Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3851
Then the Year 323 AH Began
ثُمَّ دَخَلَتْ سَنَةُ ثَلَاثٍ وَعِشْرِينَ وَثَلَاثِمِائَةٍ ذِكْرُ قَتْلِ مَرْدَاوَيْجَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ قُتِلَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ ( الدَّيْلَمِيُّ صَاحِبُ بِلَادِ الْجَبَلِ وَغَيْرِهَا ). وَكَانَ سَبَبُ قَتْلِهِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ كَثِيرُ الْإِسَاءَةِ لِلْأَتْرَاكِ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ رُوحَ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ - عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ - حَلَّتْ فِيهِ، وَإِنَّ الْأَتْرَاكَ هُمُ الشَّيَاطِينُ وَالْمَرَدَةُ، فَإِنْ قَهَرَهُمْ وَإِلَّا أَفْسَدُوا، فَثَقُلَتْ وَطْأَتُهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَتَمَنَّوْا هَلَاكَهُ. فَلَمَّا كَانَ لَيْلَةُ الْمِيلَادِ مِنْ هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ، وَهِيَ لَيْلَةُ الْوَقُودِ، أَمَرَ بِأَنْ يُجْمَعَ الْحَطَبُ مِنَ الْجِبَالِ وَالنَّوَاحِي، وَأَنْ يُجْعَلَ عَلَى جَانِبَيِ الْوَادِي الْمَعْرُوفِ بِزَنْدَرُوذَ كَالْمَنَابِرِ وَالْقِبَابِ الْعَظِيمَةِ، وَيُعْمَلُ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْجَبَلِ الْمَعْرُوفِ بِكَرِيمِ كَوْهَ الْمُشْرِفِ عَلَى أَصْبَهَانَ، مِنْ أَسْفَلِهِ إِلَى أَعْلَاهُ، بِحَيْثُ إِذَا اشْتَعَلَتْ تِلْكَ الْأَحْطَابُ، يَصِيرُ الْجَبَلُ كُلُّهُ نَارًا، وَعَمِلَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ بِجَمِيعِ الْجِبَالِ وَالتِّلَالِ الَّتِي هُنَاكَ، وَأَمَرَ فَجُمِعَ لَهُ النَّفْطُ وَمَنْ يَلْعَبُ بِهِ، وَعَمِلَ مِنَ الشُّمُوعِ مَا لَا يُحْصَى، وَصِيدَ لَهُ مِنَ الْغِرْبَانِ وَالْحَدَأِ زِيَادَةٌ عَلَى أَلْفَيْ طَائِرٍ لِيَجْعَلَ فِي أَرْجُلِهَا النَّفْطَ وَتُرْسَلُ لِتَطِيرَ بِالنَّارِ فِي الْهَوَاءِ، وَأَمَرَ بِعَمَلِ سِمَاطٍ عَظِيمٍ كَانَ مِنْ جُمْلَةِ مَا فِيهِ: مِائَةُ فَرَسٍ، وَمِائَتَانِ مِنَ الْبَقَرِ مَشْوِيَّةٌ صِحَاحًا، سِوَى مَا شُوِيَ مِنَ الْغَنَمِ، فَإِنَّهَا كَانَتْ ثَلَاثَةُ آلَافِ رَأْسٍ، سِوَى الْمَطْبُوخِ، وَكَانَ فِيهِ مِنَ الدَّجَاجِ وَغَيْرِهِ مِنْ أَنْوَاعِ الطَّيْرِ زِيَادَةٌ عَلَى عَشَرَةِ آلَافِ عَدَدٍ، وَعُمِلَ مِنْ أَلْوَانِ الْحَلْوَاءِ مَا لَا يُحَدُّ، وَعَزَمَ عَلَى أَنْ يَجْمَعَ النَّاسَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ السِّمَاطِ، فَإِذَا فَرَغُوا قَامَ إِلَى مَجْلِسِ الشَّرَابِ وَيُشْعِلُ النِّيرَانَ فَيَتَفَرَّجُ. فَلَمَّا كَانَ آخِرُ النَّهَارِ، رَكِبَ وَحْدَهُ وَغِلْمَانُهُ رَجَّالَةً، وَطَافَ بِالسِّمَاطِ وَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ وَإِلَى تِلْكَ الْأَحْطَابِ، فَاسْتَحْقَرَ الْجَمِيعَ لِسِعَةِ الصَّحْرَاءِ، فَتَضَجَّرَ وَغَضِبَ، وَلَعَنَ مَنْ صَنَعَهُ وَدَبَّرَهُ، فَخَافَهُ مَنْ حَضَرَ، فَعَادَ وَنَزَلَ وَدَخَلَ خَرْكَاةً لَهُ فَنَامَ، فَلَمْ يَجْسُرْ أَحَدٌ [ أَنْ ] يُكَلِّمَهُ. وَاجْتَمَعَ الْأُمَرَاءُ وَالْقُوَّادُ وَغَيْرُهُمْ، وَأَرْجَفُوا عَلَيْهِ، فَمِنْ قَائِلٍ إِنَّهُ غَضِبَ لِكَثْرَتِهِ ; لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ بَخِيلًا، وَمِنْ قَائِلٍ إِنَّهُ قَدِ اعْتَرَاهُ جُنُونٌ، وَقِيلَ بَلْ أَوْجَعَهُ فُؤَادُهُ، وَقِيلَ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ، وَكَادَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ تَثُورُ. وَعَرَّفَ الْعَمِيدُ وَزِيرَهُ صُورَةَ الْحَالِ، فَأَتَاهُ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ حَتَّى اسْتَيْقَظَ وَعَرَّفَهُ مَا النَّاسُ فِيهِ، فَخَرَجَ وَجَلَسَ عَلَى الطَّعَامِ، وَأَكَلَ ثَلَاثَ لُقَمٍ، ثُمَّ قَامَ وَنَهَبَ النَّاسُ الْبَاقِيَ، وَلَمْ يَجْلِسْ لِلشَّرَابِ، وَعَادَ إِلَى مَكَانِهِ، وَبَقِيَ فِي مُعَسْكَرِهِ بِظَاهِرِ أَصْبَهَانَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ لَا يَظْهَرُ. فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الرَّابِعُ، تَقَدَّمَ بِإِسْرَاجِ الدَّوَابِّ لِيَعُودَ مِنْ مَنْزِلَتِهِ ( إِلَى دَارِهِ بِأَصْبَهَانَ )، فَاجْتَمَعَ بِبَابِهِ خَلْقٌ كَثِيرٌ، وَبَقِيَتِ الدَّوَابُّ مَعَ الْغِلْمَانِ، وَكَثُرَ صَهِيلُهَا وَلَعِبُهَا، وَالْغِلْمَانُ يَصِيحُونَ بِهَا لِتَسْكُنَ مِنَ الشَّغَبِ، وَكَانَتْ مُزْدَحِمَةً، فَارْتَفَعَ مِنَ الْجَمِيعِ أَصْوَاتٌ هَائِلَةٌ. وَكَانَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ نَائِمًا، فَاسْتَيْقَظَ، فَصَعِدَ فَنَظَرَ فَرَأَى، فَسَأَلَ فَعَرَفَ الْحَالَ، فَازْدَادَ غَضَبًا، وَقَالَ: أَمَا كَفَى مِنْ خَرْقِ الْحُرْمَةِ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فِي ذَلِكَ الطَّعَامِ، وَمَا أَرَجَفُوا بِهِ، حَتَّى انْتَهَى أَمْرِي إِلىَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكِلَابِ ؟ ثُمَّ سَأَلَ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ الدَّوَابِّ، فَقِيلَ: إِنَّهَا لِلْغِلْمَانِ الْأَتْرَاكِ، وَقَدْ نَزَلُوا إِلَى خِدْمَتِكَ، فَأَمَرَ أَنْ تُحَطَّ السُّرُوجُ عَنِ الدَّوَابِّ وَتُجْعَلَ عَلَى ظُهُورِ أَصْحَابِهَا الْأَتْرَاكِ، وَيَأْخُذُوا بِأَرْسَانِ الدَّوَابِّ إِلَى الْإِسْطَبْلَاتِ، وَمَنِ امْتَنَعَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، ضَرَبَهُ الدَّيْلَمُ بِالْمُقَارِعِ حَتَّى يُطِيعَ، فَفَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ بِهِمْ، وَكَانَتْ صُورَةً قَبِيحَةً، يَأْنَفُ مِنْهَا أَحْقَرُ النَّاسِ. ثُمَّ رَكِبَ هُوَ بِنَفْسِهِ مَعَ خَاصَّتِهِ، وَهُوَ يَتَوَعَّدُ الْأَتْرَاكَ، حَتَّى صَارَ إِلَى دَارِهِ قُرْبَ الْعِشَاءِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ ضَرَبَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ جَمَاعَةً مِنْ أَكَابِرِ الْغِلْمَانِ الْأَتْرَاكِ، فَحَقَدُوا عَلَيْهِ وَأَرَادُوا قَتْلَهُ، فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا أَعْوَانًا، فَلَمَّا جَرَتْ هَذِهِ الْحَادِثَةُ انْتَهَزُوا الْفُرْصَةَ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: مَا وَجْهُ صَبْرِنَا عَلَى هَذَا الشَّيْطَانِ ؟ فَاتَّفَقُوا وَتَحَالَفُوا عَلَى الْفَتْكِ بِهِ، فَدَخَلَ الْحَمَّامَ، وَكَانَ كُورَتِكِينُ يَحْرُسُهُ فِي خَلَوَاتِهِ وَحَمَّامِهِ، فَأَمَرَهُ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ أَنْ لَا يَتْبَعَهُ، فَتَأَخَّرَ عَنْهُ مُغْضَبًا، وَكَانَ هُوَ الَّذِي يَجْمَعُ الْحَرَسَ، فَلِشِدَّةِ غَضَبِهِ لَمْ يَأْمُرْ أَحَدًا أَنْ يَحْضُرَ حِرَاسَتَهُ، وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ أَمْرًا هَيَّأَ أَسْبَابَهُ. وَكَانَ لَهُ أَيْضًا خَادِمٌ أَسْوَدُ يَتَوَلَّى خِدْمَتَهُ بِالْحَمَّامِ، فَاسْتَمَالُوهُ فَمَالَ إِلَيْهِمْ، فَقَالُوا لِلْخَادِمِ: أَلَا يَحْمِلُ مَعَهُ سِلَاحًا ؟