Then the year 698 AH began.
It opened with al-Hākim as the Abbasid caliph, while the sultan of the realm was al-Malik al-Manṣūr Lajin; his deputy in Egypt was his mamluk, Sayf al-Dīn Mankutamur. The Shāfiʿī chief judge was Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, the Ḥanafī judge Ḥusām al-Dīn al-Rāzī, and the Mālikī judge—together with the Ḥanbalī, as mentioned earlier—were also in office. The deputy of Syria was Sayf al-Dīn Qabjaq (1) al-Manṣūrī, and the Syrian judges were the same as those named the previous year. The vizier was Taqī al-Dīn Tūbah (2), and the Friday preacher was Badr al-Dīn Ibn Jamāʿah (3).
In the middle of Muḥarram a detachment of the army (4) returned from the land of Sis because illness had struck some of its men. The sultan sent them a letter of sharp reproach and stern threat, ordering that the whole army march out again with the viceroy Qabjaq and that gallows be erected for anyone (5) who lagged behind, whether excused or not. Consequently the viceroy, Emir Sayf al-Dīn Qabjaq, set out with the troops, and the townspeople came out to watch the customary parade of regiments. The viceroy appeared in magnificent pomp and dazzling finery, and the common folk prayed for him, for they loved him. The army continued on its way toward the land of Sis.
When they reached Ḥimṣ, news reached Emir Sayf al-Dīn Qabjaq and the emirs with him that the sultan’s temper had flared up (6) against them because of the intrigues of Mankutamur, and they knew the sultan would not contradict him on account of his affection for him. A number of them therefore agreed to enter Tatar territory and save themselves. They left Ḥimṣ with those who chose to follow—Qabjaq, Buzlī (7), Baktamur the armorer, and al-Albaki—and pressed on, while many of the army returned to Damascus. Affairs fell into confusion, and the populace mourned Qabjaq because of his just governance. This occurred in Rabīʿ al-Ākhir of the same year. Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we return.
Account of the slaying of al-Manṣūr Lajin and the restoration of the kingship to (8) Muḥammad ibn Qalāwūn
On Saturday, the nineteenth of Rabīʿ al-Ākhir, a group of couriers arrived bringing news of the sultan’s assassination (9).