Yūsuf ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥasan (1), Abū al-Qāsim al-Hamadhānī, was a traditionist who listened widely, collected reports, and authored works; his narrations enjoyed broad circulation. He died this very year at almost ninety years of age—may Allah Most High show him mercy.
[Then entered the year 469 AH]
Events of the year:
The first phase of building the Citadel of Damascus began. After the Majestic King, Atsiz ibn Oq (2) al-Khwarazmī, had wrested Damascus from the Fāṭimids last year, he set about constructing this imposing fortress. The site of today’s citadel had formerly been one of the city gates, a gate known as Bāb al-Ḥadīd, located opposite the dār Riḍwān that still stands there, just inside the outer moat. Atsiz laid the foundations and raised several towers, but the work remained unfinished until the Victorious King, Taj al-Mulūk Tutush ibn Alp Arslān the Seljuq, seized the city from him. Tutush completed the project with fine workmanship and built within it the dār Riḍwān for the sovereign. It remained in that state during the days of Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd ibn Zankī. When Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb assumed power he renovated parts of it, and his deputy Ibn Muqaddam erected within it an imposing residence for the realm. Later, King al-ʿĀdil, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn’s brother, divided the towers among himself and his sons; each ruler rebuilt, heightened, strengthened, and reinforced the tower allotted to him. Afterwards, King al-Ẓāhir Baybars restored the south-western tower, and, during the reign of King al-Ashraf Khalīl ibn al-Manṣūr, his lieutenant al-Shujāʿī constructed the north-western bastion, the Blue Dome, and the surrounding structures (3).
In Muḥarram the caliph became gravely ill, and rumors of his death spread. He therefore rode out in full view of the populace, who, on seeing him, were reassured.
In Jumādā al-Ākhira the Tigris rose to an extraordinary level—twenty-one and a half cubits. People moved their possessions to safety, and concern mounted for the Caliphal Palace. The coffin of al-Qāʾim bi-Amr Allāh was transferred by night to the cemetery in al-Ruṣāfa.
In Shawwāl strife erupted between the Ḥanbalīs and the Ashʿarīs, for Ibn al-Qushayrī (4) arrived in Baghdad and began to lecture