، وَكَانَتِ الْعَادَةُ أَنْ يَحْمِلَ مَعَهُ خِنْجَرًا طُولُهُ نَحْوَ ذِرَاعٍ مَلْفُوفًا فِي مَنْدِيلٍ، فَلَمَّا قَالُوا ذَلِكَ لِلْخَادِمِ قَالَ: مَا أَجْسَرَ؛ فَاتَّفَقُوا عَلَى أَنْ كَسَرُوا حَدِيدَ الْخِنْجَرِ، وَتَرَكُوا النِّصَابَ فِي الْغِلَافِ بِغَيْرِ حَدِيدٍ، فَلَفُّوهُ فِي الْمَنْدِيلِ كَمَا جَرَتِ الْعَادَةُ لِئَلَّا يُنْكِرَ الْحَالَ. فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ الْحَمَّامَ، فَعَلَ الْخَادِمُ مَا قِيلَ لَهُ، وَجَاءَ خَادِمٌ آخَرُ وَهُوَ أُسْتَاذُ دَارِهِ، ( فَجَلَسَ عَلَى بَابِ الْحَمَّامِ، فَهَجَمَ الْأَتْرَاكُ إِلَى الْحَمَّامِ، فَقَامَ أُسْتَاذُ دَارِهِ ) لِيَمْنَعَهُمْ، وَصَاحَ بِهِمْ، فَضَرَبَهُ بَعْضُهُمْ بِالسَّيْفِ فَقَطَعَ يَدَهُ، فَصَاحَ بِالْأَسْوَدِ وَسَقَطَ، وَسَمِعَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ الضَّجَّةَ، فَبَادَرَ إِلَى الْخِنْجَرِ لِيَدْفَعَ بِهِ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، فَوَجَدَهُ مَكْسُورًا، فَأَخَذَ سَرِيرًا مِنْ خَشَبٍ كَانَ يَجْلِسُ عَلَيْهِ إِذَا اغْتَسَلَ، فَتَرَسَ بِهِ بَابَ الْحَمَّامِ مِنْ دَاخِلٍ، وَدَفَعَ الْأَتْرَاكُ الْبَابَ، فَلَمْ يَقْدِرُوا عَلَى فَتْحِهِ، فَصَعِدَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى السَّطْحِ، وَكَسَرُوا الْجَامَاتِ، وَرَمَوْهُ بِالنُّشَّابِ، فَدَخَلَ الْبَيْتَ الْحَارَّ، وَجَعَلَ يَتَلَطَّفَهُمْ وَيَحْلِفُ لَهُمْ عَلَى الْإِحْسَانِ، فَلَمْ يَلْتَفِتُوا إِلَيْهِ، وَكَسَرُوا بَابَ الْحَمَّامِ وَدَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَتَلُوهُ. وَكَانَ الَّذِينَ أَلَّبُوا النَّاسَ عَلَيْهِ وَشَرَعُوا فِي قَتْلِهِ تُوزُونُ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي صَارَ أَمِيرَ الْعَسَاكِرِ بِبَغْدَاذَ وَيَارُوقُ، وَابْنُ بِغِرَا، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَنَالَ التُّرْجُمَانُ، وَوَافَقَهُمْ بُجْكُمُ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي وَلِيَ أَمْرَ الْعِرَاقِ قَبْلَ تُوزُونَ، وَسَيَرِدُ ذِكْرُ ذَلِكَ، إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. فَلَمَّا قَتَلُوهُ بَادَرُوا فَأَعْلَمُوا أَصْحَابَهُمْ، فَرَكِبُوا وَنَهَبُوا قَصْرَهُ وَهَرَبُوا، وَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ بِهِمُ الدَّيْلَمُ ; لِأَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ كَانُوا قَدْ دَخَلُوا الْمَدِينَةَ لِيَلْحَقَ بِهِمْ، وَتَخلَفَ الْأَتْرَاكُ مَعَهُ لِهَذَا السَّبَبِ. فَلَمَّا عَلِمَ الدَّيْلَمُ وَالْجِيلُ، رَكِبُوا فِي أَثَرِهِمْ، فَلَمْ يُلْحِقُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا نَفَرًا يَسِيرًا وَقَفَتْ دَوَابُّهُمْ، فَقَتَلُوهُمْ، وَعَادُوا لِيَنْهَبُوا الْخَزَائِنَ، فَرَأَوُا الْعَمِيدَ قَدْ أَلْقَى النَّارَ فِيهَا، فَلَمْ يَصِلُوا إِلَيْهَا، فَبَقِيَتْ بِحَالِهَا. وَمِنْ عَجِبَ مَا يُحْكَى أَنَّ الْعَسَاكِرَ ( فِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ لَمَّا رَأَوْا غَضَبَ مَرْدَاوَيْجَ )، قَعَدُوا يَتَذَاكَرُونَ مَا هُمْ فِيهِ مَعَهُ مِنَ الْجَوْرِ، وَشِدَّةِ عُتُوِّهِ، وَتَمَرُّدِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَدَخَلَ بَيْنَهُمْ رَجُلٌ شَيْخٌ لَا يَعْرِفُهُ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ، وَهُوَ رَاكِبٌ، فَقَالَ: قَدْ زَادَ أَمْرُ هَذَا الْكَافِرِ، وَالْيَوْمَ تُكَفِّنُونَهُ وَيَأْخُذُهُ اللَّهُ، ثُمَّ سَارَ، فَلَحِقَتِ الْجَمَاعَةُ دَهْشَةٌ، وَنَظَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِ بَعْضٍ، وَمَرَّ الشَّيْخُ، فَقَالُوا: الْمَصْلَحَةُ أَنَّنَا نَتْبَعُهُ وَنَأْخُذُهُ وَنَسْتَعِيدُهُ الْحَدِيثَ، لِئَلَّا يَسْمَعَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ مَا جَرَى، فَلَا نَلْقَى مِنْهُ خَيْرًا، فَتَبِعُوهُ فَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَحَدًا. وَكَانَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ قَدْ تَجَبَّرَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْتَلَ وَعَتَا، وَعُمِلَ لَهُ كُرْسِيًّا مِنْ ذَهَبٍ يَجْلِسُ عَلَيْهِ، وَعُمِلَ كَرَاسِيُّ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ يَجْلِسُ عَلَيْهَا أَكَابِرُ قُوَّادِهِ، وَكَانَ قَدْ عَمِلَ تَاجًا مُرَصَّعًا عَلَى صِفَةِ تَاجِ كِسْرَى، وَقَدْ عَزَمَ عَلَى قَصْدِ الْعِرَاقِ وَالِاسْتِيلَاءِ عَلَيْهِ، وَبِنَاءِ الْمَدَائِنِ وَدَوْرِ كِسْرَى وَمَسَاكِنِهِ، وَأَنْ يُخَاطَبَ إِذَا فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ بِشَاهِنْشَاهْ، فَأَتَاهُ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ وَهُوَ غَافِلٌ عَنْهُ، وَاسْتَرَاحَ النَّاسُ مِنْ شَرِّهِ، وَنَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ يُرِيحَ النَّاسَ مِنْ كُلِّ ظَالِمٍ سَرِيعًا. وَلَمَّا قُتِلَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ، اجْتَمَعَ أَصْحَابُهُ الدَّيْلَمُ وَالْجِيلُ وَتَشَاوَرُوا، وَقَالُوا: إِنْ بَقِينَا بِغَيْرِ رَأْسٍ هَلَكْنَا، فَاجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى طَاعَةِ أَخِيهِ وَشْمَكِيرَ بْنِ زِيَارَ، وَهُوَ وَالِدُ قَابُوسٍ، وَكَانَ بِالرَّيِّ، فَحَمَلُوا تَابُوتَ مَرْدَاوَيْجَ وَسَارُوا نَحْوَ الرَّيِّ، فَخَرَجَ مَنْ بِهَا مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ مَعَ أَخِيهِ وَشْمَكِيرَ، فَالْتَقُوهُ عَلَى أَرْبَعَةِ فَرَاسِخَ مُشَاةً حُفَاةً، وَكَانَ يَوْمًا مَشْهُودًا. وَأَمَّا أَصْحَابُهُ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا بِالْأَهْوَازِ وَأَعْمَاِلِهَا، فَإِنَّهُمْ لَمَّا بَلَغَهُمُ الْخَبَرُ كَتَمُوهُ، وَسَارُوا نَحْوَ الرَّيِّ، فَأَطَاعُوا وَشْمَكِيرَ أَيْضًا، وَاجْتَمَعُوا عَلَيْهِ. وَلَمَّا قُتِلَ مَرْدَاوَيْجُ، كَانَ رُكْنُ الدَّوْلَةِ بْنُ بُوَيْهِ رَهِينَةً عِنْدَهُ، كَمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ، فَبَذَلَ لِلْمُوَكَّلِينَ مَالًا فَأَطْلَقُوهُ، فَخَرَجَ إِلَى الصَّحْرَاءِ لِيَفُكَّ قُيُودَهُ، فَأَقْبَلَتْ بِغَالٍ عَلَيْهَا تَبْنٌ، وَعَلَيْهَا أَصْحَابُهُ وَغِلْمَانُهُ، فَأُلْقِي التِّبْنُ، وَكَسَرَ أَصْحَابُهُ قُيُودَهُ وَرَكِبُوا الدَّوَابَّ، وَنَجَوْا إِلَى أَخِيهِ عِمَادِ الدَّوْلَةِ بِفَارِسَ.
Translation
✧ Then the Year 323 AH Began Mention of the Killing of Mardāwīj In this year Mardāwīj (the Daylamite, lord of the lands of al-Jabal and elsewhere) was killed. The reason for his killing was that he often mistreated the Turks, and he used to say that the spirit of Sulaymān b. Dāwūd ﷺ had come to dwell in him, and that the Turks were the devils and the rebellious ones; if he did not subdue them, they would cause corruption. Thus his oppression weighed heavily upon them, and they wished for his destruction. When it was the