At-Taghribirdi

AT-TAGHRIBIRDI (1411-1469 A.D.)

Abu-l-Mahasin Jamal ad-din Yusuf b. at-Taghribirdi b. az-Zahiri. Son of a Greek slave, he was the greatest Egyptian historian after Maqrizi, and died as governor of Aleppo and Damascus.

EI (s.v. - Abu-l-Mahasin); GAL 2, 41

Ar-Nujum az-zahira fi muluk Misr wa-l-Qahira (A history of Egypt in an annalistic form)

Ed.: (partly) F.G. Juynboll-B.F. Matthe, 2 vols., Leiden 1852-1861; W. Popper, Publ. in Sem. Philol. 2.3.5 7.13.-15., Berkeley-Leiden, 7 vols., 1909-1929; Dar al- Kutub al-misriyya. 12 vols., Cairo 1932 (repr. 1963).

T.: Cairo A:0

[The Building of the Mosque of 'Amru b. al-'As in Misr(1)]

In the year 89 H. (709 A.D.), the aforementioned 'Abd al-'Aziz ordered that the roof of the mosque (jami') be raised, for it was too low. Then Qurra b. Sharik al-'Abbasi b. Qays 'Aylan pulled it down in the be¬ginning of the year 92 H. (710 A.D.), by order of (the Caliph) al-Walid b. 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, while Qurra was emir of Egypt on his behalf. He began re-building it in the month of Sha'ban of the same year (May 711 A.D.). The architect in charge of the build¬ing was Yahya b. Hanzala, a mawla of the Banu 'Amir b. Lu'a. In the meantime, the Moslems met for their Fri¬day prayer in Qaysariyyat al-'Asal, until the rebuilding was completed in the month of Ramadan of the year 93 H. (May-June 712 A.D.). The new pulpit (minbar) was erected in the year 94 H. (713-714 A.D.), while the old minbar of the mosque - which had been built by 'Amru - was removed. Probably, 'Amru had set up that minbar after the death of 'Umar b. al-Khattab, for the latter had forbidden him to do so. The new minbar was called after 'Abd al-'Aziz b. Marwan. Some say that the old minbar was transferred to the mosque from one of the churches of Misr; others say that it was a present from Zakariya b. Marqi (2), king of Nubia, to 'Abdalla b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh and that (on that occasion king Zakariya) also sent a carpenter called Buqtur to mount it. This minbar remained in the mosque until the aforesaid Qurra had it replaced by a new one. (Cairo I, pp. 69 - 70).

['Anbasa b. Ishaq Wall of Egypt (3)] ... In the time of the aforesaid 'Anbasa, the natives of the remotest Upper Egypt had broken their allegiance in regards to the territory of Egypt; in addition, they refused to pay the tribute which consisted of five-hundred slaves, male and female, besides a number of bujawiyya dromedaries (bakht) (4), two giraffes, two elephants and other items to be given every year.

In the year 240 Η. (854-855 A.D.), they openly declared their rebellion and stopped bringing the usual tribute. They also hindered all those who worked in the emerald mine - agents, workers and miners - and extermi¬nated them all. Their rebellion grew to such an extent that they began raiding the fields of Upper Egypt, plun¬dering the villages as far as Esna (Isna). Edfu (Utfu) and their environs. The natives of Upper Egypt ran away in panic and fled from their homes. The agent in charge of the tribute (amil al-kharai) wrote to 'Anbasa informing him about what the Buja had done. As 'Anbasa could not conceal the news from the ears of the Caliph al-Mutawakkil 'ala Allah Ja'far, he wrote to him about all this.

