69th patriarch of Alexandria, saint amba Makarius

http://sites.google.com/site/demontortoise2000/hist8-htm

ABBA MACARIUS, THE PATRIARCH, AND HE IS THE SIXTY-NINTH OF (THEIR) NUMBER. THIS VENERABLE FATHER SAT ON THE THRONE OF THE PATRIARCHATE IN THE DAYS OF THE KING (Lit. KINGDOM OF) AL-AMIR 1 AND OF THE WAZIRATE OF AL-AFDAL IBN AMIR AL-GAYUS. THEN, AFTER HIS DEATH, OF THE WAZIRATE OF AL-MAMUN.

When Abba Michael, the patriarch, went to his rest, it was the turn of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) and of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius for choosing him who should be set up in his stead, and they wrote to the bishops who dwelt in the districts of the two Sa‘ids (as-Sa‘idain), the Upper and the Lower Land, to inform them of his death and to condole with them about him, and to ask them to come so that they might meet together and that an agreement might be reached concerning him to whom they should give their consent for the venerable patriarchate; and they wrote also to the Alexandrians in the same manner. It was the time of summer and of the ripening of the crops, the fruits, and the vineyards, and the bishops were occupied in collecting what they required in the way of dues to the holy churches, as grain and wine and other things beside these, and the assembling was not suitable for them, except after (the Feast of) the Cross 5. Some of them arrived in Cairo (Misr), and

1 «This venerable father---al-Mamun» is written in the margin of the MS. In the Paris MS. it is written in the text. Al-Amir Abu ‘Ali Mansur reigned from 1101-1131 A.D.

5 It is on the 17th Tut = 14th September (Julian Calendar).

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some of them, in the blessed monasteries. Those who arrived in Cairo (Misr) agreed in (their) opinion to journey to the Monastery of Abba Macarius the Saint, to assemble with the rest of the bishops who (were) there and (with) the monks, for prayer and supplication to the Lord ---- Praise be to Him! ----, to direct them to him whom He accepts and chooses to pasture them and to have headship over them. They journeyed thither in the month of Babah 3, and they assembled in the Church of the Saint Abba Macarius, and they remained (for some) days, praying and calling to mind those of the anchorites and saints who (were) in that desert, and about the hermits who (were) in the cells, and giving preponderance in (their) opinion about him who was fit for this headship and noble rank of the priesthood and the apostolic succession of Mark. And they did not agree in their opinion concerning him who was fit for this, and they did not settle in their souls about whom they should consecrate. And they remained in this state until the end of Babah. And they agreed in their opinion on the consecration of one of two men, one of them being the saintly Macarius, the priest, at the Monastery of Abba Macarius, who was known as the painter; or (on) the deacon John, son of Sanhut. They disagreed about which of the two of them they should consecrate. And they settled among themselves to write a letter to the archons of Cairo (Misr), (and) they mentioned in it their long stay in the Wadi Habib, and that they had examined all who were in the

3 This month = September-October (Julian Calendar).

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monasteries which are there, and the anchorites and the hermits, but they had not found him who was fit for consecration, save one of the two aforementioned, and (that) 'it has already been settled among us (that) the answer to the affair concerning the two of them (lies) with you, and whom you choose and accept of the two of them, him we will consecrate'.

When the letter arrived, the archons assembled at the Church of Saint Abba Sergius at Kasr as-Sam‘, and they read the letter. There were some of them who knew the two aforementioned monks, and there were some of them who knew one of them without the other, and there were some of them who did not know the one (or the other) of them at all. Those who knew the two of them, all of them supported both of them. Then they said that Macarius was mature, disputatious, of good speech, observing the canon of monasticism, whilst John, the monk, was a young man, a good priest, comely of countenance and eloquent in speech. All of them wished for Macarius on account of his old age and his experience, and they called out his name, as with one mouth, and they wrote the reply with regard to this. When the letter reached the fathers, the bishops, and the priests who were residing in the monastery, all of them assembled to read it, and they unanimously agreed on accepting what it contained. Some of the bishops and the priests and the monks arose, (and they went to) where the aforesaid Macarius (was), and they seized him, and they brought him to the assembly, and he struggled against this, and he refused, and he

