X-
And in the year fifteen hundred and forty-four of the GREEKS (A.D. 1232-1233), a patent of sovereignty was written by the Khalifah for BADR AD-DIN, the lord of MAWSIL, and he was proclaimed Sultan. For the young man NASIR AD-DIN MAHMUD, the son of KAHIR (KRAH), the son of NUR AD-DIN, was already dead. Now the sons of ‘ADIL murmured greatly against the Sultan ‘ALA AD-DIN because he had taken KHALAT from them. And they collected a mighty crowd [of soldiers] from EGYPT to BIROA. And there were associated with the EGYPTIANS also the lord of the fortress of ZAID, and the lord of MARDIN, and the lord of MAWSIL, and MALIK ‘AFDAL, the son of SALAH AD-DIN, the lord of SAMOSATA, and a very large number of the MA’DAYE, and also the TAGHLABAYE.
And in the year fifteen hundred and forty-five of the GREEKS (A.D. 1234), the Sultan also collected a great gathering of FRANKS, and GREEKS, and ARMENIANS, and IBERIANS, and KHAWARAZMIANS, and more than one hundred thousand [men], all of them men of the chase, and he took them and went to the country of PALESTINE, whither the EGYPTIANS and those who were with them were ready to go. And the sons of ‘ADIL having sent out spies, and seen that they were unable [to cope with] the force (or, army) of the Sultan, went and took the fortress of MANSUR, and destroyed all his country, and then their gathering was disbanded and they returned to their own country. And the Sultan came to MELITENE with the great army which was with him, and then he crossed the EUPHRATES and went and encamped against the fortress of ZAID, and he made himself master of the city quickly and looted it. Now the lord thereof, together with six thousand horsemen who had come from the EGYPTIANS to his help, fled and went into the Citadel of the city. And the Sultan set up engines of war against them, and being reduced to misery by the war, and by hunger and thirst, they took a pledge for their lives. Then the Sultan sent those EGYPTIANS, whose captain was SHAMS [468] AD-DIN SUAB, the chief eunuch of KAMIL, in honour to EGYPT. And the lord of the fortress of ZAID, together with all his treasures and wives, he sent to the sea coast. And when he had been living therefor abeut three years he destroyed him secretly, and he built the Citadel and the city strongly md caused it to be inhabited. And again he sent an army to SAMOSATA, and he laid waste its country, but he was unable to take the city. Because the winter was coming on the Sultan left and went to ‘ITALYA (‘ATALYA or SATALYA?), a city on the sea-coast, in order to pass the winter there according to his custom. And when the summer came the Sultan collected his troops from among various peoples, about one hundred horsemen, and a large number of footmen, and he made them ready to go and attack the city of ‘AMID.
Then the report reached him that KAMIL was perturbed by the treachery which had overtaken him through his son who reigned in the south. Therefore the Sultan stopped the expedition against ‘AMID, because [that city] was very strong, and it could only be captured with difficulty after a prolonged [attack]. And he sent his troops against the city of EDESSA in the month of HAZIRAN (JUNE) of the year fifteen hundred and forty-six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1235), and they attacked it with fierce warfare. And the men of EDESSA who were inside the city fought upon the walls strenuously. And in those days certain troops from BETH RHOMAYE went against SIBABARAK and took it. And they also went against CALONICUS, which is RAKKA, and they took that also; and they broke down the walls and looted it in anger. Then the men of HARRAN became afraid, and they took the keys of HARRAN and brought [them] to the Sultan in MELITENE; and he accepted them and sent [the men] back in honour. But the men of EDESSA were very audacious, and they hurled insults and mockings at the Sultan, and because of this the Sultan was exceedingly angry, and he went personally to attack it. Therefore the troops of BETH RHOMAYE fought with their utmost strength and skill, and they captured the city by means of the holes [which they made in the walls], and the ladders which they set up against the ramparts. And a countless host of men thronged into it, and they plundered and looted the houses of the nobles. And they stripped the men and women naked, and they carried away the furniture and adornments of the ‘temples’ and the sacred vessels of the famous churches which were in the city. And they undressed the free men and the free women, and drove them outside the city on to the dung heaps that were between the tents of skins, and they became scorched and blistered by the fierce heat of the days of [469] TAMMUZ (JULY). And the captains of hosts, and the fighting men who were found in the city, about two thousand, were sent away naked into the inner countries of BETH RHOMAYE. And in the city of EDESSA were found vast amounts of gold and silver, and saddles, and bridles and harness, and war equipments which KAMIL had left there when he returned from ‘ABLASTAYN. And the Sultan fortified EDESSA anew, and he left therein fighting men, and architects and carpenters, and likewise in HARRAN, and he returned to BETH RHOMAYE.
