In Rajab the sultan’s deputies took possession of Masyaf (1) from the Isma‘ilis. Their emir, al-Sarim Mubarak ibn al-Rida, fled (2); but the ruler of Hama outwitted him, captured him, and sent him to the sultan, who imprisoned him in one of the towers of Cairo.

That year the sultan dispatched protective railings (darabzinat) to the Prophetic Chamber, ordering that they be set up around the noble grave as a safeguard. He also had doors fashioned for them in Egypt that could be opened and shut, and these were installed in their place.

During the same year reports spread that the Franks were preparing to invade the lands of Syria. The sultan therefore equipped the armies to confront them, while remaining anxious about Alexandria: he had fortified the city, built causeways leading to it should the enemy attack, and ordered that its dogs be slain.

In this year as well, the rule of the Banu ‘Abd al-Mu’min in the Maghrib came to an end. The last of them was Idris ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf, lord of Marrakesh, whom the Banu Marin killed in the course of the year.

[Among the notable figures who died this year]

• Al-Sahib Zayn al-Din (3) Ya‘qub ibn ‘Abd al-Rafi‘ (4) ibn Zayd ibn Malik al-Misri, known as Ibn al-Zubayri (5). He was a gifted and eminent man, serving as vizier to al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutuz and then to al-Zahir Baybars at the start of his reign. Baybars later dismissed him and appointed Baha al-Din ibn al-Hanna (6) in his stead. Thereafter he remained at home until his death on the fourteenth of Rabi‘ al-Akhir of this year. He also composed fine poetry (7).

• Shaykh Muwaffaq al-Din (8) Ahmad ibn al-Qasim ibn Khalifah al-Khazraji, the physician known (9) as Ibn Abi Usaybi‘a, authored “History of Physicians” (10) in ten concise volumes, which he endowed to the shrine of Ibn ‘Urwah.