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adjured them that they should release him, and he said to them: «I am the son of a second (marriage) 1. I have no learning nor am I a priest, and I am not fit for what you wish of me». But they did not pay attention to his speech, and they put fetters on him, and they clothed him with the robe. And they consecrated him, and this (was) on Sunday, the thirteenth of Hatur (in the) year eight hundred and nineteen of the Martyrs [9th November, 1103 A.D.], which is the Tax Year (al-Khiragiah) four hundred and ninety-two. They journeyed to Cairo (Misr), and his arrival at the Church of Abba Cosmas which is at the bridge near the Garden known as az-Zuhri, (was) on Thursday, the seventeenth of the aforesaid Hatur. As-Shaikh Abu'1-Fadl ibn al-Uskuf went to the abode of the lord, the noble al-Afdal. He was at that time his scribe, and he was the person who signed in his stead for money and men, and he was in charge of the Diwan of the Council, and (was) overseer of all the Diwans of the Exchequer (al-Istifa) for all the affairs of the kingdom. He informed him of the arrival of the father, the patriarch, Abba Macarius, and that he needed to journey to Alexandria so that prayer should be said over him in its churches, because it is the See of the Patriarchate; and that the wali and the officials there were asking from him the dues which it was the custom of those who had preceded him (to pay); and (that) this was a man, a monk, weak in (his) state,

1 According to the Canon Law of the Coptic Church, children of a second marriage are excluded from the priesthood.

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who had nothing, and possessed neither a dinar nor a dirham at all; and he asked him to exempt him from this, and to cause him to be brought before him, so that he might be comforted and his affair be strengthened, according to what was the custom of those who had preceded him. He 3 granted this, and he commanded him 4 to be brought with honour (and) dignity. He rode from the aforementioned Church, and the priests before him reading, and they were carrying the Holy Gospels and censers of incense and lighted candles, and the people around him, and the bishops and the archons were riding on their beasts behind him, and the Mutawalli of the Police at Cairo (al-Kahirah) (was) with him, and his men before them, until they arrived at the abode of the lord, the noble al-Afdal. When he had entered unto him, he prayed for him much. He (al-Afdal) saw that (he was) meek (and) modest, comely of countenance and of good speech; and God granted to him through him 8 the good fortune to be accepted by him. He (al-Afdal) went up to him, and he caused him to be seated, and he honoured him exceedingly, and he addressed to him a courteous speech, and he commanded that there should be written for him an official document to the wali of Alexandria and to others beside him of the walis by whom he would pass on his way, to respect him and to honour him and to abstain from requiring (of him) the dues or other (things) beside them, and to assist him and to aid him in all that he needed. He (the patriarch) arose, and he went out from his audience in fine state, and the people rejoiced at this exceedingly, and they took the official document, and they journeyed to Alexandria, and all

3 i.e. al-Afdal.

4 i.e. the patriarch.

8 i.e. al-Afdal.

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the people came out to meet him. Their entrance into it (was) in a fine (and) perfect state. He (the patriarch) met with a good reception from the wali, and he honoured him and revered him, and he prevented the officials from burdening him with the charge of a single dirham, beside anything else.

His consecration was in the Church of my lord Mark the Evangelist at Alexandria, on Sunday, the twelfth of Kihak (in the) year eight hundred and nineteen of the Martyrs [8th December, 1103 A.D.], after he had had many discussions with the Alexandrians on account of the dues which were fixed by them on him who sat on the Patriarchal Throne. He declined to write his signature for them concerning this, and he said to them: «I am a man, a monk, (and) I have nothing, and I shall not write my signature for anything. Whatsoever I am able, I shall pay it to them every year. If you agree to this proposition, (it is well), otherwise, allow me to return to where I was. It will be more fitting and preferable to me than what you have called upon me (to do)». The discussion between them continued to be repeated for a number of days, until he (the patriarch) wrote his signature for two hundred dinars in number for every year. He arrived in Cairo (Misr) on Saturday, the twenty-fourth of the aforementioned Kihak [20th December], and the archons and the people assembled on Sunday in the early morning (ghudwah) 7 in the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah, and they thought that he would celebrate the Liturgy and be consecrated. A company of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius assembled, and they said: «He shall not celebrate the Liturgy after his celebration of the Liturgy at Alexandria,

7 i.e. the time between dawn and sunrise.

