Then the year 305 AH began.
In that year the envoy of the Byzantine emperor arrived to negotiate the exchange of prisoners and the establishment of a truce. He was a youth, barely come of age, accompanied by an elder from among them and twenty attendants. When he reached Baghdad he beheld a scene of tremendous awe, for the caliph al-Muqtadir bi-Allah had ordered magnificent preparations so that the envoy might witness something that would strike fear into the enemy. On that day the entire army mustered and rode forth—one hundred and sixty thousand strong, both cavalry and infantry (1), all in full armor. The caliph’s mamluks numbered seven thousand: four thousand whites and three thousand blacks, arrayed in the finest garments, equipment, and ornaments. The chamberlains that day were seven hundred in number. As for the boats that plied the Tigris—the ṭayyārāt, the zabāzib, and the sumayriyyāt (2)—they were beyond counting, all splendidly decorated.
When the envoy entered the palace of the caliphate he saw a spectacle that astonished him; he beheld such majesty, splendor, and reverence that it dazzled the eyes. As he passed by the chief chamberlain he assumed him to be the caliph, but was told, “This is the grand chamberlain.” He then passed by the vizier in all his pomp and imagined him to be the caliph, but was told, “This is the vizier.”
The palace of the caliphate had been adorned with decorations the like of which had never been heard of. On that day it contained thirty-eight thousand curtains, of which twelve thousand five hundred were woven with gold. Twenty-two thousand carpets had been spread out, and within the palace were herds of wild beasts tamed to human company so that they would eat from people’s hands, together with one hundred predatory animals.
Next he was ushered into the House of the Tree, a pool of clear water at whose center stood a tree of gold and silver with eighteen branches, most of them gold. It bore projections (3) and multicolored leaves, and upon it perched birds fashioned from gold, silver, and pearls that produced various sounds as jets of water struck them. The entire tree swayed like living trees, with wondrous motions that amazed every onlooker.
After that he was led to a place they called “Paradise,” filled with furnishings and instruments so numerous and beautiful that they defy description. In its corridors hung eighteen thousand gilded coats of mail (4). Each place he passed heightened his astonishment and captivated his gaze until he reached the caliph al-Muqtadir bi-Allah, who was seated upon a throne of ebony covered with embroidered Dabiqi cloth (5). To the right of the throne hung nine necklaces (6), and to its left another nine of the finest jewels, whose brilliance outshone every other light.