Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (22/222)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Al-ʿIzz the genealogist dated the earthquake to that year, but he was mistaken and declared (1) that it was the great convulsion which demolished the coastal towns of Tyre, Tripoli, and ʿIrqa, hurled the tops of Damascus’s minarets to the ground, and killed two (2) people in the Kallāsah quarter.

Year 599 AH: Ibn al-Buzūrī told us, “The stars churned and shot about like locusts; the spectacle lasted until dawn, and the people cried out to Allah for help.”

The Sultan of Ghazna, Ghiyath al-Din, died, and his brother Shihab al-Din took the throne.

Al-ʿĀdil banished his grand-nephew al-Manṣūr al-ʿAzīz to Edessa, then besieged Mardin. Its lord sued for peace, agreeing to convey one hundred and fifty thousand dinars each year and to have the Friday sermon delivered in al-ʿĀdil’s name. The lord of Hama, al-Manṣūr, met the Franks twice and routed them both times.

Year 600 AH: Al-Ashraf, son of al-ʿĀdil, engaged the ruler of Mosul, Nur al-Din; al-Ashraf defeated him, captured his emirs, then they reconciled, and al-Ashraf married the Atabakiya, Nur al-Din’s sister.

The Franks entered the Nile (3) and plundered Fuwah on the festival day.

The lord of Sis advanced on Antioch and pressed the siege, but withdrew for fear of the Aleppo army. A few days later he returned and stormed Antioch with help from some of its inhabitants. Bohemond resisted for an hour, then took refuge in the citadel, shouting the battle-cry of the lord of Aleppo and dispatching a letter. The lord of Aleppo hurried to his aid, and the Armenian fled.

Frankish armies converged on Acre from every direction, determined to set out for

(1) Al-Dhahabi reports this from Abu Shama, p. 29. (2) In other words, two men were meant: one was a Maghribi (North African) and the other a Turkish mamluk. (3) In the region of the city of Rashid (Rosetta); see Mufarrij al-Kurub, vol. 3, p. 161.

وَأَرَّخَ العِزُّ النَّسَّابَةُ خَبَرَ الزَّلْزَلَةِ فِيْهَا، فَوَهِمَ، وَقَالَ (١) : هِيَ الزَّلْزَلَةُ العُظْمَى الَّتِي هَدَمَتْ بلاَدَ السَّاحِلِ صُوْرَ وَطَرَابُلُسَ وَعِرقَةَ، وَرَمتْ بِدِمَشْقَ رُؤُوْسَ المآذنِ، وَأَهْلكَتِ اثْنَيْنِ (٢) بِالكلاَّسَةِ. سَنَة ٥٩٩: قَالَ لَنَا ابْنُ البُزُوْرِيِّ: مَاجَتِ النُّجُوْمُ، وَتطَايرَتْ كَالجَرَادِ، وَدَامَ ذَلِكَ إِلَى الفَجْرِ، وَضجَّ الخلقُ إِلَى اللهِ. وَمَاتَ سُلْطَانُ غَزْنَةَ غِيَاثُ الدِّيْنِ، وَقَامَ بَعْدَهُ أَخُوْهُ شِهَابُ الدِّيْنِ. وَأَبعدَ العَادلُ ابْنَ ابْنِ أَخِيْهِ المَنْصُوْرَ العَزِيْزَ إِلَى الرُّهَا، وَحَاصَرَ مَارْدِيْنَ، ثُمَّ صَالَحَهُ صَاحِبُهَا عَلَى حملِ مائَةٍ وَخَمْسِيْنَ أَلْفَ دِيْنَارٍ فِي العَامِ، وَأَنْ يَخطبَ لَهُ، وَالتَقَى صَاحِبُ حَمَاةَ المَنْصُوْرُ الفِرَنْجَ مرَّتينِ، وَيهزمُهُم. وَفِي سَنَةِ سِتِّ مائَةٍ: التَقَى الأَشْرَفُ ابْنُ العَادلِ وَصَاحِبُ المَوْصِلِ نُوْرُ الدِّيْنِ، فَكسرَهُ الأَشْرَفُ، وَأَسَرَ أُمَرَاءهُ، ثُمَّ اصطلحَا، وَتَزَوَّجَ الأَشْرَفُ بِالأَتَابَكيَّةِ أُخْتِ نُوْرِ الدِّيْنِ. وَدَخَلَتِ الفِرَنْجُ فِي النِّيلِ (٣) ، فَاسْتبَاحُوا فوّة يَوْمِ العِيْدِ. وَنَازلَ صَاحِبُ سيسَ أَنطَاكيَةَ، وَجدَّ فِي حصَارِهَا، ثُمَّ ترحَّلَ خَوْفاً مِنْ عَسْكَرِ حَلَبَ، ثُمَّ بَعْدَ أَيَّامٍ أَقْبَلَ وَهجمَ أَنطَاكيَةَ بِموَاطَأَةٍ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا، فَقَابلَهُ البُرْنُسُ سَاعَةً، ثُمَّ التَجَأَ إِلَى القَلْعَةِ، وَنَادَى بشعَارِ صَاحِبِ حَلَبَ، وَسرَّحَ بطَاقَةً، فَسَارعَ لنجدتِهِ صَاحِبُ حَلَبَ، فَفَرَّ الأَرْمَنِيُّ. وَأَقْبَلتْ جيوشُ الفِرَنْجِ مِنْ كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ إِلَى عَكَّا، عَازمِينَ عَلَى قصدِ

(١) نقل الذهبي ذلك من أبي شامة: ٢٩. (٢) يعني: رجلين، وكان أحدهما مغربيا والآخر مملوكا تركيا. (٣) في جهة مدينة رشيد (انظر مفرج الكروب: ٣ / ١٦١) .