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except in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, as has been the custom of them who have preceded you. If you break this rule and celebrate the Liturgy to-day in this Church at Cairo (Misr), before you celebrate the Liturgy in the Skene of Abba Macarius, there shall be no dealings between us and between you afterwards, and we shall not mention your name in our sanctuary, and we shall not let you enter it, nor ever celebrate the Liturgy in it, (even) if all of us be killed». They made a tumult and they became hostile and they multiplied (their) words and (their) shouting. He did not celebrate the Liturgy that day, and he remained at Cairo (Misr), and he did not celebrate the Liturgy until after the Epiphany; and he journeyed to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the half (of the month) of Tubah, and he celebrated the Liturgy in the Skene at the Church of Abba Macarius on Sunday, the twenty-third of it (Tubah) [18th January]; and he returned to Cairo (Misr), and he celebrated the Liturgy in the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah at Cairo (Misr) on Sunday, the last (day) of Tubah of the aforementioned year, and he was consecrated in it. It was a good day, and his Letter of Introduction (Taklid) was read from the ambon in Greek and Coptic and Arabic, and he accomplished the Liturgy as was right, and he communicated all the people, and there were many who had assembled on that day, so that the Church was overcrowded for them.

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The people rejoiced, and they thanked God the Exalted for His mercy and His visitation to His people at all times, as He promised in His Holy Gospel, when He said: «I am with you unto the consummation of the age».

In the fifth year of Abba Macarius, the aforementioned patriarch, a decree was read in the Great Arched Hall at the Castle, on Sunday the nineteenth of (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and one of the Lunar (Year) which corresponds to the tenth of Tut [7th September (Julian Calendar)] (in the) year four hundred and ninety-nine of the Tax Year, containing the transference of this Tax Year to this Lunar Year, a change which did not go beyond words, and that dating in all affairs should be according to the Lunar-Tax Year five hundred and one, and (that) the mention of other (dates) save it should be cancelled, and that it (the date of the Tax Year) should be abolished in all the Diwans with regard to accountancy and business.

In the eighth year of his (Macarius') patriarchate, on Sunday, the seventeenth (of the month) of Sawwal (in the) Lunar Year five hundred and four, which (was) the fifth of Basuns [30th April, Julian Calendar] (in the) Tax Year five hundred, a great black wind and dust [a sandstorm] arose at the ninth hour [3pm] of the aforementioned Sunday. There occurred in the sky a great redness which spread over the earth as a fire. Then there was a great, intense darkness until no one of the people could discern the other. All the people believed that the Resurrection had already come. They went out from their abodes and the dwelling-places in them, and they left open the doors, believing that they were doomed (and that there would be)

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no return to them for them. They began to wander about aimlessly in the mosques and the churches and the lanes. Those who sold left their shops and what (was) in them in the way of gold, silver, pulse, merchandise, wheat, goods and chattels and other (things). They walked in the darkness, being confused, seeking the wide and open places, fearing lest the roofs and the walls might fall upon them. It was a terrible hour, the like of it had not been seen, and a number of old men recorded that they had not seen (anything) like it nor heard of it from the days of Moses the prophet. After an hour the rain came, and the dust was dispersed, and the wind grew calm and ceased, and the light appeared, and the people returned to their houses and to their shops, and they thanked God the Exalted, and they glorified Him Who had shewn to them a little of His power. When they were on the point of perishing, He overtook them with His pardon and His mercy. On Friday, the third of Tut, (in the) Tax Year five hundred and one, which corresponds to the year eight hundred and eighteen of the Pure Martyrs [31st August, 1101 A.D.], at the third hour of the day [9 a.m.], there was a great earthquake, and when it was night, the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr) was demolished. It is said that it fell down through the earthquake. The reason for this was what Gamil ibn John as-Sa‘idi, the priest of the aforementioned church, and Ma‘ani al-Ahwal, its sacristan, related, how Joseph al-Mustahab al-Muslimani, son of Mercurius the Christian (an-Nasrani), the builder, remained on the Island the greater part of his time for building the places, the new recreation grounds adjacent to this church, which are the gardens and the enclosures,

