against the Franks. Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad honored him, bestowed a robe of investiture upon him, and sent with him sizable armies to fight the Franks (1).

Among those of note who died this year was Tamim ibn al-Muʿizz ibn Badis (2), the ruler of Ifriqiya. He was counted among the finest of kings in character, generosity, and benevolence. He reigned for forty-six years, lived to the age of seventy-nine, and left behind more than one hundred sons and sixty daughters; he was succeeded by his son Yahya.

Of the most beautiful verses composed in praise of Emir Tamim are the following lines in the Ṭawil metre (3):
“The soundest and loftiest account we have ever heard of openhandedness—
a tale handed down from times of old—
Is a story the torrents recite on behalf of the rain,
the sea retelling it of the palm of Emir Tamim.” (4)

Ṣadaqa (5) ibn Manṣur ibn Dubays ibn Mazid al-Asadi, Emir Sayf al-Dawla, lord of al-Ḥillah, Tikrit, Wasit, and other lands, also passed away. He was generous, chaste, and honorable, a refuge for every frightened person who found safety in his territories. He could read fully vocalized texts (6) though he did not write well, and he possessed a very large and precious library. Out of regard for people’s honor and so as not to break anyone’s heart, he never married another woman in addition to his wife and never took a concubine. He was lauded with many fine qualities. He was killed in one of the battles (7) by a slave named Bazghash (8). He was fifty-nine years old (9) and had ruled for twenty-one years—may Allah have mercy on him.