Masʿūd ibn Nāṣir ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ismāʿīl (1), Abū Saʿd al-Sijzī (2), the ḥāfiẓ.
He journeyed far and wide in pursuit of ḥadith, heard a vast number of narrations, and amassed priceless books. His calligraphy was elegant, his transmission sound, and his memory precise—may Allah Most High show him mercy.

Then came the year 478 AH.
In Muḥarram of that year Arrajān was struck by an earthquake, and a great many people and their livestock perished.

During the year epidemics of fever and plague spread through Iraq, the Ḥijāz, and Syria; sudden death became common. The wild beasts of the desert then died, followed by the domesticated herds, so that milk and meat grew scarce. In the midst of all this a fierce clash erupted between the Rāfiḍīs and the Sunnis, and many lives were lost.

In Rabīʿ al-Awwal a black wind blew, driving sand before it; numerous palm trees and other trees were uprooted, and lightning struck the towns until the people thought the Day of Resurrection had arrived. Thereafter it cleared—praise be to Allah.

That same year the caliph was blessed with a son, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn. Baghdad was festively adorned, drums and trumpets were sounded, and charitable gifts multiplied.

Also in that year Fakhr al-Dawla ibn Jahīr seized many territories, among them Āmid, Mayyāfāriqīn, and Jazīrat ibn ʿUmar, and the rule of the Banū Marwān came to an end at his hands.

On the twelfth of Ramadan Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Muẓaffar al-Shāmī (3) was invested as chief judge in Baghdad after the death of Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Dāmaghānī, receiving his robe of office in the Dīwān.

The amir Khitlag the Turk led the Hajj caravan; on both the outward and return journeys he visited the Prophet ﷺ and said, “I think this will be my last pilgrimage,” and so it proved.

That year a decree was issued by the caliph al-Muqtadī bi-Amr Allāh renewing the enforcement of al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-n-nahy ʿan al-munkar (commanding right and forbidding wrong) in every quarter, obliging the dhimmīs to wear distinguishing dress, destroying musical instruments, pouring out wine, and expelling corrupt elements from the land.