—from both the Yamani and the Qaysi factions—and it was further reported that the spring of ʿAyn Ḥitā, situated east of ʿAjlūn, had turned foul and fallen into ruin, its trees cut down and the whole site utterly destroyed.

On the morning of Saturday, the 22nd of Dhū al-Ḥijja, the gates of Damascus were not opened until after sunrise, a delay that the people found startling. The reason was a precaution taken against an amir named Katbughā (1), who had been planning to flee to the eastern lands; he was closely watched until he was arrested.

On the night of Wednesday, the 26th of Dhū al-Ḥijja, Emir Sayf al-Dīn Ṭāz (2) arrived from Jerusalem and lodged in the Qasr al-Ablaq. During his imprisonment in Alexandria he had been treated with antimony and had gone blind. After his release, as already noted, he remained in Jerusalem for a time; then he received a patent appointing him ṭarkhān (3), permitting him to reside wherever he pleased in the Sultan’s domains, provided he did not enter Egypt. Accordingly, he came to the Qasr al-Ablaq, and people of every rank—from the deputy of the sultanate downward—visited to greet him, though he could see none of them. He intends to purchase or at least rent a residence in Damascus where he may live. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted, knows best.

[Then began the year 763/1362]

The year opened with the ruler of Egypt, Syria, the Two Holy Sanctuaries and their dependent Muslim realms being Sultan al-Malik al-Manṣūr Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Muḥammad, son of al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Amīr Ḥājjī (4) son of al-Malik al-Manṣūr Qalāwūn—a young man not yet twenty.

The affairs of state were actually managed by Emir Yalbughā, while the deputy of Egypt was Qashtumur (5).

The judges remained those already named for the preceding year.

The vizier, Sayf al-Dīn Qarawīna, was gravely ill.

The deputy of Syria in Damascus was Emir ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn al-Mardanī, and its judges were likewise the same as in the previous year, and so forth.