and a tremendous commotion followed: the markets were shut, and when they opened negotiations with the sultan, affairs became outwardly settled and the turmoil quieted—[though a haze of resentment and estranged hearts remained] (1). The two emirs actually emerged stronger than before; the sultan rode out, and a tenuous peace was concluded, still tinged with suspicion.

In Muḥarram fighting broke out between the Tatars and the people of Gilan (2). The Tatar ruler had demanded that a corridor be opened through their land for his troops (3), but they refused. He therefore dispatched a massive army under Khurbanda—sixty thousand combatants: forty thousand with Qutlushah and twenty thousand with Jūbān. The people of Gilan let the force press deep into their territory, then released a flood of seawater against them and bombarded them with naphtha. Many of the invaders drowned, others burned, and a great number were slain hand-to-hand; only a few escaped (4). Among those killed was the senior Tatar commander Qutlushah. [Khurbanda’s fury against the people of Gilan intensified, yet he rejoiced at Qutlushah’s death] (5), for he had wanted to kill him himself and was thus spared the trouble. Būlay was killed after him. The Tatar king next sent Shaykh Buraq—who had earlier come to Syria—with a message to the people of Gilan; they killed him as well and relieved the people of his mischief (6). [Their land is among the most impregnable and pleasant of regions, impossible to conquer. Its inhabitants are Sunnis, most of them Ḥanbalīs, and no innovator can live openly in their midst] (7).

On Friday, the fourteenth of Ṣafar, the Chief Judge Badr al-Dīn Ibn Jamāʿah (8) met Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya in the residence of al-Awḥadī within the Mountain Citadel. They spoke at length, then parted before the prayer, while Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn remained resolved not to leave prison. On Friday, the twenty-third of Rabīʿ al-Awwal, Emir Ḥusām al-Dīn Muhannā ibn ʿĪsā (9), ruler of the Arabs, came in person to the prison and swore an oath compelling Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn to come out to him. When he emerged, the emir swore another oath that he must accompany him to Salar’s residence. A number of jurists gathered there, and extensive discussions took place until the prayer dispersed them. They reconvened at sunset, and Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn spent the night with Salar. On Sunday they assembled again, by order of the sultan, for the entire day; none of the judges attended, but a group of jurists