the camp with their swords drawn, and there (1) they spread the news. Someone asked, “Who killed him?” They answered (2), “Rukn al-Dīn Baybars.” [Others said to him, “Was it you who slew him?” He replied, “Yes.” They responded (3), “Then you are the king!”]
Another report relates that, once the deed was done, the emirs were at a loss as to whom they should raise to the throne. Each feared the peril that might follow and that he himself might soon meet the same end. They therefore agreed unanimously to swear allegiance to Baybars al-Bunduqdārī (4). He was not counted among the foremost grandees, but they wished to test him. They conferred upon him the honorific al-Malik al-Ẓāhir. He mounted the throne, assumed authority, glad tidings were proclaimed, drums and trumpets were sounded, the flutes trilled (5), and the ushers cried out before him. It was a momentous day. He placed his trust in Allah and sought His aid.
He then entered Egypt with the armies (6) in his service. He ascended the Citadel of al-Jabal and sat upon its chair of state, from which he ruled with justice—bestowing and withholding, appointing and dismissing. He was (7) a resolute, courageous man whom Allah had raised up for the people in their dire need (8) during that grievous time and arduous circumstance.
At first (9) he styled himself al-Malik al-Qāhir. The vizier said to him, “No one who has taken this title has ever prospered (10). Al-Qāhir ibn al-Muʿtaḍid (11) bore it, yet his days were soon cut short—he was deposed and his eyes were put out. Al-Qāhir (12), the lord of Mosul, also adopted it and was poisoned and died.” Baybars therefore abandoned that epithet and adopted al-Malik al-Ẓāhir. He then began arresting any leading emir who fancied himself fit for sovereignty until he had secured the kingdom (13).
When Hulagu-Khan learned what the Muslims had done to his troops at ʿAyn Jālūt, he dispatched a large contingent of the forces with him to retake Syria from the Muslims (14). But they were prevented from attaining their desire and returned to him disappointed and ruined, for the crushing lion and annihilating sword (15), al-Malik al-Ẓāhir, had marched against them. He reached Damascus and sent detachments in every direction to guard the frontiers and strongholds
(1) Manuscripts A and B read: “min hunālik” (from there).
(2) Manuscripts A and B read: “fa-qāla” (so he said).
(3) In both instances of the numbers, manuscripts A and B read: “faqīl lahu” (it was said to him).
(4) Manuscripts A and B read: “wa qīla: lammā qatalahu al-umarā’ ḥāru fīhim baynahum an yamliku ‘alayhim, wa ṣāra kulla wāḥid minhum yakhshā min ghā‘ilat dhālika wa annahu yuqtalu sarī‘an, thumma ittifaqat kalimatuhum ‘alā an bāyi‘ū al-Amīr Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī” (And it is said that when the princes killed him, they were at odds over who should rule, each fearing betrayal and swift death; then they agreed to pledge allegiance to Emir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari).
(5) Manuscript Ṭ reads: “ash-Shaghāba wa za‘qat ash-Shāwūshiyya” (the Shaghāba pressed forward and the Shāwūshiyya cried out).
(6) Manuscripts A and B read: “thumma dakhala bi-l-‘asākir al-diyār al-miṣriyya” (then he entered Egypt with the troops).
(7) Manuscripts A and B read: “wa ḥakama wa ‘azzala wa qaṭṭa‘a wa waṣala makānahu” (and he judged, deposed, severed, and restored his position).
(8) Manuscripts A and B read: “aqāmahullāhu kallafū muḥtājān ilayhi” (May God uphold him; they appointed him when they were in need of him).
(9) Manuscripts A and B read: “fī hādhā al-waqt al-shadīd wa al-ḥāl al-ḍayq, wa kāna awwalan qad luqiba” (at this severe time and dire circumstance, he had initially been given a title).
(10) Manuscript Ṭ reads: “lā yufliḥ man yulqabu bihi” (he who bears this title will not succeed).
(11) Manuscript Ṭ reads “al-Mu‘tamid”; this is a corruption. See Zambaur (3).
(12) Manuscripts A and B read: “ḥattā khala‘a wa samalla wa talaqqaba bihi al-Qāhir” (until he deposed and mutilated him, then assumed the title al-Qāhir).
(13) Manuscripts A and B read: “ḥattā mahḥada al-mulk kamā yurīd, wa Allāh ‘alā kulli shay’in shahīd” (until he prepared the kingdom as he willed; and God is witness over all things).
(14) Manuscripts A and B read: “arsala jamā‘atan kathīra min jayshihi ilā bilād al-Shām li-yusta‘īdūhu min aydī Jaysh al-Islām” (he sent a large detachment of his army to Syria to recover him from the hands of the army of Islam).
(15) Manuscripts A and B read: “wa raja‘ū wa hum khā’ibūn khāsirūn, wa dhālika annahu nuhiddat ilayhim al-Hazbar al-Kāsir wa al-Sayf al-Bāṭir, as-Sulṭān al-Malik al-Mu’ayyad aẓ-Ẓāhir” (and they returned dejected and defeated, for they faced al-Hazbar al-Kāsir and al-Sayf al-Bāṭir—the Sultan, the King, the Supporter, the Victorious).