When KAMIL heard of the calamity which had taken place in EDESSA, he sallied forth from EGYPT with a great army and came against EDESSA four months after the army of BETH RHOMAYE had departed therefrom. And with great violence he destroyed the great tower of the fortress of EDESSA, and he mounted the nobles, and the fighting men, and the artisans whom he found therein on camels and carried them away and sent them to EGYPT.
And in this year there was a great scarcity of grain in BETH RHOMAYE and BETH NAHRIN, and the vines and the trees shrivelled up through the severity of the winter which took place. For from the month of the LATTER TESHRIN (NOVEMBER) to the full moon of the month of SHEBAT (FEBRUARY), the great EUPHRATES was frozen over, and no rain fell on the young crops.
And in the year fifteen hundred and forty-seven of the GREEKS (A.D. 1236), the Sultan ‘ALA AD-DIN sent many troops against ‘AMID, and they waged war against it for four months, and they were unable to take it, but they looted and laid waste its suburbs, and went back. And in the year six hundred and thirty-three of the ARABS (A.D. 1235), MALIK NASIR DAWUD, the son of MU’ATAM, the son of ‘ADIL, the lord of KARAK, went to BAGHDAD to the Khalifah to lay complaints against his uncles KAMIL and ‘ASHRAF, who had robbed him of DAMASCUS. And in the year also RUKN AD-DIN MALIK SALIH ‘ESMA’IL, the son of BADR AL-DIN, the lord of MAWSIL, went to BAGHDAD to render service to the Khalifah.
And at this time the TATARS arrived at ‘ARBIL,and from there they came to NINEVEH, and they encamped on the canal of the village of ‘KARMELISH’, and the inhabitants fled and went into the church therein. And the TATARS took the church, and two nobles sat by the two doors of the church. And one of them spared and set free those who went out by his door, ana the other with the edge of the sword destroyed the men and women and children who went out by his door.
And from there the TATARS passed over to the country of SINJAR, and they attacked suddenly the great camp [470] of the merchants who were going to SYRIA, and they killed them all.
And in the year fifteen hundred and forty-eight [of the GREEKS, A.D. 1237], Sultan ALA AD-DIN collected various people, the MA’DAYE, and the KHAWARAZMIANS, and the HUNS, and the GREEKS, and the FRANKS, and the ARMENIANS, and the IBERIANS, and he made them ready to march against ‘AMID. Now the festival of the ARABS was nigh at hand, and the Sultan made a great feast for all his nobles. And whilst they were eating, and drinking, and enjoying all the various songs [and dances], the Sultan, who was seated on his lofty throne, and was in high spirits and enjoying the sight of them thoroughly, felt a pain in his bowels, and he went forth to the latrine and began to evacuate blood in large quantities. And having continued to suffer violent pain for a day and a night, he departed this life on the second day [of the week], at the beginning of the month of HAZIRAN (JUNE) of the year fifteen hundred and forty-eight of the GREEKS (A.D. 1237), which is the year six hundred and thirty-four of the ARABS (A.D. 1236), at the beginning of SHAWAL, the ninth month.
And in this year also died MALIK ‘AZIZ, the lord of ALEPPO, and his son MALIK NASIR SALAH AD-DIN, whom the ARABS killed in our own days, reigned after him. And in the year there died also MALIK MUHSIN, the son of the great SALAH AD-DIN, in ALEPPO. And in the tenth month of this year the TATARS came again to ‘ARBIL, and they encamped on the LOWER ZABHA river. And the people of ‘ARBIL fled naked to the Citadel, and the TATARS took possession of the houses of the city, and carried away much loot; and then they burned many houses, And they attacked the Citadel for about forty days, and much gold was given to them, and they took [it] and departed.