(The Caliph), after he received the news, blamed the wali of those regions, then sought advice from people who had experience of the routes of that country. He was told that the Buja were nomads, breeders of camels and cattle; that their country was extremely difficult to reach because it was far from any inhabited country. Bet¬ween the Buja country and the Islamic countries there was wilderness and deserts, where thirst is the worst danger; the country was mountainous and rocky; he who undertakes to go there must walk for at least two months from Egypt

taking with him large supplies of water, food and fodder, for, if he runs short of anything, he will be lost - he and his army - and the Buja will then capture them without fighting. In addition, those nomads are a people (taifa), who, whenever an invader coming from the Islamic countries enters their territory, immediately seek help from their neighbours on the Nubian frontier. Likewise, the Nuba seek help from the kings of the hubush, for all those kingdoms are connected with each other by the Nile river up to the country of the Zanj, and thence to Jabal al-Qumr, where are the sources of the Nile to be found and the last inhabited regions of the terrestrial globe (kurrat al-ard).(5) ... When al-Mutawakkil was properly informed by the experts about the real situation, he dropped his plan of a punitive expedition to that country. A certain Muham¬mad 'Abdalla al-Qummi, who had for many years been one of the leaders in charge of the safety of the pilgrimage (khifarat al-hajj), happened to hear about this plan. He went to al-Fath b. Khaqan, the vizier of al-Mutawakkil and told him that if al-Mutawakkil would instruct his agents in Egypt to supply him with the necessary equip¬ment, he would be prepared to cross to the Buja country and thence to the land of the Nuba to subdue all those peoples. Al-Fath proposed this plan to al-Mutawakkil, who gave orders that al-Qummi be furnished with all he required for the expedition. He passed the instructions to 'Anbasa b. Ishaq, who was at that time the agent of Egypt, with an order to supply al-Qummi with horses, footmen, camels, weapons and money as required and to give him absolute power over the remotest Upper Egypt so that he could have a free hand in that region. Muhammad left (Baghdad) and arrived in Egypt. On his ar¬rival there, 'Anbasa gave him all that he required and gave him full authority over such provinces (wilayat) of Upper Egypt as Qift, al-Qusayr, Esna, Armant, Aswan. Muhammad b. 'Abdalla al-Qummi took the leadership of the expedition. After he had completed the recruitment of footmen and had received the necessary money, he took with him as much provisions and equipment as he could carry and sent from Suez (as-suwis) the remainder in seven barges laden with all sorts of provisions: flour, dates, oil, wheat, barley etc. The guides showed the boatmen a place on the Red Sea coast, near 'Aydhab, where all the barges should meet and land at the same time.

Muhammad left Qos and boldly entered that inhospitably desert. He had an army of seven thousand soldiers, without counting the auxiliaries. He marched until he reached the emerald mines and advanced into the country of the natives (as far as) near the town of Dunqula. As the rumour of his coining spread far and wide reaching the remotest countries of the Blacks (bilad as-sudan), their king, whose name was 'Ali Baba, rose to fight the ad¬vancing army of al-Qummi. 'Ali Baba's army consisted of groups (tawa'if) belonging to many different nations (umam la tuhsa), as we have mentioned above, all naked, the majority of them armed with spears (hirab) and Javelins (mazariq), and mounted on tawny Nubian bukht drome¬daries (al-bukht an-nubiyya as-suhub), which are extremely ill-natured and easily frightened. When they drew near the Moslem army and noticed the kind of camels, horses, soldiers and weapons they were to face, they realized that they could not stand the fight. They decided to procrastinate and make the enemy run short of provisions and exhaust their horses so that they could eventually do what they had planned. They went on dodging, playing like foxes; whenever Muhammad tried to bring them to battle, they vanished from his sight withdrawing from place to place until the provisions of the Moslems ran out as a result of the prolonged delay. But they did not notice the arrival of the boats on the coast and that consequently the hearts of the Moslem troops were strengthened. Only later did the sudan realize that fresh provisions had arrived from the coast and decided to give battle.

Their (the sudan's) army, which consisted of heterogeneous peoples (umam la tuhsa), moved forward. Muhammad looked at the sudan advancing against him. He gave orders that all the bells of the camels be tied to the necks of his horses, then ordered that, at the time of the battle, his men take the (camels carrying the) drums all around (the battlefield) and blow the trumpets (abwag). He issued detailed instructions to his troops and deployed them into a right wing and a left wing, with strict orders that not one of his men should move forward at this own wish. The sudan advanced, while Mu¬hammad kept motionless; they drew so near that their javelins could have hit the heart of the horses. Then, al-Qummi gave the signal to his men to display their full force and attack the sudan in a perfect, united charge. The big drums (naqqarat) rolled all around, the kettledrums (tubul) were beaten, the sound of the bells filled the air with so confusing a noise that the sudan felt as if the sky had collapsed overhead. The camels of the sudan turned back in utter confusion and panic; most camelmen were thrown off their camels; the Moslem troops charged the sudan, slaughtering every one on their way until their hands were at last exhausted of killing, and the ground was covered with dead bodies. Then the night fell.

'Ali Baba escaped from, the hands of the Moslems because he was in the company of some members of his family and servants who took all to flight on camels. When the battle was over and the sudan realized that no chance was left to them in that country, except to ask for safe-conduct, 'Ali Baba, their king, sent a message to Muhammad b. 'Abdalla al-Qummi asking for safe-conduct for himself and to be restored to the previous state of allegiance (ma kan 'alay-hi min at-ta'a) (and promising) to bring the tribute of all the years in arrear which were altogether four years. Muhammad gave him safe-conduct and 'Ali Baba came and prostrated himself before him. Muhammad offered robes to 'Ali Baba, to his son and to some prominent chiefs who were in his compa¬ny. Muhammad laid down the condition that ('Ali Baba) should go with him to the Caliph al-Mutawakkil 'ala Allah and prostrate himself before him. 'Ali Baba ac¬cepted and appointed his son, Li'as Baba, to rule in his place until such time as he would return from the court of the Caliph.

Muhammad ‘Abdalla al-Qummi, accompanied by his army, and 'Ali Baba, returned to Egypt where he was welcomed by 'Anbasa who went as far as the extreme border of Upper Egypt to meet him. It is even said that 'Anbasa accom¬panied him walking behind him at some distance. Muhammad remained a short time in Egypt, then proceeded to 'Iraq taking with him ’Ali Baba to introduce him to the Caliph al-Mutawakkil. The chamberlain ordered 'Ali Baba to kiss the ground, but he refused. Al-Mutawakkil wished to kill him and conveyed to him, by means of a drogman: 'I have been told that you are carrying an idol made of black stone to which you bow down twice a day in worship. How do you refuse to kiss the ground before me, after my servants have defeated you and spared your life?' When he heard these words, 'All Baba kissed the ground three times. Al-Mutawakkil forgave him and generously gave him robes and ordered him to return to his country. All this took place during the governorship of 'Anbasa in Egypt. (Cairo IX, pp. 295 - 299).

[The Qata'i' of Ibn Tulun]

When Ahmad Ibn Tulun took over the emirate of Egypt, his army settled (around the emir's residence) as was customary under the emirs his predecessors. Later on, (869 A.D.), he decided to build a castle (qasr) for himself and then he built the qata'i'... The qata'i' are the same as what is meant today by the atbaq of the Sul-tan's own mamalik. Each qata'i' belonged to a group and was called after it, so that there was the qati'a of the sudan, the qati'a of the rum, the qati'a of the farrashin (whose assignement was similar to that of the jamdariyya troops today)...

Ibn Tulun built the castle for himself and the qata'i' [for his soldiers] because his white (mamalik) and black ('abid) troops were so numerous that the emir's residence was too narrow. He went on the slope of the mountain and decided that the cemeteries of the Jews and Christians be ploughed through for he had planned to build his castle and the square (midan) there, then he ordered his men and his grooms to choose for themselves the place for their homes around the castle and the square. That is how the qata'i' were built and named after their occupants.

Al-Quda'i said: — The Nuba had a separate qati'a named after them, the Rum, too, had their own named after them, each special group of grooms (ghilman) had its own qati'a. The qata'i' were finely built quarters: between them there were roads (sikak) and lanes (aziqqa'). beautiful mosques (masajid), mills and baths, bakeries and shops and wide streets (shawari'). (Cairo III, pp.14 - 16).

