Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (14/442)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

and there came to him (1) al-ʿAzīz (2) from Egypt and al-Afḍal from Ṣarkhad, whereupon the Franks abandoned (3) the fortress. When news reached them of the death of the King of Germany, they thereupon (4) asked al-ʿĀdil for a truce and safe-conduct. He agreed to this, and the kings withdrew to their own domains (5). During this same period al-Muʿaẓẓam ʿĪsā ibn al-ʿĀdil was greatly exalted (6): his father appointed him governor of Damascus and then set out for his realm in al-Jazīrah, where he ruled with excellence.

That year the great sultan, lord of Sinjar and other large cities—ʿImād al-Dīn Zangī ibn Mawdūd ibn Zangī al-Atābakī—passed away. He was among the finest of monarchs, handsome in appearance and exemplary in conduct, pure in intention and inner state, though somewhat tight-fisted. He was deeply devoted to the scholars, especially the Ḥanafīs (7). He built a madrasa for them in Sinjar and stipulated that a meal be cooked every day for each of them—an admirable arrangement, for the jurist has a stronger claim to (8) such generosity than the pauper, being preoccupied with constant review and study and unable to ponder how he will procure his sustenance (9).

Later their cousin, the ruler of Mosul, attacked his children (10) and usurped the kingdom. The sons appealed to al-ʿĀdil, who restored their rule, shielded them from oppression and ruin, and the realm was confirmed for his son Qutb al-Dīn Muḥammad.

Al-ʿĀdil (11) next marched against Mardin, besieging it in the month of Ramadan (12). He captured its lower town (13) and its outlying districts, but its citadel eluded him. He rode (14) around it and even walked (15) about it, yet no one (16) imagined that he would take possession of it (17), for such a conquest had neither been attested nor foreseen.

(1) In manuscript B: “until it reached him.” (2) Absent in B. (3) In B: “so she succeeded.” (4) Found only in B. (5) In B: “He negotiated with them in the presence of the sultan, and the troops returned to their stations.” (6) In manuscript T: “al-marra” (the time). (7) In B: “especially the Hanafis among them.” (8) In B: “His sound discourse is more fitting than that of the poor man.” (9) In B: “in what suffices for his subsistence and provisions.” (10) In B: “Then his cousin, the lord of Mosul, invaded his realm, cut them off, and there was no reinforcement.” (11) In T: “the king.” (12) In A: “Sha‘ban.” (13) In T: “its countryside.” (14) In T: “then he circled [it].” (15) In manuscript T: “fa-ṭāf ʿalayhā wa-mashā” (“he circled it and proceeded”), whereas the original reads “fa-ṣaaf ʿalayhā wa-shtā” (“he spread over it and scattered”) (source ʿA). (16) In B: “wa-mā natk.” (17) In B: “that he would hold it until the poets granted it to him, but that did not happen.”

فجاءه (١) العزيز (٢) من مصر والأفضل من صرخد، فأقلعت (٣) الفرنج عن الحصن وبلغهم موت ملك الألمان، فطلبوا [عند ذلك] (٤) من العادل الهدنة والأمان، فهادنهم ورجعت الملوك إِلى أماكنها (٥) ، وقد عظِّم المعظّم عيسى بن العادل في هذه المدة (٦) ، واستنابه أبوه على دمشق، وسار إِلى ملكه بالجزيرة، فأحسن فيهم السيرة. وكان قد توفي في هذه السنة السلطان الكبير صاحب سنجار وغيرها من المدائن الكبار، وهو عماد الدين زنكي بن مودود بن زنكي الأتابكي، كان من خيار الملوك وأحسنهم شكلًا وسيرة، وأجودهم طوية وسريرة، غير أنه كان يبخل، وكان شديد المحبة للعلماء، ولا سيما الحنفية (٧) ، وقد ابتنى لهم مدرسة بسنجار، وشرط لهم طعامًا يطبخ لكل واحد منهم في كل يوم، وهذا نظر حسن، والفقيه أولى بهذه (٨) الحسنة من الفقير، لاشتغال الفقيه بتكراره ومطالعته عن الفكر فيما يُقِيته (٩) . فعدى على أولاده (١٠) ابن عمه صاحب الموصل، فأخذ الملك منهم، فاستغاث بنوه بالملك العادل، فرد فيهم الملك، ودرأ عنهم الضيم والهلكة، واستقرت المملكة لولده قطب الدين محمد. ثم سار العادل (١١) . إِلى ماردين فحاصرها في شهر رمضان (١٢) ، فاستولى على ربضها (١٣) ومعاملتها، وأعجزته قلعتها، فطاف (١٤) عليها ومشى (١٥) ، وما ظن (١٦) أحد أنه تملَّكها (١٧) ، لأن ذلك لم يكن مثبوتًا ولا مقدرًا.

(١) ب: حتى جاءه. (٢) ليس في ب. (٣) ب: فخلفت. (٤) عن ب وحدها. (٥) ب: فهادنهم عند ذلك السلطان ورجعت العساكر إِلى أماكنها. (٦) ط: المرة. (٧) ب: ولا سيما للحنفية منهم. (٨) ب: أولى سجاله الحسنة من الفقير. (٩) ب: فيما يقوم بكفايته ومؤنته. (١٠) ب: فعدى مملكته ابن عمه صاحب الموصل فقطعهم ولم يكن بالواصل. (١١) ط: الملك. (١٢) أ: شعبان. (١٣) ط: ريفها. (١٤) ط: فطاف. (١٥) كذا في ط: فطاف عليها ومشى، وفي الأصل: فصاف عليها وشتى (ع). (١٦) ب: وما نتك. (١٧) ب: أنه سيملكها حتى هبة الشعراء بذلك ولكن لم يكن ذلك.