Now this Sultan ‘ALA AD-DIN KAI KUBAD was one by himself among the kings of his generation. He was alert in appearance, and perfect in mind, and pure in body. For he was exalted above all the foul passions wherewith the kings of the Arabs are accustomed to pollute themselves. He was fierce towards offenders, and in judgements just. He brought into subjection to his dominion many cities and fortified towns (or, citadels), and he made his power to spread abroad. And in the hour in which he died, at noon of the afore-mentioned day, the nobles being assembled took his eldest son, whose name was GHAYATH AD-DIN KAI KESRU, [471] and brought him into the city of CAESAREA, and swore oaths of fealty to him. And they seated him on the throne of KAI KUBAD, his father, and proclaimed him Sultan, and there was great joy among the populace. And he commanded, and the prisoners who were in bonds were set free throughout his dominions, and those who were in EGYPT were made free men by the death of him because of whom they had been made captives. And it is said that the number of those who were liberated from affliction amounted to twelve thousand.
And the new Sultan himself wished to seize the chiefs of the KHAWARAZMIANS, because he was afraid of them, lest they might rebel. And he seized one great chief whose name was KAIR (GAIR) KHAN, and the remainder of them when they heard [of this] fled, and went forth from BETH RHOMAYE. And every place where they passed they made horrible desolation. And they came to MELITENE and took prisoner SAIF AD-DAWLAH, its Subashi. And they crossed the EUPHRATES on foot to the Citadel of MASARA (MUKRA?). And when they arrived at the frontier of the fortress of ZAID, by the side of the Citadel of KHARBIZAG, the armies of those countries met them in battle, and they were broken before the KHAWARAZMIANS, and the Subishi of the fortress of ZAID, whose name was BAIRAMIZ, was killed. And they also despoiled the country of SAMOSATA (‘ARSHMISHAT). And from there they went down to the country of SIBABARAK and of HAMIMTA, and they dwelt there for about three years, during which they plundered the countries [round about]. Then they went and became subject to a young man whose name was MALIK NASIR, the lord of ALEPPO, and he gave them EDESSA and HARRAN and the other cities of BETH NAHRIN, and the land had rest from them.
Then the new Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN sent and had brought to him the daughter of the queen of the IBERIANS for a wife; and he loved her dearly. And he gave himself up to childishness of mind, and be began to occupy himself with wine-bibbings and drinking bouts, and he amused himself with birds and animals. And he left the government of his kingdom in the hands of his slaves, and each of them began to act as he pleased. Now the queen, the IBERIAN woman, came from her country in the garb of the Christians, and with her were a Catholicus and holy men, and priests of the Church. And with her also was her brother, who was called ‘DAVID THE LITTLE’, and was the king of INNER IBERIA. And after a short time she renounced the Christian Faith and became a Muslim. And her brother DAVID and the Catholicus were seized and shut up in one of the Citadels, and they remained [472] there until the TATARS arrived, and took the fortress in which they were imprisoned, when they were set free.
And at the beginning of the year six hundred and thirty-five of the ARABS (A.D. 1237), MALIK ‘ASHRAF ‘ISA, the son of ‘ADIL,the son of ‘AYUB, died in DAMASCUS when he was about sixty years of age. There was no limit to the generosity of this man, and he was a great lover of dainty meats and luxurious repasts. And in this year, which is the year fifteen hundred and forty-nine of the GREEKS (A.D. 1238), the TATARS turned and came again to the country of ‘ARBIL, and they looted and laid waste. And they came as far as the frontier of BAGHDAD, to the place which is called ‘ANGABAD (ZANGABAD), and they looted it. Others of them arrived at SURMANRAI, and they killed the population thereof. And the armies of BAGHDAD sallied forth, and at their head stood MUJAHID AD-DIN DAWITHDAR, and the chief of the nobles was SHARAF AD-DIN ‘EKBAL SHERABI. And they met the TATARS in battle and put them to flight. And being afraid lest they should return, the [soldiers] set up engines of war on the wall of BAGHDAD.
