and that the plague had struck Egypt, with almost a thousand of its inhabitants being tallied dead each day, and that a number of well-known figures had perished, such as the two sons of the Chief Justice Taj al-Din al-Munawi, the court scribe Ibn al-Furat (1), and all the members of his household—inna lillahi wa-inna ilayhi rajiʿun.
Toward the end of Rajab word arrived of further deaths in Egypt. Among them was Abu Hatim (2), the son of Shaykh Bahaʾ al-Din al-Subki al-Misri. Though not yet twenty years old, he had already taught in several institutions in Egypt and had delivered the Friday sermon. His father was devastated, the people mourned him, and condolences were offered to his uncle, the Chief Shafiʿi Judge of Damascus, Taj al-Din al-Subki.
News also came of the death of the Chief Justice Shihab al-Din Ahmad (3) al-Rabahi (4) al-Maliki. He had twice held the judgeship of Aleppo, then was dismissed and traveled to Egypt, where he settled for a time in the hope of regaining his post. In this same year the plague overtook him, together with two of his sons.
On Saturday, the sixth of Shaʿban, the viceroy set out with a large company of emirs for the region of Tadmur because of the Bedouins loyal to Hayar (5) ibn Muhanna and those who had gathered around him. Some of them had devastated the town of Tadmur, burned many of its trees, grazed their herds there, plundered great quantities of goods, and thrown off obedience—all because their fiefs had been cut off, their properties seized, and obstacles placed in their path. The viceroy therefore rode out with his entourage, as noted, to drive them from that area. In their company was Emir Hamzah ibn al-Khayyat, one of the kettle-drum emirs. He had earlier served as chamberlain to Hayar, but left him and incited the great emir Yalbugha al-Khassaki against him, promising that if Yalbugha favored and promoted him he would capture Hayar and bring him his head. Yalbugha agreed, so Hamzah arrived in Damascus bearing a decree authorizing the army to march with him against Hayar and his followers.
They set out accordingly and reached Tadmur. The Bedouins scattered before the deputy of Syria, fleeing to right and left, and did not dare face him out of fear, though they remained intent on striking at Hamzah ibn al-Khayyat. We later learned that they mounted a night attack on the army, killing a number of men, wounding others, and taking still others captive. Inna lillahi wa-inna ilayhi rajiʿun. (6)