and fought with great severity (1), while the sultan’s brother, Būrī ibn Ayyūb, received a grievous wound and died of it a few days later. He was the youngest of Ayyūb’s children and had not yet reached twenty years of age—though some maintained he had surpassed it by two years (2). Intelligent and quick-witted, he had compiled a charming dīwān (collection of poetry). Al-Malik Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn mourned him deeply (3). He buried him in Aleppo, then had the body transferred to Damascus.
After that an understanding was reached between the sultan (4) and the ruler of Aleppo, ʿImād al-Dīn Zangī (5) ibn Mawdūd ibn Zangī ibn Aq-Sunqur, whereby the sultan would compensate him by restoring Sinjār and handing the town over to him. ʿImād al-Dīn Zangī therefore left Aleppo, came to wait upon the sultan, offered him condolences for his brother, stayed with him in the camp, and moved his baggage to Sinjār. The sultan further granted him the Khabur, al-Raqqah, Nisibis, and Sarūj, on the condition that he dispatch troops to support the jihād (6) against the Franks. Zangī then departed, and the sultan bade him farewell.
The sultan remained in the camp (7) for several days, unconcerned about Aleppo and neither coveting it nor boasting of it (8). Then, on Monday the twenty-seventh of Ṣafar (9), he ascended to its citadel—divinely aided and victorious, delighted and exultant.
The emir Ṭumān (10) prepared a magnificent banquet for him, and it was a day long remembered. As he entered, some people heard him reciting (11) the verse: “Say, ‘O Allah, Lord of all sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will…’ ” [Āl ʿImrān 3:26].
When he entered the royal residence he recited the Almighty’s words: “He made you heirs to their land, their dwellings, and their wealth” [al-Aḥzāb 33:27]. Upon entering the Station of Abraham he prayed two rakʿahs, prolonging his prostration, supplication, and humble entreaty to Allah (12) (may Allah have mercy on him).
He then set about organizing a grand banquet. Drums of glad tidings were beaten, the sultan bestowed robes of honor upon the emirs, and he showed generosity to both notables and the poor. The war laid down its burdens (13), and hearts attained their longing:
[from al-Ṭawīl]