And in the year also MALIK PAIZ YA’KUB fled from his brother MALIK KAMIL to BAGHDAD, and he wished to be in the service of the Khalifah. And after a short time MALIK KAMIL, the son of ‘ADIL, the lord of EGYPT, died, and he was buried in DAMASCUS. He was an alert man and one to be feared, and he lived seventy years. And his son MALIK ‘ADIL, who was called by the name of his ancestor, rose up after him in EGYPT. And MALIK SALIH, the brother of KAMIL, ruled over SYRIA, and he became powerful among the KHAWARAZMIANS, and he added to them also HABURA. And MALIK NASIR, his brother’s son, who was at one time the lord of KARAK, wished to rule, but the time[s] did not help him (i.e. were unfavourable). For this man was well instructed and was well versed in philosophic doctrines. It is related concerning him that when he used to go to read with SHAMS AD-DIN, the philosopher in DAMASCUS, he used to dismount a long way from [his house], and leaving there the slaves who were in his service, he would carry his book under his cloak and go in to the philosopher, and read and go out, and that he would not permit him to stand up to him.
And in the year the ISHMAELITES leaped upon BADR AD-DIN, the lord of MAWSIL, and he was not wounded. [473] And in the eleventh month of this year the TATARS returned to the frontier of BAGHDAD, and they came as far as the place which is called KHANIKIN. And the armies of BAGHDAD sallied forth and met them in battle. And the BABHLAYE (i.e. BABYLONIANS = men of BAGHDAD) were broken, and of them only three nobles escaped, and the rest were destroyed by the edge of the sword. And the TATARS took great loot and departed.
And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty of the GREEKS (A.D. 1239), which is the year six hundred and thirty-six of the ARABS (A.D. 1238), the river TIGRIS overflowed, and destroyed many houses in BAGHDAD, and two ships foundered and about fifty souls were drowned. And in the following year nothing remarkable happened in the countries round about us.
And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty-one of the GREEKS (A.D. 1240), in the month of HAZIRAN (JUNE), the TATARS came, and they pillaged the country from the land of the IBERIANS to the frontier of ‘ARZAN AR-RUM. And the armies of the RHOMAYE were called up, and they went to ARMENIA so that they might prevent the TATARS from invading BETH RHOMAYE. And when the TATARS heard that there was a gathering [of troops], they retreated and returned to the country of the SCYTHIANS. And those of BETH RHOMAYE remained there until the winter, and then they returned to their own country. And in the year TAJ BULGHARI, the compounder of THIRYAKI (i.e. the medicine which cured all ailments), was sent as an ambassador from BETH RHOMAYE to BAGHDAD, and he died there aged ninety years.
And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty-two of the GREEKS (A.D. 1241), which is the year six hundred and thirty-eight of the ARABS (A.D. 1240), at the season of the TESHRINS (OCTOBER and NOVEMBER), an evil heresy concerning the Faith of the ARABS broke out. For a certain TURKOMAN, an old man and an ascetic, whose name was ‘PAPA’ (BABA?), became notorious in the country of AMASIA. He called himself ‘RASUL’ that is to say, ‘One who is sent’ (i.e. Apostle), for he said that he was the Apostle of God in truth, and that MAHAMAD was a liar, and not the Apostle [of God]. And a great many people of the TURKOMANS cleaved to him, and they believed in him because of the apparitions which he showed them. And he sent one of his disciples, whose name was ‘Old man Isaac’, to the country of HSEN-MANSUR, which was the limit of the countries of BETH RHOMAYE, so that he might teach from there, and come; and when this man came he captivated many with the love of his master. And he made ready for him implements (or, weapons) of war. And all the TURKOMAN troops sold their asses, and their oxen and their sheep, and bought horses, and mounted them, [474] and began to loot the countries of HSEN MANSUR, and GARGAR, and GAKHTI. And they killed every one who did not confess with his tongue that PAPA (BABA?) was ‘a divine Apostle and Prophet’.