The various Corps (asnaf) and detachments (tawa'if) of the army paraded and the sudan marched behind them all. These were one thousand men, all wearing iron breast-plates skilfully wrought, and black tunics (aqbiya) and black turbans: they looked like a black sea rolling over the face of the earth, because of their black complexion and their black dress; their shining breast-plates, their dazzling swords and their helmets which they wore on their heads fastened with black turbans, made altogether a pleasant sight. Behind them, Khumarawaih advanced riding a horse apart from the cortege half the distance of a bow shot, while his atten¬dants walked at his side. A Nubian groom marched at his side carrying in his hand a baton (mitrad) with which he beckoned to the people to approach. (Cairo III, p. 59).

. . . He (a young men of the sudan) was flogged to death... The day after he was buried; the sudan informed his father that al-Kafti (the man who had ordered the flogging) commented: - 'The beef (lahm al-baqar) does not ripen quickly.' They also reported to him that the flog¬ging went on until after he had died. The sudan became furious against him (al-Kafti) and rushed to attack his residence. No sooner had the rumour of the attack spread than he fled so that they could not seize him. The mob, however, plundered his house while he was away. When al-Kafti came back and realized that all his wealth had been carried away and his wife had been violated, he felt so broken-hearted that he died a few days afterwards. (Cairo III, pp. 99 - lOO).

. . . Then (after the defeat of a Tulunid troop by an Iraqi expeditionary force, 892 A.D.) the cavalry turned towards the qata'i' of the sudan of Tulun and captured all those they could find and drove them before Muhammad b. Sulayman. He was sitting on horseback at his place and gave orders that they be all slaughtered, there, before his eyes, like sheep. (Cairo III, p. 137). After that (the conquest of Egypt by the emir 'Isa an-Nawshari) an order signed by the Caliph (al-Muktafi, 901-907 A.D.) was brought from Baghdad. The Caliph authorized the emir 'Isa an-Nawshari to remain as gover-nor of all the districts-of Egypt, north and south, from Alexandria to Nubia, and over al-Hijaz. (Cairo III, p. 153).

[The Governorship of 'Ali b. al-Ikhshid]

He is 'Ali b. al-Ikhshid Muhammad b. Tughj b. Juff, the emir Abu-l-Hasan al—Farghani, the Turk. He became wali of Egypt after the death of his brother Anujur b. al-Ikhshid Muhammad, on Saturday 20 Dhu-l-Qa'da 349 H. (11 January 961 A.D.). It was Kafur al-Ikhshid, his eunuch servant, who established him in power, with the support of the friends of his (’Ali's) father and the army. The Caliph al-Muti'lilla recognized him. Kafur al-Ikhshid was, however, the actual Regent (qa'im bi-tadbir mamlakati-hi) of the kingdom, as he had been in the time of his late brother Anujur. The Caliph gave him ('Ali) authority over all the territories formerly ruled by his father and his brother, i.e. Egypt, the kingdom in Syria, the territories of Mecca and Medina. Kafur made available to this 'Ali the same amount he had given to his late brother - 400,000 dinars every year. The power of Kafur grew immensely after the death of Anujur and the appointment of this 'Ali in his place.

The aforementioned ’Ali - of whom we are speaking - was born on 26 Safar 306 H. (7 August 918 A.D.). He reigned until the year 351 H. (962 A.D.), but only nominally, for the real power was in the hands of Kafur. Then Misr had to face a great economic crisis (ghula'), soon followed by political troubles over all the Egyptian countryside and Alexandria: the Maghariba troops, who supported the Fatimid Caliphs, advanced from the Maghrib and the prices of goods increased steadily. At the same time, the Qarmatians marched on Syria, in the year 352 H. (963 A.D.). He had some encounters with them, but the Egyptians could not stop the Qarmatians, as the Egyptians were already pressed by the famine and the advance of the pro-Fatimite Maghariba. In addition to this, the level of the Nile fell during those years and prices ran higher than ever before; as the rural villages and hamlets were badly affected by the failure of the annual flood, the crisis grew worse and rebellions multiplied. The king of Nubia marched on Aswan and beyond, down to Akhmim, killing and plundering, taking prisoners and setting fire to villages. (Cairo III, p. 326).

