Mosul; and when Hūlāgū Khān (1) withdrew from Baghdad—after that monumental and dreadful catastrophe (2)—Luʾluʾ went to wait upon him in submission (3), bearing gifts and precious offerings. Hūlāgū treated him with honor and respect. After leaving his presence, he remained [after his return (4)] in Mosul only a few days before he died and was buried in his own Badriyya Madrasa. The people grieved for him because of the excellence of his conduct and the soundness of his justice. Shaykh ʿIzz al-Dīn (5) [Ibn al-Athir] had compiled for him his book entitled al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh; Luʾluʾ approved it and rewarded him handsomely. He used to give certain poets a thousand dinars—and the like—and after him the realm passed to his righteous son Ismāʿīl.

Badr al-Dīn Luʾluʾ (6) was originally an Armenian bought by a tailor. He then passed into the service of King Nūr al-Dīn Arslan Shāh ibn ʿIzz al-Dīn Masʿūd ibn Mawdūd ibn Zangī ibn Aq Sunqur, the Atabeg ruler of Mosul. Because of his handsome appearance he gained favor with his master and rose in the administration until all authority revolved around him, and delegations from every corner of their dominion came to him. He later assassinated his master’s sons (7), murdering them one after another until none remained, whereupon he seized the throne for himself and matters [wa rāqat] ran smoothly in his hands. Every year he sent to the shrine of ʿAlī a golden lamp (8) that weighed one thousand dinars. He lived to nearly ninety years of age (9), yet looked like a young man (10), so fresh was his complexion and so comely his figure. The common folk nicknamed him “the Golden Rod.” He possessed lofty ambition, was a consummate strategist, exceedingly crafty, and profoundly far-sighted (11).

King al-Nāṣir (12) Dāwud [son of] al-Muʿaẓẓam: Shaykh Quṭb al-Dīn al-Yūnīnī recorded his biography in his “Addendum (13) to the Mirror” for this year, and set it out at great length, detailing what befell him (14) from the beginning of his career to the end of his days. He cited many of al-Nāṣir’s poems and sayings and provided valuable information. May Allah Most High have mercy on him.