and they sobbed out of mercy and tenderness for their father. Some of them—namely the weak and the destitute who owned nothing—were then released, while the penalty remained upon their grandees, such as al-Sahib (1) and the mustawfis (revenue officials). The demand upon them was tightened; they were given a severe beating, and al-Sahib was charged such an enormous sum that he was forced to ask the emirs, notables, and merchants—both in person and by written notes—for help. They supplied him with a large amount that nearly matched what he owed, after he had already been stripped for a flogging but was spared. Word spread that someone from the Egyptian domains had been appointed to take his place, and the matter ended there.

The death of Fayyad ibn Muhanna (2)
The news reached us on Saturday, the eighteenth of the month, and many people rejoiced; messengers hurried to the Sultan with the glad tidings, for the man had rebelled and broken from the community. Thus he died the death of Jāhiliyya (pre-Islamic ignorance) in a land of schism and hypocrisy. I have already noted some of his deeds: oppressing the people, eating during the daytime of Ramadan without excuse, and ordering his followers and relatives to do the same just last month. Truly, we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. He had passed the age of seventy. End of report, and Allah knows best.

A very remarkable affair: the case of the teacher Sanjar, mamluk of Ibn Hilal
On the twenty-fourth of Rabiʿ al-Ākhir the teacher al-Hilali was released after they had extracted from him the full sum of 600,000 dirhams. He spent the night in his house by Bab al-Natifaniyyin (3), delighted at his deliverance. When morning came he went to the bathhouse, but a courier arrived from the Sultan in Egypt with orders to place all his assets and stores under sequestration. Chamberlains, chiefs of the guard, and assistants converged from every direction, surrounded his house, and seized everything inside. A writ was issued against him and his two sons. His womenfolk were expelled in distress; the women were searched and their ornaments, jewels, and valuables were stripped from them. The commoners and rabble assembled, and a judge arrived with witnesses to record the assets, documents, and pledges. The teacher himself was brought so they might learn the full facts. On the first day they found, in silver alone, 370,000 dirhams, besides other chests that were not opened and stores they could not reach because time was short. They returned on Sunday to continue the same process. Guards spent the night at the doors and on the rooftops so that nothing could be taken in the dark. He and his two sons spent the night confined in the victorious Citadel, and many people felt pity for him when such a grave calamity struck him so soon after the previous one (4).