Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (14/231)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

over Yemen, wresting it from the hands of the people of Zabid. He died in the year 560 AH, whereupon his brother—this very ʿAbd al-Nabī—assumed power (1). Both of them (2) were notorious for their evil conduct, outwardly and inwardly.

King (3) Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, confident in the size and strength of his forces, therefore resolved to dispatch (4) a military detachment against him. Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn’s elder brother, Shams (5) al-Dawlah Turan Shah, was a brave, formidable hero, and among those who kept his company was the Yemeni poet ʿUmārah al-Yamanī (6). ʿUmārah would extol to him the land of Yemen—its beauty (7) and its abundant resources—so much so that Turan Shah was moved to lead this expedition (8) in Rajab of that same year.

He first reached Mecca—may Allah ennoble it—performed ʿumrah there, and then marched on to Zabid. ʿAbd al-Nabī came out to meet him, battle was joined, and Turan Shah defeated him (9), capturing both the man and his lawful wife, a woman of vast wealth. From her he exacted large sums (10) and precious treasures. The army plundered Zabid, after which Turan Shah advanced to Aden. Its ruler, Yāsir (11), confronted him; Turan Shah routed him, took him prisoner, and seized the city after only a brief siege. He forbade the troops to pillage, declaring, “We did not come to lay waste (12) to the land; we came to develop it and to govern it.”

He then dealt with the populace in a just and gracious manner, winning their affection. One by one he received the remaining fortresses, strongholds, and districts (13); all Yemen submitted to him completely, surrendering even its most prized possessions and hidden hoards. The Friday sermon there was delivered in the name of the Abbasid caliph Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan al-Mustaḍīʾ, the impostor called ʿAbd al-Nabī was put to death, Yemen was purged of its troubles, and affairs returned to their former course. Turan Shah wrote to his brother al-Malik al-Nāṣir Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (14), informing him of the victories Allah had granted and the favors He had bestowed. Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn, in turn, wrote to King Nūr al-Dīn, who forwarded the news to the caliph (15), congratulating him on the conquest of Yemen and on the khutbah being proclaimed in his name (16) there.

(1) T reads: fa-malikaha. (2) Found only in T. (3) Absent in T. (4) A reads: irsaluhu. (5) B reads: Shams al-Dawlah wa al-Din. (6) T reads: yajlis. (7) A reads: wa-husnha. (8) T reads: tilka. (9) A reads: “fa-hazama Turanshah jayshahu” (so Turanshah defeated his army); B reads: “fa-hazamahu Turanshah jayshuhu” (so Turanshah’s army defeated him). (10) T reads: Nafisa. (11) The name is corrupted in A; the report appears in Ibn al-Athir (vol. 9, p. 122). (12) T reads: lanukhrib. (13) T reads: wa-al-mukhalif. (14) T reads: “fa-kataba al-malik Salah al-Din bi-dhalik” (so King Salah al-Din wrote accordingly). (15) Absent in A. (16) Absent in B.

قبله على اليمن، وانتزعها من أيدي أهل زَبيد، ومات سنة ستين، فملك (١) بعده أخوه هذا، وكلٌّ منهما كان (٢) سيء السيرة والسريرة، فعزم الملك (٣) صلاح الدين، لكثرة جيشه وقوته، على إِرسال (٤) سرية إِليه، وكان أخوه الأكبر شمس (٥) الدولة توران شاه شجاعًا مهيبًا بطلًا، وكان ممن يجالسه (٦) عمارة اليمني الشاعر، فكان عمارة ينعت له بلاد اليمن وحسنها (٧) ، وكثرة خيرها، فحداه ذلك إِلى أن خرج في هذه (٨) السرية في رجب من هذه السنة، فورد مكة، شرّفها الله، فاعتمر بها، ثم سار منها إِلى زَبيد، فخرج إِليه عبد النبي، فقاتله، فهزمه (٩) تورانشاه، وأسره وأسر زوجته الحرة، وكانت ذات أموال جزيلة، فاستقرّها على أشياء جزيلة (١٠) ، وذخائر جليلة. ونهب الجيش زَبيد، ثم سار إِلى عدن، فقاتله ياسر (١١) ملكها، فهزمه تورانشاه، وأسره، وأخذ البلد بيسير من الحصار، ومنع الجيش من نهبها، وقال: ما جئنا لتخريب (١٢) البلاد، وإِنما جئنا لعمارتها وملكها. ثم سار في الناس سيرة حسنة عادلة، فأحبّوه، ثم تسلّم بقية الحصون والمعاقل والمخاليف (١٣) ، واستوسق له ملك اليمن بحذافيره، وألقى إِليه بأفلاذ كبده ومطاميره. وخطب فيها للخليفة العباسي أبي محمد الحسن المستضيء، وقُتل الدعيُّ المسمى بعبد النبي، وصفت اليمن من أكدارها، وعادت إِلى ما سبق من مضمارها، وكتب بذلك إِلى أخيه الملك الناصر صلاح الدين يخبره بما فتح الله عليه، وأحسن إِليه، فكتب بذلك الملك صلاح الدين (١٤) إِلى الملك نور الدين، [فأرسل نور الدين بذلك إِلى الخليفة] (١٥) يبشِّره بفتح اليمن والخطبة له (١٦) بها.

(١) ط: فملكها. (٢) عن ط وحدها. (٣) ليس في ط. (٤) أ: إِرساله. (٥) ب: شمس الدولة والدين. (٦) ط: يجالس. (٧) أ: وحصنها. (٨) ط: تلك. (٩) أ: فهزم تورانشاه جيشه، ب: فهزمه تورانشاه جيشه. (١٠) ط: نفيسة. (١١) الاسم محرف في أ. والخبر في ابن الأثير (٩/ ١٢٢). (١٢) ط: لنخرب. (١٣) ط: والمخالف. (١٤) ط: فكتب الملك صلاح الدين بذلك. (١٥) ليس في أ. (١٦) ليس في ب.