and wailing over al-Ḥusayn, so they refrained from all of that—praise and bounty belong to Allah. (1)

This man followed the Sunnah, yet he was avaricious. He ordered that no witness whose probity had been newly certified after Ibn Maʿrūf be admitted. Many such witnesses had already spent large sums to obtain that accreditation, so they had to collect more money for him; only then did he sign a decree allowing them to continue.

In Jumādā al-Ākhirah the Daylam and the Turks plotted against this Ibn al-Muʿallim, pitched their tents at Bāb al-Shammāsiyyah, and wrote to Bahāʾ al-Dawlah asking him to surrender the man to them because of his harsh treatment of them. The sultan defended him strenuously on several occasions, but they kept pressing him until Bahāʾ al-Dawlah had Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Muʿallim strangled with a rope. He died and was buried at al-Mukarram.

In Rajab of that same year (2) the deposed caliph al-Ṭāʾiʿ li-Llah was handed over to the Commander of the Faithful, the reigning caliph Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Qādir bi-Llah. Al-Qādir ordered that he be lodged in a chamber of the palace and that he receive the same stipends, gifts, and courtesies the caliph himself enjoyed in food, clothing, and perfume. Guards and servants were assigned to him, but al-Ṭāʾiʿ kept complaining about al-Qādir’s frugality in food and dress, so the caliph appointed attendants to serve him and supply whatever kinds he desired. He remained in that state until he died in confinement.

In Shawwāl of the year a son was born to the caliph al-Qādir bi-Llah—Abū al-Faḍl (3) Muḥammad ibn al-Qādir. The caliph proclaimed him heir apparent with the honorific al-Ghālib bi-Llah, but events did not unfold in his favor.

That year prices in Baghdad soared: a raṭl of bread sold for 40 dirhams, and a single carrot for 1 dirham.

In Dhū al-Qaʿdah the Bedouin chieftain of al-ʿUṣayfir arrived and undertook to safeguard the pilgrims on both legs of their journey, on the condition that the Friday sermon be given in al-Qādir’s name from al-Yamāmah and al-Baḥrayn to Kūfah. His request was granted, and robes of honor, money, and standards (4) were bestowed upon him.

Among the notable deaths that year was Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās (5) ibn Muḥammad ibn (6) Zakariyyā ibn Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh, Abū ʿUmar al-Qazzāz (7), better known as Ibn Ḥuyawayh.