for the situation in the Maghrib and the rise there of Shiʿi propagandists. He devoted great attention to the matter, commissioning Abū al-Namr (1) over Barqah with a large force. He later relieved him and put the amir Khayr in his place; their armies clashed and the Egyptians were defeated. Tikīn then wrote to the governor of Ifrīqiyah, calling him to obedience, in 300 AH.
Habbāsah (2) soon advanced with one hundred thousand men, captured Alexandria in 302 AH, and al-Qāsim ibn Sīmāʾ arrived from Iraq with reinforcements for Tikīn, together with Aḥmad ibn Kayghalagh and other commanders. The two hosts met; slaughter among the Maghribīs became intense, and Habbāsah was routed. The engagement took place at Giza. An ambush party belonging to Habbāsah then fell upon the Egyptians, killing around ten thousand. At dawn the armies re-formed on the field while the sword was still at work, and the common folk fought with the desperation of men defending their women. It was a memorable battle.
Muʾnis al-Khādim (4) next marched from Baghdad to Egypt with his troops, and Tikīn was deposed in Dhū al-Qaʿdah 302 AH.
In Ṣafar 303 AH, Dhih (5) the one-eyed Greek assumed the governorship of Egypt, and the Maghribīs withdrew to Ifrīqiyah.
Tikīn returned to the governorship of Egypt in 307 AH, was dismissed in 309 AH, and then reinstated.