Then the chief of MELITENE collected his army of five hundred horsemen, and he took to help him some of those who were subjects of the Monastery of MAR BAR SAWMA, chosen men, fifty footmen, who could shoot with the bow. And they went and met the TURKOMANS in battle, and those of BETH RHOMAYE were defeated, and only a very few of the subjects of the Monastery escaped. Then the TURKOMANS became exceedingly powerful, and many crowds of people cleaved to them. And they went to the country of ‘ABLASTAYN and defeated the army there also; and they took (i.e. felt) an impulse to go to ‘AMASIA that they might meet him whom they proclaimed. Then the nobles of BETH RHOMAYE made an ambush for that old man PAPA (BABA?), and they caught him and strangled him. And when ISAAC his disciple and those of his party went and could not find him, they spread the report that ‘he had gone up to bring the angels to their assistance’. And they waged savage war against ‘AMASIA. And about sixty thousand horsemen were gathered together from BETH RHOMAYE, and they were unable to attack the little camp of those six thousand ARABS.
Then one thousand Frankish horsemen who were in the service of the Sultan became inflamed with anger, and they gnashed their teeth, and made the Sign of the Cross on their faces, and they rushed on those erring men and scattered them. Then the ARABS also clung to them, and they surrounded the TURKOMANS like a circle, and they destroyed them all with the edge of the sword, and of them they left no creature, neither man nor woman, nor child, nor animal, with the breath of life therein. And thus that heresy was extinguished.
And in this year the armies of BETH RHOMAYE were gathered together, and at their head stood SINAN, the Subashi of the fortress of ZAID, who was appointed in the place of BAlRAMIZ, who had been killed, and they went and encamped against ‘AMID. And the lord thereof, who was the son of KALLIL, was in EGYPT. And those who were from BETH RHOMAYE made a pact with the guards, and they promised them silver (i.e. money) and the guards surrendered the city. And the men of ALEPPO also went with those of BETH RHOMAYE as auxiliaries. [475] And when they had taken ‘AMID, they also wished to go against MAIPERKAT and to take it. But MALIK GHAZI, its lord, the brother of KAMIL, sent and brought KHAWARAZMIANS from BETH NAHRIN to his help. And he waxed strong and he was not overcome by his enemies, especially because the men of ALEPPO had ceased to fight with him; for he was the brother of their Lady (i.e. queen), that is to say, the mother of MALIK TAHIR, the father of MALIK NASIR, the lord of ALEPPO. Then SINAN having taken ‘AMID, a command of the Sultan came to him to go to ‘ARZAN AR-ROM, and to rule there and to stand up against the onset of the TATARS. And as soon as he had gone JURMAGHON NAWIN came with a strong army of the TATARS. And in a very few days they captured that fortified place, and they destroyed the whole population thereof with the edge of the sword, both men and women, with the exception of the young men and maidens who were suitable for slavery; and they also killed SINAN and his young son, and they left the place a ruin and departed.
And at the turn of the year, which is the year fifteen hundred and fifty-three [of the GREEKS (A.D. 1242)], the TATARS again sallied forth, and came as far as the country of the fortress of ZAID, and they looted everything which they found and returned to PERSIA. And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty-four of the GREEKS (A.D. 1243) the Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN collected very many troops, and he took for gold (i.e. he hired) horsemen from ALEPPO, and from the GREEKS, and from the FRANKS, and from the MA’DAYE. Then the lord of EMESA, and MALIK GHAZI, the lord of MAIPERKAT, promised that they also would come, but they deceived the Sultan and did not come. And BARON CONSTANTINE, the father of the king of the ARMENIANS, HAITUM, came to the Sultan at CAESAREA, and he was received with great honour, and he collected many gifts, and he promised to go and call together many ARMENIANS, and to come to the help of the Sultan. And the Sultan marched on towards SEBASTIA. And also the TATARS came and invaded the country of ‘ARZENGAN. And the Sultan made haste and went to meet them. And his armies met the TATARS in battle at a place which is called ‘KAWSATAGH’, that is to say, TURA MESANTA. And like inexperienced troops, from the very beginning of the attack they turned [their] backs [in flight], and they were wholly unable to continue the battle before the TATARS; on the contrary, in one hour they fled and left the Sultan by himself. Then the Sultan, [476] who was smitten with astonishment, took his wife and his sons and went and made himself safe in the city of ANCYRA.
