He then pressed on until he entered the Egyptian lands and reached al-Qāhira al-Muʿizziyya on Saturday (1), the sixteenth of Rabīʿ al-Awwal of that same year, in full royal splendor. His brother and deputy there, al-Malik al-ʿĀdil Sayf al-Dīn Abū Bakr (2), came out to receive him as far as Bahr al-Qulzum (3), bringing a great array of gifts and presents, above all a rich assortment of foods and other delicacies.
Accompanying the Sultan was al-ʿImād al-Kātib, who had never before set foot in Egypt. He therefore began (4) to extol its beauties and the qualities that distinguish it from other lands; he described the two pyramids (5), likening them to all manner of things and waxing eloquent, just as is recorded in al-Rawḍatayn (6).
Later that same year, in Shaʿbān (7), Sultan al-Malik al-Nāṣir ibn Ayyūb (8) traveled to Alexandria. He arranged for his two sons, al-Afḍal ʿAlī (9) and al-ʿAzīz ʿUthmān (10), to hear ḥadīth from al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Silafī (11), visiting the shaykh with them for three consecutive days—Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the fourth of Ramaḍān.
The Sultan resolved (12) to observe the fast there. He had completed the construction of the city wall, ordered the fleet to be overhauled and its vessels and ships repaired, and filled it with men (13) and combat troops. He instructed them to raid the islands of the sea and granted them
(1) In the printed edition: “Then he traveled, encamped near al-Saffayn, and then marched on to enter Egypt on Saturday.”
(2) He is Abu Bakr Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Shukr Ayyub ibn Shadhī, known by the title al-Malik al-Adil Saif al-Dīn, brother of Sultan Salah al-Dīn. He was born in 539 AH, raised in the service of Nūr al-Dīn ibn Zangī, accompanied his brother in his conquests and campaigns, was appointed once to govern Egypt, and later received Aleppo and other territories. He died in 615 AH. His biography is recorded in Ibn al-Athīr (vol. 9: 326–327), Mirʾāt al-Zamān (vol. 8: 594), Dhail al-Rawdatayn (p. 111), Wafayāt al-Aʿyān (vol. 5: 74–79), Abū al-Fidāʾ (vol. 3: 119–120), al-ʿIbar (Kuwait ed., vol. 5: 58; Beirut ed., vol. 3: 167–168), and al-Wāfī (vol. 2: 235).
(3) Now known as the Red Sea.
(4) In the printed edition: “then he made.”
(5) In the printed edition: “and he mentioned al-Ahrām.”
(6) Dhail al-Rawdatayn (vol. 1: 267).
(7) Present only in the printed edition.
(8) In the printed edition: “al-Nāṣir.”
(9) Both the manuscript and the printed edition read “al-Fāḍil.” He is Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb, titled al-Malik al-Afdhal. He was born in 565 AH in Cairo, succeeded his father in Damascus, then fought his brother, the ruler of Egypt, for the throne. He died in 622 AH. His biography appears in Ibn al-Athīr (vol. 9: 356–357), Mirʾāt al-Zamān (vol. 8: 637), Dhail al-Rawdatayn (p. 145), Wafayāt al-Aʿyān (vol. 3: 419–421), al-ʿIbar (Kuwait ed., vol. 5: 91; Beirut ed., vol. 3: 188).
(10) His biography will be provided in the account of the year 595 AH in this volume.
(11) His biography will be provided in the account of the year 576 AH in this volume.
(12) In the printed edition: “Tamām al-Ṣiyām.”
(13) Absent from the printed edition.