Maḥfūẓ b. Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan, Abū l-Khaṭṭāb al-Kalūdhānī (1):
He was numbered among the foremost Hanbalī imams and their prolific authors. He heard a vast amount of ḥadith, studied law under Qāḍī Abū Yaʿlā, and read the laws of inheritance with al-Wannī (2). He taught, issued legal opinions, engaged in scholarly debate, and produced works on both the fundamentals and the ancillary branches of jurisprudence. Gifted in poetry as well, he composed an ode (3) in which he sets forth his creed and school, saying:

[from the metre al-Kāmil]
Give up recalling the south-bound comrades who have gone,
and the yearning for those shy, graceful maidens fair;
Cease your lament in remembrance (4) of Suʿdā—indeed,
recalling Suʿdā is the pastime of one never favoured;
Listen to my words if you would gain deliverance
on the Day of Reckoning, and follow my guidance (5) to be rightly led.

He cited its full text (6), which is lengthy. He died in Jumādā al-Ākhirah of this year at the age of seventy-eight. His funeral prayer was held in the Qasr Mosque and the Manṣūr Mosque, and he was buried near Imām Aḥmad (7).

[Then came the year 511 AH]

On the fourteenth (8) of Ṣafar a total lunar eclipse occurred.
That same night the Franks raided the lands of (9) Ḥamāh, killed a great many people, and then—may Allah curse them—returned to their own lands (10).

In this year as well a violent earthquake struck Baghdad, toppling many houses on the western side of the city, and the price of produce there soared dramatically.