this year, at the age of sixty-two; and al-Muʿizz’s entry into Cairo took place in 362 AH, as will be mentioned below.

[Then came the year 349 AH]

In that year a man from the descendants of ʿĪsā ibn al-Muktafī bi-llāh appeared in Azerbaijan. He took the honorific al-Mustajīr bi-llāh (the one seeking refuge with Allah) and summoned the people to rally behind al-riḍā min Ᾱl Muḥammad, exploiting the corruption of Marzūbān’s regime at the time. Heavy fighting broke out; al-Mustajīr’s followers were routed, he himself was captured and died in captivity, and his movement vanished—praise be to Allah.

In the same year Sayf al-Dawlah ibn Ḥamdān invaded Byzantine territory. He slew large numbers of its inhabitants, seized fortresses, burned wide stretches of land, took captives and booty, and then turned back. The Byzantines, however, blocked the pass against him, cut off his return, and put his troops to the sword; of his three hundred horsemen, scarcely anyone escaped, and that only after extreme hardship.

That year also witnessed a major disturbance in Baghdad between the Rāfiḍah (Shiʿites) and the Sunnis, in which many people were killed.

Toward the end of the year Anūjūr (1) ibn al-Ikhshīd, the ruler of Egypt, died, and authority passed to his brother ʿAlī (2).

During the same year Abū al-Qāsim ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī ʿAbd Allāh al-Barīdī—formerly governor of Ahwāz and Wāsiṭ—died.

That year the Egyptian pilgrims were returning from Mecca when they camped in a valley; a flash flood swept them all away and cast every last one of them into the sea.

Also in that year, two hundred thousand kharkāh (3) of Turks embraced Islam. They were called Turk Īmān (“the faithful Turks”), a name later softened in pronunciation to Turkmān.

[Among the notable deaths of the year]

Jaʿfar ibn Ḥarb al-Kātib (4) possessed wealth and magnificence approaching the pomp of viziers. One day, while riding in grand procession, he heard a man recite: “Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts should humble themselves to the remembrance of Allah and to what has been revealed of the truth?” [57:16]. He cried out, “Indeed, O Allah!” repeated the verse several times, then wept. Dismounting, he removed his garments, entered the Tigris and submerged himself. He did not emerge until he had distributed all his property in restitution for the injustices he had committed, returning it to its rightful owners,