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which are called Rodah, which the lord, the noble al-Afdal commanded to be built there. When they were completed, then all of them were surrounded by a fortified wall, and it (the fortified wall) ended at the mill of the church, and it (the mill) (was) in front of its (the fortified wall's) gate. They mentioned that Joseph al-Mustahab said to them: «Give me something so that I may place the fortified wall in an oblique direction to the mill, otherwise, I shall demolish it, and I shall pass it (the fortified wall) through the midst of it (the mill)», and they promised him dinars. Then he returned to oppress them, and they did not give to him anything, and they said to him: «If you cease to wrong us, (it is well), otherwise, we shall have recourse to the Sultan against you, and we shall inform of what we know of that which is blameworthy in your work in his service, of which we do not approve, and may God keep his days far from (the evil) which you hast done in them. We are a weak people, (and) you desire to cut off our occupation, and you wishest from us what we are not able (to do)». And many disputes took place between them. When the earthquake occurred on the aforementioned day, he (Joseph) and the workmen with him spent the night at Rodah at the building, as was his custom. When night fell, he commanded the workers to demolish it (the church), and by morning it had been demolished, and he commanded the workers to conceal this (affair), and none of them dared to speak of it on account of their fear of him. When the morrow came, he and the workers spread it abroad that the earthquake which had happened in the day (time) had split its (the church's) walls, and (that) when night fell, and the wind blew violently upon it, it fell down, because it had old walls, and that this (had happened) through the negligence of its congregation and its guardian, and (that) if they had been present on that day, then

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they could have hastened to shore it up, (and) nothing would have befallen it; and he spread this abroad among all the people. There befell the Christians a great grief on account of this, and they were exceedingly sorrowful about it. This news reached the father, the patriarch, and he sorrowed very much, and he said: «This (affair) happened in my days on account of the multitude of my sins». When he arrived after this in Cairo (Misr), he ordered the agent for endowments of the churches, al-Mu‘allakah and of others beside it, to go to the Church of Michael the Elect, and to bear (away) its woodwork and its vessels, to where he commanded him, and it (the church) remained demolished up to (the time), when this biography was compiled.

On Saturday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Basuns (in the) Tax Year five hundred and six, which corresponds to the year eight hundred and thirty-three of the Martyrs [12th May, 1117 A.D.] ---- the beginning of the year is Tut ---- the saintly father Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr) went to his rest ----may God hallow his soul! He was, indeed, a virtuous, good priest, of abundant knowledge, content, humble, good-tempered, guileless in intention, patient, pure and of good deeds. He was borne to the Church of Saint Abba Sergius, and all the people and the priests of Cairo (Misriyin) and Cairo (Kahiriyin) assembled in it that night and on the next morning. It was the day of the Feast of the Holy Pentecost, and

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it happened also that it was the day of ‘Asura 1. The father Gregory (Ighrighurius), Patriarch of the Armenians, was present to perform his funeral service and to pray over him. He (Abba Sanhut) was taken out from it (the church) to the tomb which he had built in al-Hibis, on the death of his brother, the priest, the monk, Severus (Sawirus) ---- may God give rest to his soul ----, and the priests and the people were around his bier, walking and weeping and reciting (prayers), and with them lighted candles, and the Patriarch 4 and the archons, and those of the bishops who were present, were riding behind him, and all of them were exceedingly sorrowful on account of him (Abba Sanhut), by reason of their knowledge that they would not find his like nor him in whom there would be (united) virtues, knowledge, purity and priesthood such as had been (united) in him.