Now when the TATARS saw that the [Sultan’s troops] had fled without striking a blow, and had left their tents standing, they thought that there was treachery afoot, and that like men who were making an ambush, they had turned away. And when they had waited a day, and had sent out spies, and were certain that their flight was not a stratagem, they roared like panthers and rushed into the tents and looted everything which they found. And they spread themselves about in the countries of BETH RHOMAYE. And they came to SEBASTIA, and the people who were therein made terms with them, and they brought out much gold and bought their own souls from slaughter, and their sons and daughters from slavery. And the TATARS went into the city, and sacked the royal treasuries, and whatsoever pleased them they took, and the weapons of war they burned, and they wrecked four (or, forty) cubits of the [top of] the wall all round the city.
And another chief went to CAESAREA, and the inhabitants thereof did not wish to surrender it. Then they all gathered together against it, and they breached its wall with engines of war, and they went in, and sacked the royal treasuries, and burned the wonderful houses and buildings. And they tortured the nobles and the free men, and they stabbed them with swords until they had stripped them of all their money. And after that they killed therein many tens of thousands of people, and carried off the young men and the young women into captivity.
And when the mother of the Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN heard of the destruction, she took her daughter, the Sultan’s sister and her slaves, and her handmaidens, and her treasures, and went into the country of CILICIA. And she took refuge with BARON CONSTANTINE, the father of king HAITUM, who also had deceived the Sultan in respect of coming to his assistance, and who had delayed until he saw what the end of the matter would be. Now when they heard that the mother of the Sutaan was there, they sent a messenger and demanded her from PALI, the father of the king. And some say that PALI himself to please the TATARS had sent a message to them saying, ‘Such and such a person is with me; send ye that I may give her to you’. And as soon as ever the ambassadors had gone they delivered her over into the hands of the TATARS. And this most hateful and blameworthy act appeared in the sight of all kings as a thing which should never have been done. And the queen was carried away into captivity, and behold, she is there to this day, [477] and is not released.
And at that time the TURKOMANS of the country of ‘ABLASTAYN invaded our glorious monastery which is called DAIRA DHE KARIRE, and they killed therein fifteen monks, the greater number of them being doctors, together with deacons and other subordinate clergy. And when those accursed men set their faces to flee, the TATARS overtook them and destroyed them all with the edge of the sword. And thus justice was avenged on them after three days, and with the same death wherewith they had put other’s to death, they themselves were put to death.
Now when the report of the breaking of the Sultan burst into MELITENE, the Subashi RASHID AD-DIN, together with the rest of the officers of the palace, went by night into the royal treasury, and divided the gold and the silver which they found there among themselves, and they threw open the doors and fled towards ALEPPO. And the famous men among the nobles of the city, and especially Christians who had the power to flee, went forth from the city. And when they arrived at the mountain which is called BETH GAWZE, one day’s journey from the city, a body of TATARS overtook them and destroyed most of them; and they carried off the sons and daughters into captivity. And a few of them saved themselves by flight, and they came into the city naked and sandalless. Now when the various sections of the peoples who were inhabitants of the city, the robbers (?), and the weavers, and others, saw that the governors and chiefs had left the city and fled, the ARABS and the Christians gathered together to the Metropolitan of MELITENE, MAR DIONYSIUS, that is to say ‘ANGUR, who afterwards became Patriarch. And they entreated him to undertake the protection of the city, for he was a watchful and diligent man, and the Christians and the ARABS swore oaths of fealty to each other. And all night long they marched round on the walls and kept watch, and in the day-time they sat at the gate of the city, for there was only one of them which they could open, that is either the main gate or the gate of the palace. And the city remained in a state of perturbation for about two months, until the TATARS had departed from BETH RHOMAYE. And God helped, and they did not come to MELITENE, except those only who chanced to be on the path of the fugitives in BETH GAWZE.
Then the TATARS on their return encamped against ‘ARZENGAN, and they demanded gold from the lords thereof, and they would not be persuaded to give [any]. Then the TATARS were filled with anger, and they set up engines of war against it, and they threw down its wall very quickly; and they went in and looted it, and killed its population and utterly destroyed the city. Then Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN sent ambassadors to the TATARS, and sued for peace, and he undertook to pay tribute [in] gold, horses, cattle, sheep, and slaves.
And in this year, which is the year six hundred and forty of the ARABS (A.D. 1242), the Khalifah MUSTANSER died.