night of the Nativity of this year, which is the night of the bonfires, he ordered that firewood be gathered from the mountains and the surrounding areas, and that it be placed on both sides of the wadi known as Zandarūdh in the form of great platforms and domes, and the like be done on the mountain known as Karīm Kūh, which overlooks Isfahan, from its bottom to its top, so that when those firewoods were lit, the entire mountain would become fire. He did the same with all the mountains and hills there, and he ordered that naphtha be collected for him along with those who would play with it, and he produced countless candles, and he had more than two thousand crows and kites captured for him, so that naphtha could be tied to their legs and they could be released to fly with fire in the air. He ordered the preparation of a great banquet table, among which were a hundred horses and two hundred cattle roasted whole, apart from the sheep that were roasted, which numbered three thousand head, besides what was cooked, and it included more than ten thousand chickens and other kinds of birds, and countless varieties of sweets were prepared. He resolved to gather the people at that banquet table, and when they had finished, he would go to the drinking assembly and light the fires and enjoy the spectacle. When it was late in the day, he mounted alone while his ghulāms were on foot, and he went around the banquet table and looked at it and at those firewoods, but he belittled all of it because of the vastness of the open plain. He became annoyed and angry, and he cursed the one who had made it and arranged it. Those present feared him, so he returned, dismounted, entered a tent of his, and slept, and no one dared to speak to him. The amīrs, commanders, and others gathered and spread rumors about him. Some said he was angry because of its abundance, since he was stingy; others said he had been seized by madness; it was said rather that his heart pained him; and other things were said. Strife was about to break out. The ʿAmīd, his vizier, was informed of the situation. He came to him and did not cease until he woke up and told him what the people were in. So he went out and sat at the food, ate three morsels, then rose, and the people plundered the rest. He did not sit for drinking, but returned to his place and remained in his camp outside Isfahan for three days without appearing. On the fourth day, he ordered the animals to be saddled so that he could return from his encampment (to his house in Isfahan). A great crowd gathered at his gate, and the animals remained with the ghulāms. Their neighing and prancing increased, and the ghulāms shouted at them to quiet them down from the commotion; they were crowded together, and terrifying sounds rose from all of them. Mardāwīj was asleep, and he woke up. He went up and looked, and he saw, and he asked, and he learned the situation. His anger increased, and he said: “Is it not enough of the violation of sanctity what they did with that food, and the rumors they spread about