The saintly father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, was absent at his cell which (was) at AzarI on the Island of Bani Nasr, and I, the sinner, John (Yuhanna) ibn Sa‘id, the writer of this biography, wrote to him a letter in which I consoled him. This (is) a copy of it:

«In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! I have despatched my letters to the lofty, saintly, esteemed, patriarchal, virtuous, presidential Excellency, the boast of the Jacobite (Ya'kublah) community (millat) and the light of the Orthodox Church, master of the fathers 8, chief of the chiefs, to whom belongs spiritual virtues, lofty gifts and pleasing deeds, the successor of my lord Mark the Evangelist, the thirteenth of the Company of the

1 i.e. the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Lunar Year. 4 i.e. the Patriarch of the Armenians.

8 i.e. the bishops.

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Apostles. May God preserve his (the patriarch's) glory and strengthen its well-being and destroy its adversaries. Its (the letter's) contents (express) what I have of Christian yearning and spiritual joy and longing to approach it (the patriarchate) and to obtain a blessing from its holiness. May the Lord ----His Name is great! ----give me joy to behold it and to see its presidency, and not deprive me of the blessing of its prayers through His goodness and the universality of His mercy. It is not hidden from its knowledge of what occurred in the way of the falling asleep of the happy, virtuous father, Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr), its spiritual son and its true lover. May God give rest to his soul and satisfy him through beholding His face, and honour his dwelling! May He extend its term, accord it greater consolation, and prolong its age, and make all its ransom. It knows that this See does not follow the same course (as) the other southern and northern Sees, because in it there are the archons of Cairo (Misr) and its leaders and the notables of its Copts (Akbat) and its chiefs who are the scribes of the State and the servants of the kingdom, and (that) their bishop should at all times be present in attendance on the reigning king; and that it is requisite that he who shall be set up to pasture them and shall be appointed to govern them and to watch over their judgments and their affairs, should have reached mature age, and should be known for being assiduous in the rules of monasticism and in reading the legal books, and in the service of the Christian (al-Masihiyah) sanctuaries, and in observing the priestly

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orders, and should be qualified in the application of the Apostolic Canons. The beauty of his devotion, his learning, his purity, his asceticism, the excellent manner of his life, his continence, his modesty and the excellence of his way should be published abroad, since it (the patriarchate) ---- may God strengthen its fortune! ---- knows what was the custom of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) with their bishops in former and in recent times, and (how) their wives and their daughters and their sisters and their relatives bow and scrape to their bishop in their serious affairs, and consult him privately in their misfortunes, and complain to him of their adversities and of what has befallen them from their husbands and their relatives, and reveal to him their secrets. (How) they take him as a judge in their affairs privately and openly, and consult him concerning their intentions both open and hidden, and (that) he (must) keep secret what he hears from them, and advise them in what is of benefit to their interests, and encourage them to be patient, and console them, and be gracious to them, and do his utmost in setting right what is between them and their husbands privately through his good policy, as used to do the late father and those who were before him ---- may God hallow their souls! For this (reason) and for others beside it of the conditions of this See <6), it is requisite that its bishop should have reached the beginning of mature age, or should have passed it, and that his good manners in the time of his youth should be known, (as well as) his assiduity in the laws of monasticism. He should have the reputation for continence, chastity, humility, religion, patience, purity, soundness of belief, knowledge of theological science and of general policy, of ecclesiastical literature, of legal judgments, of the Orthodox Faith, of priestly ministration, and of the true Canons. It is incumbent on its

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holiness and its compassion on its people, that he 1 should pray for them and devote his precious soul to considering whom he should choose for them, and to find him (who is) fit to preside over them and to bear their burden instead of it, since it 3 ----may God preserve its 4 power! ---- knows the fathers and the recluses and the anchorites in the deserts and the cells. Among them there will not be wanting those (of) his 5 qualification, and the Lord will direct it 3 to him, and will lead it 3 through its 4 good intention to him by the blessing of its prayers and its good conscience and its holiness and its purity and its love and its intention. And if this be so, I believe that God the Exalted will bring together the hearts of all to obey him and to accept him and to love him and to consent to his consecration (as bishop) for them and to his charge of them, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit Who envelops with His graces and His gifts those who are worthy of them, and its 4 happy opinion unto the taking cognizance of this matter, and the considering of what it contains through the correctness of its 4 happy opinion, and the forgiving of what there (may be) in it of error. And its 4 noble letter, I shall be honoured by it, and I shall rejoice at its arrival, and I shall be blessed by its coming, and I shall be (as) happy to see it (as) I am happy to see its holiness, and I wish to communicate through it what it contains in the way of its orders and its important affairs, and that it may remember me at the end of its prayers, according to its known custom, if God the Exalted will».