After MUSTANSER, MUSTA’SEM, his son, [ruled] sixteen years. This man possessed a childish understanding, and was incapable of distinguishing good from bad; and he occupied all his time in playing with doves, and in amusing himself with games with birds. And when it was said unto him, ‘The TATARS are preparing to capture BAGHDAD, even as they have captured other, famous cities in PERSIA and destroyed [them]’, he replied, ‘This is our throne, and if we do not give them permission they cannot come in’. And thus God made an end of the kingdom of the ‘ABBASIDES in the days of this foolish man.
And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty-five of the GREEKS (A.D. 1244) one of the chiefs of the TATARS whose name was YASAWUR (NASAWUR) NAWIN descended on the country of MAIPERKAT, and MARDIN, and EDESSA. And he crossed the EUPHRATES and came to the place, the name of which is HAILAN, which is by the gate of ALEPPO. But he did not draw nigh unto the city because the horses of the army which was with him were smitten in their legs (hooves?) by the dryness of the ground and the heat; now they descended in the days of summer. And having taken those countries NASAWUR sent to the lord of ALEPPO and demanded gold from him. And [this lord] having given to him everything which he demanded, NASAWUR went back from there. He came and he encamped against MELITENE, and he destroyed the crops, and the vineyards and the bees. And they killed every one who was found outside the city. And they sent and threatened the governor of the city, who was RASHD AD-DIN, for he had returned from ALEPPO. And the governor collected a very large amount of money, zuze, and dinars, and chains (i.e. jewellery), and vessels of gold and silver, which was equal [in value] to forty thousand dinars of gold. And he stole also the vessels of the sanctuary, and he brought out chalices, and phials, and censers, and lamp-stands, and the coffins (funerary caskets) of the saints, from [479] the treasury of the great church, and gave them to the TATARS. And they took [them] and departed to PERSIA. And after their departure there was a great famine in MELITENE and its suburbs, and sickness (plague), and the land was filled with wretched people who were perishing like animals in the bazars. And many people [tried to] sell their sons and their daughters for slaves, but there was no one to buy them.
At this time ‘ISA, the physician of EDESSA, who was the disciple of HASNON the physician, was famous in MELITENE. This man went from MELITENE to CILICIA, and lived in the service of the king. And he built the foundations of a wonderful church in the name of Saint MAR BAR-SAWMA.
And in the year fifteen hundred and fifty-six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1245), the TATARS went to BAGHDAD, and they were not able to capture it because a great crowd of the people rose up and opposed them with a violent assault, and turned them back empty. And in this year the Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN became inflamed with anger, and he sent a multitude of troops to lay waste CILICIA, because they had handed his mother and sister over to the TATARS. And the men of BETH RHOMAYE went and encamped against the city of TARSOS, and they made fierce war upon it. And there was present there PALI, the father of king HAITUM, with the KONTUSTABL (= Constable) his eldest son, and they also from within successfully resisted those who were outside because of the large number of FRANKS which they had with them. And torrential downpours of rain drenched those who were outside, and they began to be in evil case. And they were unable either to depart to another place in the country, or to bring food for themselves and their horses, because of the abominable mud (or, clay} which was there, and which was almost deep enough to swallow up a horse and his rider. And whilst they were in this miserable state the report of the death of the Sultan reached them. And they had a period of relief, and they left and went out of the country before this report was heard by the ARMENIANS. Now the Sultan GHAYATH AD-DIN died in the season of autumn, at the beginning of the year fifteen hundred and fifty-seven of the GREEKS (A.D. 1246). He had three young sons, ‘IZZ AD-DIN, and RUKN AD-DIN, and ‘ALA AD-DIN. And the nobles swore oaths of fealty to ‘IZZ AD-DIN, the eldest son, and proclaimed him [480] Sultan KAI KAUS. And then the ambassadors of the MONGOLS came requiring the Sultan ‘IZZ AD-DIN to come and pay homage to the Khan. And he excused himself, saying that if he turned aside the GREEKS and ARMENIANS who were his enemies would snatch his country from him. Therefore he sent his brother RUKN AD-DIN as a mediator, and he promised that at some other time he himself would go.