Tala'i' died of an unknown cause (sahr). It was he who had given Qos in fief to Shawar and then repented and wished to dismiss him, while he was on his way to Qos. When Shawar arrived at his place, Tala'i' requested him to pay a tribute of four-hundred dinars monthly. Shawar exclaimed: 'Qos now wants to have a wali and I am I, the man. By God! I shall never go back to Cairo. If he dismisses me, I shall go to Nubia!' (Cairo V, p. 315). In this year (569 H./1173 A.D.) Saladin anrested some citizens who were supporters of the 'ubaydiyya dynasty. They were: the chief propagandist (da'i ad-du'at), 'Umara al-Yamani and others. Saladin had been informed that they had held secret meetings to plot and had allied themselves with the sudan and that they had written a message to the Franks. (Cairo VI, p. 70).

In this year (572 H./1176 A.D.), the rise of the leader (muqaddam) of the sudan in Upper Egypt took place. He marched from Upper Egypt to Misr with 100,000 blacks (aswad), eager to restore the Egyptian Fatimite dynasty. Against him marched al-Malik al-'Adil, the brother of Saladin, Abu-l-Hayja al-Hakari and ’Izz ad-din Mawsik with the troops they had In Cairo. They encountered the sudan and there ensued a fierce battle in which the afore¬said chief of the sudan fell with his men. Shaykh Shams ad-din Yusuf wrote in "Mir'at az-Zaman" that they killed eighty-thousand sudan, after which they returned to Misr. (Cairo VI, p. 78).

In this year (656 H./1258 A.D.) died ... the famous holy man (al-'arif) Abu-l-Hasan 'Ali b. 'Abdalla b. 'Abd al-Jabbar ash-Shadhilli, the blind man, in the desert of 'Aydhab, in the month of Dhu-l-Qa'da (November). (Cairo VII, p. 67).

Al-Malik az-Zahir (Baybars I.) went to Damascus on 19th Shawwal (664 H. - 24 July 1266 A.D.). While he was at Safad, there arrived a messenger from the Lord of Zion (Sihyawn), with a precious gift and a letter in which he apologized for his delay in coming. Al-Malik az-Zahir accepted both the gift and the apology. Then arrived the messengers of the Lord of Sis, they, top, bringing a gift; but (Baybars) rejected the gift and would not listen to the reading of the letter. Then the horses of the mail of the governor of Qos arrived from Upper Egypt: the mail brought the news that the governor had taken the island of Sawakin and that its Lord had taken to flight. The governor of Qos sent his letter to profess his allegiance to al-Malik az-Zahir and to ask permission to remain in possession of Sawakin, and his request was granted. (Cairo VII, pp. 139 - 140).

Allah conquered through his (Baybars's) hand the country of the Nuba. In that country there are, beyond Aswan, the island of Philae and, further on, the bilad al-'ula. which is one of the districts of Maris, the island of Mikha'il and the cataracts, which are all in¬habited countries. He conquered those lands, and gave them to the cousin (ibn 'amm) of the king from whom he had taken them away; then he divided Nubia (an-nuba) in¬to two halves and imposed on him (i.e. the new king) a tribute of slaves, male and females, camels, cattle and a poll-tax of one dinar for each adult per year. The frontiers of the kingdom of al-Malik az-Zahir extended from Nubia to Euphrates. (Cairo VII, pp. 188 - 190).

In the year 698 H. (1298 A.D.), the Sultan al-Malik an-Nasir Muhammad ordered the closing down of all the churches in Fustat (Misr) and Cairo (al-Qahira): the churches were sealed with straps of cloth nailed across the doors. On the morning of the 22nd day of the blessed Rajab of the year 700 H. (2 April 1301 A.D.), the Jews went about wearing yellow turbans and the Christians blue turbans. If any of them was seen going around riding a mount, one of his feet was tightly wrapped with rags. The (Christian) employees were dismissed from the Sultan’s offices as well as from the offices of the emirs. A great number of Christians embraced Islam; one of them was the Secretary of Finance (amin al-mulk mustawfi as-suhba) and others. Then the Sultan ordered that the edict be promulgated in all his countries from Dunqula to the Euphrates. (Cairo VIII, p. 134).