1 i.e. the patriarch.

3 i.e. the patriarchate.

4 i.e. the patriarchate's.

5 i.e. those required of the new bishop.

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The answer, of which (this is) a copy, arrived. «In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! The letter of the beloved son, the prosperous, the happy one, who is distinguished by spiritual love and religious knowledge, has arrived ----may God prolong his existence and preserve his standing and his high rank and his influence, and humble his enemies, and bless him and his, and guard him by His strong right hand, and deliver him from the snares of the Enemy and the snares of the wicked, and may He hearken unto the pious prayer for him of my wretchedness, through the intercession of the Saints! We are informed about it 3 and we are pleased to learn its information ---- may God make it good! ---- and there is mentioned (in it) nothing (in the way) of yearning and longing, but that we feel the same many times doubled. We beseech God to bring about the meeting 4 soon through His grace and His generosity. As regards what has been set forth concerning the death of the bishop of Cairo (Misr) ----may God hallow his soul and place it with the souls of the righteous! ---- God, indeed, knows how we are affected on account of his loss, in the way of grief and sorrow which it is not possible for us to describe. And as regards the guidance upon which we rely concerning him whom we shall consecrate after him 8, him on whom mutual agreement has been reached, the order belongs to God (Who) consecrates whom He approves, ---- together with the opinion which is agreed upon by the archons which is sound concerning him. If we find him in whom are perfected the qualifications which his 10 letter mentions, we should according to

3 i.e. the contents of the letter.

4 i.e. with the patriarch.

8 i.e. the late bishop.

10 i.e. the writer's.

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my opinion hasten to consecrate, and, to this end, we should not ignore (any) interdiction with regard to him. We ask God to bring to pass that in which (there is) good, and the consequence of which (is) commendable, and (that) he 3 may not deprive us of his delightful correspondence which contains mention of his news and of his affairs. May the peace of the Lord be with him, and may His mercy descend upon him». It 5 was written at the end of the month of Basuns (in the) year eight hundred and thirty-four [April-May, 1118 A.D.], this date, if the beginning of the year (is considered) Baramudah 7, and the date of my letter to him 8, the beginning of the year, Tut, according to the Epact Computation.

When the aforesaid reply reached me in answer to my letter which was sent by myself, I despatched to him l0 another letter on behalf of myself and on behalf of all the people. This (is) a copy of it. «In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Condolence! May God prolong the existence of Your lofty, precious Highness, the venerable, holy, patriarchal presence, the lord of the fathers, the chief of the chiefs, crowned with heavenly grace, crowned with heavenly virtues, the boast of Orthodoxy and the light of the Christian Church, the support of the Jacobite community, the crown of the Children of Baptism 13, the thirteenth of the Pure

3 i.e. the writer of the letter.

5 i.e. the letter.

7 = March-April. It should be noted that the Lunar Year 512 began on the 29th of Baramudah, 834 A.M.

8 i.e. the patriarch.

10 i.e. the patriarch.

13 i.e. the Christians.

