Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (22/223)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

Jerusalem; al-ʿĀdil pitched his camp beneath Mount Ṭūr, reinforcements flocked to him, while the Franks raided and ravaged, and the climate of fear lasted for months.

Constantinople was still in Byzantine hands, so at that moment the Franks and their kings closed ranks and formed a league.

Year 601 AH: The Palace of the Caliphate went up in flames in a terrifying conflagration. It was said that the value of what was lost reached three million seven hundred thousand dinars, according to Abū Shāmah (1).

In that same year a truce was concluded between al-ʿĀdil and the Franks, after they had pillaged and attacked Homs and Hama—had it not been for al-Manṣūr’s steadfastness, Hama would have fallen. They then raided Jableh and Latakia and came off the worse for it. Al-ʿĀdil had been in Egypt; alarmed by the enemy’s designs, he summoned his resolve and, in 603 AH, marched north. He besieged Acre for a time, and its garrison sued for terms. Refusing to be lulled into complacency, he called up troops from every district and spent great sums, for he knew that the Franks never sleep. He next invested Hisn al-Akrad (the Fortress of the Kurds) and captured one of its towers, after which he laid siege to Tripoli for a period. His army grew weary, so the king of Tripoli humbled himself, sending gifts, three hundred captives, and a peace settlement.

The Georgians, driven to desperation, swept through Azerbaijan, slaughtering many and bringing grievous suffering. The lord of Khilāṭ met them with reinforcements from the Rūmī forces; Allah granted victory, and the Georgian tyrant was slain.

Year 602 AH: al-Naṣīr ibn Mahdī the ʿAlid was appointed vizier. He rode out with a gold-mounted inkwell, weighing a thousand mithqāls, borne before him; behind him came the state cradle, the banners of praise, and the ceremonial kettle-drums (2), while the patent of investiture was publicly read aloud.

(1) Dhayl al-Rawdatayn, p. 51. (2) Plural kawsa: small copper cymbals shaped like a little buckler; they are struck together in a set rhythm. Such cymbals were customarily played for dignitaries of this rank at specific prayer times, in keeping with their status (see Al-Muntazam, 9/6; Subh al-Asha, 4/9, 43, and other sources).

القُدْسِ، وَنَزَلَ العَادلُ تَحْتَ الطُّورِ، وَجَاءتْهُ أَمْدَادُ العَسَاكِرِ، وَأَغَارتِ الفِرَنْجُ، وَعَاثَتْ، وَاسْتمرَّ الخوفُ شُهوراً. وَمَا زَالتِ قُسْطَنْطِيْنِيَّةَ لِلرُّومِ، فَتحزَّبَتِ الفِرَنْجُ وَملوكُهَا فِي هَذَا الوَقْتِ. وَسَنَةُ إِحْدَى وَسِتِّ مائَةٍ: احترقَتْ دَارُ الخِلاَفَةِ، وَكَانَ أَمراً مهولاً، حَتَّى قِيْلَ: إِنَّ قيمَةَ مَا ذهبَ ثَلاَثَةُ آلاَفِ أَلفِ دِيْنَارٍ وَسَبْعِ مائَةِ أَلْفِ دِيْنَارٍ، قَالَهُ أَبُو شَامَةَ (١) . وَفِيْهَا: وَقعَتِ الهدنَةُ بَيْنَ العَادلِ وَبَيْنَ الفِرَنْجِ، بَعْدَ أَنْ عَاثُوا وَأَغَارُوا عَلَى حِمْصَ وَعَلَى حَمَاةَ، وَلَوْلاَ ثَبَاتُ المَنْصُوْرِ لرَاحَتْ حَمَاةُ، ثُمَّ أَغَارُوا عَلَى جبلَةَ وَاللاَّذِقِيَّةَ، وَاسْتضرُّوا، وَكَانَ العَادلُ قَدْ مَضَى إِلَى مِصْرَ، فَخَافَ وَأَهَمَّهُ أَمرُ العَدُوِّ، ثُمَّ عَملَ هِمَّةً، وَأَقْبَلَ فِي سَنَةِ ثَلاَثٍ وَسِتِّ مائَةٍ، فَحَاصَرَ عَكَّا مُدَّةً، فَصَالَحُوْهُ، فَلَمْ يَغْتَرَّ، وَطلبَ العَسْكَرَ مِنَ النَّوَاحِي، وَأَنفقَ الأَمْوَالَ، وَعلمَ أَنَّ الفِرَنْجَ لاَ يَنَامُوْنَ، فَنَازَلَ حصنَ الأَكرَادِ، وَأَخَذَ مِنْهَا بُرْجاً، ثُمَّ نَازلَ طَرَابُلُسَ مُدَّةً، فَملَّ جندُهُ، وَخضعَ لَهُ ملكُ طَرَابُلُسَ، وَسَيّرَ لَهُ تُحَفاً وَثَلاَثَ مائَةِ أَسيرٍ وَصَالح. وَاستضرَّتِ الكُرْجُ، وَعَاثُوا بِأَذْرَبِيْجَانَ، وَقتلُوا خَلْقاً، وَعظُمَ البَلاَءُ، فَالتقَاهُم صَاحِبُ خِلاَطٍ وَنجدَةُ مِنَ الرُّومِيِّينَ، فَنَصْرَ اللهُ، وَقُتِلَ طَاغِيَةُ الكُرْجِ. وَفِي سَنَةِ ٦٠٢: وَزَرَ النَّصِيْر بن مَهْدِيٍّ العَلَوِيّ، وَركِبَ وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ دَوَاةٌ مُحلاَّةٌ بِأَلفِ مثقَالٍ، وَورَاءهُ المهدُ وَأَلويَةُ الحَمْدِ وَالكوسَاتُ (٢) ، وَالعَهْدُ مَنْشُوْراً،

(١) ذيل الروضتين: ٥١. (٢) جمع: كوسة، وهي صنوجات في نحاس شبه الترس الصغير، يدق بأحدهما على الآخر بايقاع مخصوص. وكانت تضرب عادة لمثل هؤلاء الكبار في بعض أوقات الصلوات، حسب مقامهم. (انظر المنتظم: ٩ / ٦، وصبح الاعشى: ٤ / ٩، ٤٣) وغيرهما.