People were amazed at the speed of his travel, the patience he showed, and the stamina he possessed. He then pressed on (1) without delay until he entered Aleppo on the sixth of Muḥarram to inspect its affairs; from there he returned to Ḥamāh, then went back to Damascus, and finally set out for Egypt, which he entered on Tuesday, the third of Ṣafar of the following year—may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him.
Toward the end of Dhū al-Ḥijjah a fierce wind rose that caused (2) two hundred boats to sink in the Nile, taking many lives with them. An exceptionally heavy rain fell there as well, and Syria was struck by a sharp frost (3) that ruined the fruit harvest. We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.
In that same year, Allah—magnified be He—brought about discord among the Tatars, setting the forces of Abaqa (4) against those of his cousin, the son of Menktemur. They scattered and became preoccupied with fighting one another—praise be to Allah.
In that year, too, the inhabitants of Ḥarrān left their city and came to Syria. Among them was our shaykh, the scholar Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Taymiyyah (5), who arrived with his father at the age of six, together with his brothers Zayn al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Sharaf al-Dīn ʿAbd Allah (6), both younger than he.
[Among the notable figures who died in that year]
The amir ʿIzz al-Dīn Aydamir ibn ʿAbd Allah (7) al-Ḥalabī al-Ṣāliḥī. He was one of the most distinguished commanders and the most favored by the kings, especially al-Malik al-Ẓāhir, who would appoint him as his deputy whenever he was absent. In the present year the sultan took him along, and he died in the Citadel of Damascus. He was buried in a tomb near the Yaghmūrīyah, leaving behind great wealth, and he appointed the sultan executor over his children. The sultan attended his funeral service in the Great Mosque of Damascus.
Sharaf al-Dīn Abū al-Ṭāhir (8) Muḥammad, son of the ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Khaṭṭāb ʿUmar ibn Dihyah al-Miṣrī. Born in 610 AH, he studied under his father and other scholars, assumed the headship of the Kāmilīyah Dār al-Ḥadīth, transmitted traditions, and was a man of learning.