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Apostles, the fifth of the Pure Evangelists, the successor (Khalifah) of my lord Mark the Evangelist. May God preserve its 1 power, and prolong its stablishment, and execute its judgments, and render its days happy, a year after procrastination by which it 2 fell short of what was incumbent upon it 2; and there befell it 2 delay in what was necessary (to do) early, and what God the Exalted distinguished in it in the way of venerable holiness and great virtue, and the knowledge, that this worldly abode (is) a transitory abode, and (that) the future life (is) a lasting abode, and (by what) He (God) had called its attention to the affair of His people, and had chosen it for the purpose of guiding the faithful to Him. He leads the people in the right way, and he explains to them the way of piety, and through his spiritual teaching it is saved from the snares of deceit, and they escape from all what is to be avoided, and they hope for victory (in) the Day of the Resurrection. They limit themselves by it 3 to what they perform in the accomplishment of its 4 service, (and its 4) instruction suffices them to bear with resignation what God the Exalted has ordained and destined, to accept what He has decreed and executed, rather than excessive (mourning) on this subject; and it 3 made it agreeable to them to limit themselves to brevity with regard to (their) letter. And it was, indeed, by the order of God the Exalted and His just judgment, that the saintly father, the pure Chief, Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr) was translated ---- may God give rest to his soul! ---- thither, (where) God had chosen for him an abode, and had made ready a dwelling-place for those such as he; and he merited it through his deeds which shone before Him, and of which he was worthy through his acts which drew him near to Him, praised be He! ---- and he came nigh to Him, (and this it was) what shortened the forearms, and moved hearts and livers. And with God that father, the

1 i.e. the patriarchate's.

2 i.e. the patriarch.

3 i.e. the patriarchate, and so, the patriarch.

4 i.e. patriarchate's.

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master, is held of account, who worked among us according to His good-pleasure, and did not turn us aside from His designs. We beseech Him, humbling ourselves before His greatness, (and) we ask (Him), entreating His mercy that He preserve for the Children of Baptism beauty through its [the patriarchate's] leadership, and to preserve the Orthodox Churches through the permanence of its splendour and its preciousness; for the grace in this [the patriarchate] is too much that pens may set it down in writing, and too great that he who is prolix in speech is sufficient for (describing) it. It has reached its disciples that it has undergone a little affliction, and (that) it has been exposed to some contempt, and they were in a state of confused perplexity (and) they were alarmed (and) in a state of forlorn bereavement, (and) they were dismayed, until the news followed that the evil had been removed from it, and the benevolence of God the Exalted (was) towards all in it. And its disciples received in the way of delight a great portion, and they received in the way of exaltation a full share through this bounty. And they asked God the Exalted to make the garment of piety full for it, and the fullness of grace a pledge for it. It is not hidden from its knowledge ---- may God perpetuate its loftiness! ---- that the See of Cairo (Misr) has been distinguished from other (Sees) at all times, favoured with the observance of his [the patriarch's] order at every hour, worthy of observing his affair instantly; because it (Cairo) is the abode of the Caliph and the established place of the throne of the kingdom, and that necessity calls for the consecration of a bishop, (and) he shall consecrate him. His Eminence [the patriarch] shall agree to him [the bishop-elect]; and

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his way (of life) shall be approved of by his [the patriarch's] disciples, and all of them shall praise his life and his conduct; who knows his religion and is praised for his faith, who is trusted for his wisdom and his practice and his experience, and from whom the inexperience and the impetuosity of youth is remote, and who is distinguished by length of years and its experience. And he shall walk among them and among their wives, after the behaviour of him whose leadership surpasses them, from among those who have purchased the next world at (the price of this) world, and (who) has pleased the Master Christ by his good deeds. Agreement shall be reached as regards his worthiness of the leadership and his independence in the burden of administration; and that the people have agreed (to have him as) president over them and a manager for them, according to what the Canon of the Church and its rulings require, and the decision of the judges of religions law and its rulers, those by whom God has strengthened what they have built, and has confirmed by its holiness what they have performed and executed, and has glorified it in their position, and has protected it by their rank. A number of its subjects make an obeisance to it before its pure holiness and its virtuous skhema for strengthening their weakness and taking care to improve their affairs, and for helping them in the choice of him to whom he agrees and they agree, and him (whom) he sees worthy to reveal from their concealed whom they see. Their knowledge about what is incumbent upon it in this case dispenses them from giving an example, and its opinion (set forth) in replying to this letter of theirs dispenses them thereby from repeating the message. And it has remembered them in its holy prayers and its supplications which are accepted and heard ---- may he (the patriarch) be most prosperous, if God the Exalted will». A number of the priests

---- 21 ----

and some of the people learned of the contents of this letter, and they found it sound, and they agreed to accept it and to send it to the saintly father Abba Macarius the patriarch. And its disciples ----a number of the Christians, the Egyptian (al-Misriyin) Jacobites ---- wrote his address, and they sent the letter to him by an appointed messenger, and the reply was returned, of which this (is) its copy.

