Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (14/281)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

, and King al-Muẓaffar Taqi al-Din ʿUmar (1)—the sultan’s nephew—had his son Shahanshah taken captive; he remained in their hands for seven years, while another of his sons, a youth whose moustache had only just appeared, was slain. Grieving over the one who was killed and the one who was lost, he endured with the patience of Ayyub (Job) and lamented as Dawud (David) had lamented. The two jurist-brothers, Diyaʾ al-Din ʿIsa (2) and Zahir al-Din, were likewise captured, and the sultan ransomed them some years later (3) for ninety (4) thousand dinars.

In that same year turmoil struck the government in Aleppo. Sultan al-Malik al-Ṣalih Ismaʿil ibn Nur al-Din arrested the eunuch Kamishtakin and compelled him to surrender the fortress of Harim, which was in his possession. When he refused, the sultan had him hung upside down and smoke blown beneath his nostrils until he died on the spot.

The Franks then advanced on Harim, but the fortress resisted them and was subsequently handed over to al-Malik al-Ṣalih.

That year also a powerful king from among the Franks arrived, seeking to seize Syria during the sultan’s absence while his deputies were preoccupied with their pleasures (5).

Al-ʿImad the secretary said: Among the conditions of the Frankish truce is that whenever one of their great kings appears—one they cannot repel—they must fight beside him, support him, and help him to victory; once he departs, the truce returns to its former state.

Accordingly, this king, together with the Franks who accompanied him (6), marched against the city of Hama. Its ruler, Shihab al-Din Mahmud, the sultan’s uncle, was ill, and the deputy of Damascus and the emirs with him were likewise engrossed in their amusements (7). They very nearly captured the city, but Allah routed them after four days. They then withdrew to Harim, yet were unable to take it; al-Malik al-Ṣalih, lord of Aleppo, drove them away after paying the sums of money and releasing the prisoners they had demanded of him (8).

The ruler of Hama, Emir Shihab al-Din Mahmud ibn Tutush, the sultan’s uncle, died, and [al-Nasir, and] (9) his son Tutush had died three days before him [three days earlier] (10). (May Allah have mercy on him) (11).

When Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir heard that the Franks had laid siege to Harim, he departed from Egypt (12), making for the lands

(1) Its translation appears under the events of the year 587 in this volume. (2) Its translation appears under the events of the year 585 in this volume. (3) ed. reads “santayn” (two years). (4) ms. A reads “bisabʿīn” (seventy). (5) ed. reads “bibiladihim” (in their lands), a scribal error. (6) absent in the ed. (7) ed. reads “bibiladihim” (in their lands), a scribal error. (8) ms. B reads “ma talabahu al-kuffār wa-n-naṣārā” (what the unbelievers and Christians sought); not “minhu” in MSS A and B. (9) present in the ed. only. (10) not found in ms. B. (11) present in ms. B only. (12) ed. reads “baraz man maʿahu” (those with him emerged).

وأُسر للملك المُظفّر تقي الدين عمر (١) بن أخي السلطان ولده شاهنشاه، فبقي عندهم سبع سنين، وقُتل ابنه الآخر، وكان شابًا قد طرّ شاربه، فحزن على المقتول والمفقود، وصبر تأسيًّا بأيوب، وناح كما ناح داود، وأُسر الفقيهان الأخوان، ضياء الدين عيسى (٢) وظهير الدين، فافتداهما السلطان بعد سنين (٣) بتسعين (٤) ألف دينار. وفيها: تخبَّطت الدولة بحلب، وقبض السلطان الملك الصالح إِسماعيل بن نور الدين على الخادم كمشتكين، وألزمه بتسليم قلعة حارم، وكانت له، فأبى من ذلك، فعلّقه منكوسًا، ودخن تحت أنفه حتى مات من ساعته. وقصدت الفرنج حارم، فامتنعت عليهم، ثم سلِّمت إِلى الملك الصالح. وفيها: جاء ملك كبير من ملوك الفرنج يروم أخذ الشام لغيبة السلطان، واشتغال نوابه بلذاتهم (٥) . قال العماد الكاتب: ومن شرط هدنة الفرنج أنه متى جاء ملك كبير من ملوكهم، لا يمكنهم دفعه فإِنهم يقاتلون معه ويؤازرونه وينصرونه، فإِذا انصرف عنهم عادت الهدنة كما كانت. فقصد هذا الملك وجملة الفرنج معه (٦) مدينة حماة، وصاحبها شهاب الدين محمود خال السلطان مريض، ونائب دمشق ومَنْ معه من الأمراء مشغولون بلذاتهم (٧) ، فكادوا يأخذون البلد، ولكن هزمهم الله بعد أربعة أيام، فانصرفوا إِلى حارم، فلم يتمكنوا من أخذها، وكشفهم عنها الملك الصالح صاحب حلب، وقد دفع إِليهم من الأموال والأسارى ما طلبوه منه (٨) ، وتوفي صاحب حماة الأمير شهاب الدين محمود بن تتش خال السلطان [الناصر، وتوفي] (٩) قبله ولده تُتُش [بثلاثة أيام] (١٠) ، (رحمه الله) (١١) . ولما سمع السلطان الملك الناصر بنزول الفرنج على حارم برز من الديار المصرية (١٢) قاصدًا بلاد

(١) سترد ترجمته في حوادث سنة ٥٨٧ من هذا الجزء. (٢) سترد ترجمته في حوادث سنة ٥٨٥ من هذا الجزء. (٣) ط: سنتين. (٤) أ: بسبعين. (٥) ط: ببلدانهم. وهو تصحيف. (٦) ليس في ط. (٧) ط: ببلدانهم. تصحيف. (٨) ب: ما طلبه الكفرة والنصارى، وليست: منه، في أ، ب. (٩) عن ط وحدها. (١٠) ليس في ب. (١١) عن ب وحدها. (١٢) ط: برز من معه.