He therefore took the city from the Qarmatians after a hard siege, arresting its governor Abū al-Hayjāʾ (1) the Qaramatian and his son. He also seized a man from Nablus named Abū Bakr (2), who used to rail against the Fatimids and say, “If I had ten arrows, I would shoot one at the Byzantines and the rest at the Westerners”—meaning the Fatimids. He was flayed (3) in the presence of the caliph (4) al-Muʿizz; his skin was stuffed with straw, and afterwards he was crucified.

When the commander Abū al-Maḥmūd had finished fighting the Qarmatians, he advanced toward Damascus. Ẓālim b. Marhūb went out to meet him, welcomed him outside the city, showed him honor, and lodged him on the outskirts of Damascus. Abū al-Maḥmūd’s troops then ravaged the Ghūṭah and the Marj: they plundered the peasants, blocked the roads, and forced the people of the Ghūṭah to seek safety inside the city because of the widespread looting. A number of corpses were brought and thrown into the congregational mosque; the outcry grew, the markets were closed, and the commoners gathered to fight. They clashed with the Maghariba, and men were killed on both sides; the townspeople were routed more than once. The Maghariba set fire to the quarter of Bāb al-Farādis, and a great deal of property and many houses were burned. The fighting dragged on until the year 364 AH. The city was burned a second time after Ẓālim b. Marhūb was dismissed and Jaysh b. Ṣamṣāma, the nephew of Abū al-Maḥmūd—may Allah disgrace him—was appointed in his stead. The channels and all water supplies to the city were cut off, and many of the poor died in the streets from hunger and thirst. Matters remained thus until the eunuch Rayyān the servant was placed over them on behalf of al-Muʿizz (5); only then did the situation calm down (6)—praise be to Allah (7).

Section (8)

When the Turks gained strength in Baghdad, ʿIzz al-Dawlah Bakhtiyār [son of Muʿizz al-Dawlah] (9) was bewildered as to what to do. He was staying in Ahwāz (10) and wrote to his uncle Rukn al-Dawlah seeking help. Rukn al-Dawlah therefore sent him an army under the command of his vizier Abū al-Fath b.