Al-Malik an-Nasir abolished ... the taxes (huquq) levied on the sudan and the inspection of the boats of the Nuba. On every slave, male or female, a fixed amount used to be levied at the moment they were transferred to the inns (khanat): this was, indeed, an abominable habit from which God freed the Moslems through the initiative of al-Malik an-Nasir. (Cairo IX, p. 48).

In this year (710 H./1310 A.D.), arrived at the court of al-Malik an-Nasir the ambassadors (rusul) of the Lord of al-Yaman, the ambassadors of Istanbul and those of al-Askari (Lascaris), the ambassadors of the King of Sis, those of al-Qan Bu Sa'id (Persia), the ambassadors of the Lord of Mardin, those of Ibn Qurman and the ambassadors of the king of Nubia, all to profess their loyalty. (Cairo IX, p. 78).

He (an-Nasir b. Qalawun) sent to 'Aydhab and Nubia the emir Aqbogha to import sheep and had a sheepfold established in the Citadel. (Cairo IX, p. 171).

APPENDIX Exceptional Nile Floods The records of some exceptional Nile levels, read at the Cairo Nilometre and recorded by Taghribirdi, may enlighten the reader on the economic and other conse¬quences on the general situation in Nubia, too. In Egypt, the flood below the 14-cubit mark (at its maximum level) was generally followed by a year of drought and famine; the 18-cubit mark was considered the optimum maximum level; all floods rising above 18 cubits turned into disastrous floods. Selected Gauges of Maximum Levels of the Nile Flood (As recorded by Taghribirdi, An-nujum az-zahira) Year Year H. A.D. Cubit/Inches H. A.D. Cubit/Inches 331 927 19 - 518 1121 18 4 356 952 12 17 519 1122 18 4 410 1005 19 8 520 1123 18 1 473 1077 18 15 522 1124 18 3 474 1078 18 13 523 1125 18 5 481 1085 18 4 529 1132 18 3 489 1093 13 17 532 1135 18 12 500 1103 19 1 533 1136 18 5 506 1109 18 2 537 1140 18 - 507 1110 18 2 539 1142 18 4 509 1112 18 - 540 1143 18 - 512 1115 18 4 542 1145 18 13 513 1116 18 7 543 1146 18 13 514 1117 18 1 546 1148 18 4 516 1119 18 3 552 1154 18 11 517 1120 18 10 553 1154 18 10

Year H. A.D. 555 1156 556 1157 559 1161 568 1170 575 1177 586 1188 587 1189 589 1191 596 1198 629 1225 624 1226 630 1230 641 1243 643 1245 649 1251 650 1252 653 1255 654 1256 657 1259 658 1260 664 1266 670 1272 675 1277 676 1278 677 1279 678 1280 679 1281 680 1282 687 1289 695 1297 702 1303 707 1309 708 1310 Year Cubit/Inches H. A.D. Cubit/Inches 18 10 710 1312 18 3 18 17 723 1325 18 6 18 10 724 1326 18 19 18 18 728 1330 18 9 18 5 732 1333 18 11 18 4 735 1336 18 21 18 14 742 1343 18 9 18 8 744 1345 18 17 12 21 745 1346 18 17 18 1 746 1347 18 5 7 1 753 1354 18 16 18 6 754 1355 18 16 18 8 755 1356 19 5 18 14 756 1357 18 21 18 18 758 1359 18 6 18 17 760 1361 19 3 18 - 761 1362 24 - 18 3 762 1363 18 10 18 1 18 11 768 1369 19 6 18 12 773 1373 18 4 18 11 778 1378 19 2 18 11 779 1379 18 12 18 8 780 1380 19 5 18 5 781 1381 19 2 18 1 783 1383 19 12 18 23 784 1384 20 3 18 4 785 1385 19 14 18 4 786 1386 19 8 18 1 788 1388 20 - 18 - 789 1389 18 15 18 1 790 1390 19 4 18 10 792 1392 19 2 794 1394 19 12 798 1398 19 2 799 1399 19 12