Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (15/158)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

until he died beneath the lashes; yet the judge feared to class the case as an execution, lest the authorities descend upon him.⦗1⦘

One day he returned to his house and found Sulaaf, the Sultan’s wet-nurse,⦗2⦘ pleading on behalf of an immoral professional mourner, asking him to release her from his jail. ‘What is the matter?’ he asked. She replied, ‘Qadhib,⦗3⦘ al-Mansur’s favourite, is requesting that you free her.’ He retorted, ‘You vile woman! Were it not for certain considerations I would strike you. May Allah curse you and the one who sent you!’ She howled and tore her clothes, then reported the incident to al-Mansur.

Al-Mansur said, ‘What can I do with him? He has never taken a stipend from us, and we have no power to dismiss him; we only seek the welfare of the city.’⦗4⦘

Later, in Ramadan of 341 AH, al-Mansur set out for a pleasure outing. He was struck by a chill and a violent wind that left its mark on him, so he fell ill; many of those with him died, and he himself passed away on the last day of Shawwal that same year, at the age of thirty-nine.⦗5⦘

In the previous year, 340 AH, he had dispatched a fleet to Sicily, and they routed the Christians in a momentous engagement: thirty thousand of the enemy were killed, thousands were taken prisoner, and the troops seized spoils beyond description.⦗6⦘ It is also reported that he captured the city of Genoa and pillaged the districts of Sardinia.⦗7⦘

(1) In Maalim al-Iman, 3/56: “He only did that—Allah knows best—because if he had referred the case to al-Mansur, the latter would not have executed him for the insult. He therefore pretended that he was merely disciplining him with a beating, so that he could kill him. Then, if asked, ‘Why did you kill him?’ he would reply, ‘He died from the beating.’” (2) Maalim al-Iman, 3/56, reads: “a slave-girl.” (3) Another of the ruler’s slave-girls—the one he valued most—according to Maalim al-Iman, 3/57. (4) Maalim al-Iman, vol. 3, pp. 56–57. (5) Al-Kamil, vol. 8, pp. 497–498. (6) Al-Kamil, vol. 8, pp. 493–494. (7) Al-Kamil, 8/310, reports that it was al-Qa’im who opened (i.e., conquered) it.

مَاتَ تَحْتَ الضَّرب خَاف أَنْ يحكم بِقَتْلِهِ فَتحل عَلَيْهِ الدَّوْلَة (١) . وَأَتَى يَوْماً بَيْته فَوَجَد سُلاَف دَايَة (٢) السُّلْطَان تشفع فِي امْرَأَة نَائِحَة فَاسقَة ليطلقهَا مِنْ حَبسه، فَقَالَ مَالِك، قَالَتْ قَضِيب (٣) مَحْبُوْبَة المَنْصُوْر تطلب مِنْكَ أَنْ تطلقهَا، فَقَالَ: يَا منتنَة لَوْلاَ شَيْء لَضَرَبْتُك لَعَنَك الله وَلعن مِنْ أَرْسَلك فولولت وَشقت ثيَابهَا ثُمَّ ذكرت أَمرهَا لِلْمَنْصُوْرِ. فَقَالَ: مَا أَصنع بِهِ مَا أَخذ منَا صلَة وَلاَ نقدر عَلَى عَزله نَحْنُ نحب إِصْلاَح البَلَد (٤) . خرج فِي رَمَضَانَ سَنَةَ إِحْدَى وَأَرْبَعِيْنَ وَثَلاَثِ مائَةٍ إِلَى مَكَان يتَنَزَّه فَأَصَابَه برد وَريح عَظِيْمَة فَأَثر ذَلِكَ فِيْهِ وَمَرِضَ وَمَاتَ عدد كَثِيْر مِمَّنْ مَعَهُ ثُمَّ مَاتَ هُوَ فِي سَلْخِ شَوَّال مِنَ السّنَة وَلَهُ تِسْع وَثَلاَثُوْنَ سَنَةً (٥) . وَقَدْ كَانَ فِي سَنَةِ أَرْبَعِيْنَ جهَّز جَيْشه فِي البَحْر إِلَى صَقِلِّيَّة فَهَزمُوا النَّصَارَى وَكَانَتْ ملحمَة عظمَى قتل فِيْهَا مِنَ العَدُوّ ثَلاَثُوْنَ أَلْفاً وَأُسر مِنْهُم أُلوف وَغنم الجُنْد مَا لاَ يعبر عَنْهُ (٦) . وَقِيْلَ: أَنَّهُ افتَتَح مَدِيْنَة جنوهُ وَنهب أَعمَال سُرْدَانِيَه (٧) .

(١) في " معالم الايمان ": ٣ / ٥٦ " وإنما فعل ذلك - والله أعلم - لأنه لو رفع أمره إليه - يعني: للمنصور - لم يقتله بسبب السب، فأظهر إنما يضربه ضرب الأدب، ليصل بذلك إلى قتله، فإذا قيل له: لم قتلته؟ قال: مات من الضرب..". (٢) في " معالم الايمان ": ٣ / ٥٦ " جارية ". (٣) جارية أخرى للسلطان، ليس عنده أعز منها كما في " معالم الايمان ": ٣ / ٥٧. (٤) " معالم الايمان ": ٣ / ٥٦ - ٥٧. (٥) " الكامل ": ٨ / ٤٩٧ - ٤٩٨. (٦) " الكامل ": ٨ / ٤٩٣ - ٤٩٤. (٧) في " الكامل ": ٨ / ٣١٠ أن القائم هو الذي افتتحها.