قَتَله صَلاَح الدِّيْنِ لاَ جُرديك (٢) . قَالَ إِمَام مَسْجِد الزُّبَيْر إِبْرَاهِيْمُ بن إِسْمَاعِيْلَ الهَاشِمِيّ: تَملك شَاورُ البِلاَد وَلَمَّ شَعثَ القَصْر، وَأَدر الأَرزَاق الكَثِيْرَة عَلَى أَهْلِ القَصْر، وَكَانَ قَدْ نَقصهُمُ الصَّالِحُ أَشيَاءَ كَثِيْرَةً، وَتَجبَّر وَظلم - أَعنِي: شَاور - فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ الأَمِيْر ضرغَام (٣) وَأُمَرَاءُ، وَتَهَيَّؤُوا لِحَرْبِهِ، فَفَرَّ إِلَى الشَّامِ، وَقُتِلَ وَلدُه طيٌّ فِي رَمَضَانَ، سَنَةَ ثَمَانٍ وَخَمْسِيْنَ، وَاختبط النَّاسُ، وَأَقْبَلت الرُّوْم إِلَى الحَوْفِ، فَحَاصَرُوا بَلْبِيْسَ، وَجَرَتْ وَقْعَة كُبْرَى قُتِلَ فِيْهَا خلق، وَرد العَدُوّ إِلَى الشَّامِ، فَأَتَى شَاور، فَاجْتَمَعَ بِنُوْرِ الدِّيْنِ، فَأَكْرَمَه، وَوعده بِالنُّصرَة. وَقَالَ شَاور لَهُ: أَنَا أُملِّكُكَ مِصْر، فَجَهَّزَ مَعَهُ شِيرْكُوْه بَعْد عُهُود وَأَيمَان، فَالتَقَى شِيرْكُوْه هُوَ وَعَسْكَر ضرغَام، فَانْكَسَرَ المِصْرِيّون، وَحُوصر ضرغَام بِالقَاهِرَةِ، وَتَفلُّل جَمعُه، فَهَرَبَ، فَأُدْرَك، وَقُتِلَ عِنْد جَامِع ابْن طولُوْنَ، وَطيفَ بِرَأْسِهِ، وَدَخَلَ شَاور، فَعَاتبه العَاضد عَلَى مَا فَعل مِنْ تَطرِيقِ التّرْك إِلَى مِصْرَ، فَضمن لَهُ أَنْ يَصرِفَهُم، فَخلع عَلَيْهِ، فَكَتَبَ إِلَى الرُّوْمِ يَسْتَنفرهُم وَيُمَنِّيهِم، فَأُسقط فِي يَد شِيرْكُوْه، وَحَاصَرَ القَاهِرَة، فَدهمته الرُّوْم، فَسبق إِلَى بَلْبِيْس، فَنَزَلهَا، فَحَاصَرَه العَدُوّ بِهَا شَهْرَيْنِ، وَجَرَتْ لَهُ مَعَهُم وَقعَاتٌ، ثُمَّ فَترُوا، وَترحَّلُوا، وَبَقِيَ خلق مِنَ الرُّوْم يَتَقَوَّى بِهِم شَاور، وَقرَّر لَهُم مَالاً، ثُمَّ فَارقُوهُ.

(١) نسب كذلك لأنه عتيق نور الدين الشهيد. (٢) انظر " وفيات الأعيان " ٢ / ٤٤٠، ٤٤١. (٣) انظر ترجمته في " وفيات الأعيان " ٢ / ٤٤٢، ٤٤٣.