In the middle of Jumada I of that same year, the saltwater sea overflowed, reached al-Ubulla, and two days later entered Basra.
In that year as well, Maḥmūd ibn Subuktakīn campaigned once more in the lands of India. He and the Indian “king of kings” engaged one another, and the armies fought a tremendous battle that ended in a crushing defeat for the Indians. The Muslims killed as they pleased, seized vast sums in jewels, gold, and silver, and captured two hundred elephants. They pursued the routed enemy, demolished a great many fortresses, and then Maḥmūd returned to Ghazna strengthened and victorious.
That same year Sultan al-Dawlah appointed Dhū al-Saʿādatayn Abū Ghālib al-Ḥasan ibn Manṣūr as his vizier.
No one from Iraq performed the pilgrimage that year because the land was in turmoil and the Bedouins were running rampant.
Among the notable deaths of the year:
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Rajāʾ ibn ʿĪsā ibn Muḥammad (1), Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Anṣināwī—named after the Egyptian village of Anṣinā (2). He came to Baghdad, taught ḥadīth there, and the leading preservers of ḥadīth heard from him. He was trustworthy, a Mālikī jurist, upright, accepted by the judges, and well regarded. He later returned to his homeland and died there this year at over eighty years of age. May Allah have mercy on him.
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ʿAbd-Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿAllān (3), Abū Aḥmad, judge of Ahwaz. He was exceedingly affluent and authored several works, including a book entitled “The Miracles of the Prophet,” in which he compiled one thousand miracles. He was one of the senior shaykhs of the Muʿtazilah. He died this year at the age of eighty-nine.
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ʿAlī ibn Naṣr ibn Abī al-Ḥasan (4), Muḏhhib al-Dawlah, ruler of the marshland region of al-Baṭīḥa (5). He performed many noble deeds; people would turn to him in times of hardship, and he would shelter and treat them kindly. Among his greatest virtues was his benevolence toward the Commander of the Faithful al-Qādir bi-Allah, who sought refuge with him in the marshes while fleeing from al-Ṭāʾiʿ bi-Allah. Muḏhhib al-Dawlah gave him sanctuary and hospitality, remained in his service when he acceded to the caliphate, and thereby earned a distinguished place in his esteem. He governed al-Baṭīḥa for thirty-two years.