it, until my affair has come to these dogs?” Then he asked about the owners of the animals, and it was said: “They belong to the Turkish ghulāms, and they have come down to serve you.” He ordered that the saddles be taken off the animals and placed on the backs of their Turkish owners, and that they take the animals by their halters to the stables. Whoever refused, the Daylamites would strike him with clubs until he obeyed. They did that to them, and it was an ugly sight that even the lowest of people would disdain. Then he rode himself with his private retinue, threatening the Turks, until he reached his house near nightfall. He had previously struck a group of the senior Turkish ghulāms, and they held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but they found no helpers. When this incident occurred, they seized the opportunity. Some of them said: “What reason is there for us to endure this devil?” They agreed and swore an oath to assassinate him. He entered the bath, and Kūratikīn used to guard him in his private moments and his bath. That day he ordered him not to follow him, so he stayed behind in anger. He was the one who gathered the guards, but because of his intense anger, he did not order anyone to attend his guard duty. When God wills a matter, He prepares its causes. He also had a black servant who attended to his service in the bath. They won him over, and he inclined to them. They said to the servant: “Does he not carry a weapon with him?” The custom was that he carried a dagger about a cubit long wrapped in a cloth. When they said that to the servant, he said: “How dare I!” So they agreed to break the blade of the dagger and leave the hilt in the sheath without a blade, and wrap it in the cloth as was customary, so that the situation would not be noticed. When Mardāwīj entered the bath, the servant did as he was told. Another servant, who was the steward of his house, came (and sat at the door of the bath. The Turks stormed into the bath, and the steward of his house rose) to stop them and shouted at them. One of them struck him with a sword and cut off his hand. He cried out to the black servant and fell. Mardāwīj heard the clamor, and he hastened to the dagger to defend himself with it, but he found it broken. He took a wooden bench on which he used to sit when he washed, and he used it to barricade the door of the bath from the inside. The Turks pushed the door but could not open it. Some of them climbed to the roof, broke the glass openings, and shot arrows at him. He entered the hot room and began to coax them and swear to them that he would treat them well, but they paid no attention to him. They broke the door of the bath and entered upon him and killed him. Those who incited the people against him and took the lead in killing him were Tūzūn—who later became commander of the armies in Baghdad—and Yārūq, and Ibn Bighrā, and Muḥammad b. Yanāl the interpreter; and Bujkum agreed with them—he is the one who governed Iraq before Tūzūn, and mention of that will come, if God Almighty