— the ruler of Egypt—and they prevented him from entering Mecca (1). They said, “You have come only to seize Yemen.” He replied, “Chain me if you must, but allow me to perform the rites.” They answered, “We have no official decree; we have simply been ordered to turn you back and bar your way.” Some of his party thought of fighting them, but he feared that a civil strife might break out, so he released himself from the obligation of ḥajj and returned to Syria. The people were pained by what had been done to him and wept when he bade them farewell; may Allah accept it from him.

In the same year, a letter reached Shaykh Tāj al-Dīn al-Kindī (2) from one of the Ḥanafī jurists in Khurasan. It reported that Sultan Khwārazmshāh Muḥammad ibn Takash had disguised himself with three of his companions and entered the land of the Tatars to ascertain their affairs in person. They were recognized as strangers, arrested, and two of them were beaten (3) until they died, refusing to reveal their purpose (4). The king and the third man were then securely bound as captives (5). One night they both escaped—so they were delivered—and the sultan made his way back to his camp and then to his kingdom.

I (the author) say: this letter concerns an incident other than the earlier account of his capture (6) in the battle with Ibn Masʿūd the amir—Allah knows best.

In this year, while men were digging in the moat of Aleppo, a paving stone was uncovered. Beneath it they found seventy-five raṭls of gold and twenty-five raṭls of silver according to the Aleppine measure.

Among those who died this year were: the shaykh of the Ḥanafīs (7) and teacher at the shrine of Abū Ḥanīfah in Baghdad, Shaykh Abū al-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Masʿūd ibn ʿAlī al-Turkistānī (8), who had been in charge of the grievances court; he was buried in that very shrine. Also, Shaykh Abū Muḥammad (9) Ismāʿīl (10) ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn, Fakhr al-Dīn the Ḥanbalī, known (11) as Ibn al-Māshiṭah, and also called al-Fakhr, the disciple of Ibn al-Mannī.