Yazdan al-Turki (1) was one of the foremost amirs of Baghdad, effectively holding the reins of power in the state. He was, however, a vile Rāfiḍī, fiercely devoted to the Rāfiḍīs, who enjoyed his protection (2) and his prestige—until Allah relieved the Muslims of him this very year, in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. He was first buried in his own house and later transferred to the Quraysh cemetery. Praise and gratitude belong to Allah. When he died, the Sunnis rejoiced greatly and openly thanked Allah; you would not find a single one of them but was praising Him. This angered the Shiʿah (3), and strife broke out between the two sides because of it.

Ibn al-Saʿī relates in his History that in his youth Yazdan was a handsome, attractive lad, beloved by many of the elite. He adds that our shaykh Abū al-Yaman al-Kindī (4), whose eye had become inflamed, composed the following lines about him:

Every morning and every evening
I stand before your gates and offer greetings.
I am told he complains of pain in his eye—
Behold, we share that affliction and are still reproached. (5)

Then the year 569 AH began.

Ibn al-Jawzī, in al-Muntaẓam (6), reports that in Baghdad (7) enormous hailstones fell, some the size of bitter oranges, one of them weighing seven ratls. After that (8) came a tremendous flood (9) and an unprecedented swelling of the Tigris (10). It demolished (11) a great many buildings, villages, and farmlands—even graveyards (12). The people fled to the open wilderness, and it increased.