wills. When they killed him, they hastened to inform their companions, and they mounted and plundered his palace and fled. The Daylamites did not know about them, because most of them had entered the city to join them, and the Turks had stayed behind with him for this reason. When the Daylamites and the Jīl learned of it, they mounted in pursuit of them, but they caught up with only a small group whose mounts had stopped, and they killed them. They returned to plunder the treasuries, but they saw that the ʿAmīd had set fire to them, so they could not reach them, and they remained as they were. Among the wonders that are related is that on that day, when the soldiers saw Mardāwīj’s anger, they sat down recalling what they suffered with him of injustice, his great arrogance, and his tyranny over them. An old man whom none of them knew entered among them, mounted, and said: “The affair of this infidel has gone too far. Today you will shroud him, and God will take him.” Then he departed. The group was struck with astonishment, and they looked at one another. The old man passed on, and they said: “The right thing is that we follow him, seize him, and question him about what he said, lest Mardāwīj hear what happened and we receive no good from him.” They followed him but saw no one. Mardāwīj had shown arrogance and tyranny before he was killed. A throne of gold was made for him to sit on, and chairs of silver were made for his chief commanders to sit on. He had a crown studded with jewels made in the style of the crown of Kisrā. He had resolved to march on Iraq, take possession of it, and build the cities, the palaces of Kisrā, and his dwellings, and to be addressed as Shāhanshāh when he did so. Then the command of God came to him while he was heedless of it, and the people were relieved of his evil. We ask God Almighty to relieve the people of every oppressor swiftly. When Mardāwīj was killed, his companions, the Daylamites and the Jīl, gathered and consulted one another. They said: “If we remain without a leader, we will perish.” They agreed to obey his brother Washmgīr b. Ziyār—he is the father of Qābūs—who was in al-Rayy. They carried the coffin of Mardāwīj and set out toward al-Rayy. Those of his companions who were there came out with his brother Washmgīr, and they met him four parasangs away on foot, barefoot; it was a memorable day. As for his companions who were in al-Ahwāz and its districts, when the news reached them, they concealed it and set out toward al-Rayy, and they also obeyed Washmgīr and rallied to him. When Mardāwīj was killed, Rukn al-Dawlah b. Buwayh was a hostage with him, as we have mentioned. He offered money to those guarding him, and they released him. He went out to the open country to have his shackles removed. Mules carrying straw approached, with his companions and ghulāms on them. The straw was thrown off, and his companions broke his shackles, and they mounted the animals and escaped to his brother ʿImād al-Dawlah in Fārs.
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