«The letter of the beloved, chosen sons, and the venerable (and) prosperous brethren, the elders, the pious archons, and all the Orthodox people has arrived ---- may God prolong their existence and perpetuate their honour and their grace, and bless them and their homes and their children and all that belongs to them with fuller blessings and better joys, and protect them by His strong right hand, and save them from the snares of the enemy and the traps of evil (people), and may He accord the righteous supplications of my wretchedness for them, through the intercessions of the Saints and the righteous (ones)! Amen. It (the letter) was confined to one of two things, either a reprimand or a reproach, the end of which is praised by their preacher [the patriarch], and there is no need for reiterating it nor to establish a proof for it in the way of consolation and other things; and the prolixity and the interference in that matter which came down from them in it; and, in short, (my) love towards them is shewn in (this) brief letter. And well, but as to what they explained (in the letter) about the translation of the saintly, beloved, spiritual brother, the bishop Abba Sanhut their bishop ----may God hallow his soul and his exit from this perishable world, and his arrival to God ---- praised be He! ---- we grieved on account of him a great grieving and positive sorrow and abundant weeping and copious tears which exceeds what they mentioned in their letter of what they grieved on

---- 22 ----

account of him. Condolence for him is mutual. I am sure that God ---- His name is great! ---- has caused him to dwell with the righteous and the good in the life of delights, the mine of His mercy and the house of His honour. He (the bishop) heard the glad and joyful voice: «Enter into the joy of your Master». And as regards what they mentioned about his (the bishop's) consecration in place of him [i.e. the late bishop], and the directing of us to the knowledge of the canon concerning it, with regard to what they know of my infirmity and the shortcoming of my knowledge, there is nothing of evil in them about it, because recalling to mind sets in order the utility of knowledge. If there be weakness or shortcoming, this will not be from me, but from them, as regards the delay in his (the bishop's) consecration in place of him [the late bishop] up to this time, according to what the canon about which they informed me, contained, and, as regards me, there has been no departure from it, and I do not know the reason for the delay in it. And it 8 says that the bishop shall be chosen by his people, and acceptance of him by all is required; and he shall be known for the qualities which their letter contained. The Canon does not say that he (the bishop) shall be chosen by outside people nor by a patriarch. And now it is for me to hear and obey them in what the Canon ordered. You shall choose him with whom you are satisfied, and in whom you have confidence; and (him who) shall be suitable to you I will consecrate for you. And I shall not depart from your opinion about him, because you will have to endure him and his affairs. We are thankful

8 i.e. the Canon 2 of Hippolytus, cf. R.G. Coquin, Les Canons d'Hippolyte, (Patrologia Orientalis, t. XXI, fasc. 2, pp. [81]-[83]).

---- 23 ----

for what God has granted to them [the people] in particular, in the way of love for those who guide their affairs and consider their judgments. And in this shall be the chiefs and principal men with whom is the setting up of the light-house of religion, and the arrangement of the affairs of the weak and the poor, namely the Christian elders, the archons ---- may God perpetuate their high positions! ---- and our care and the defence of us is incumbent upon them, in place of the former Orthodox kings, on account of their rank in the high councils and the flourishing diwans, and their connections with the sultans and the chiefs, in the way of what God has showered upon us all, as regards the mercies of the high, great Majesty [the ruler] towards us ----may God perpetuate its [=the ruler's] days and grant victory to its soldiers, and open for it the east and the west of the land through the intercessions of the righteous of His creatures, (and) may He hearken to the petitions from us and from all the good for its Highness which through the beauty of its kindness and goodness may bring back things to their (normal) state and support its royal order and the protected ones 5 and (grant us) abundant graces. We ask God to urge us to thank it, and, in fine, may their souls be happy and their breasts joyful. As for me, God knows that if angels of heaven came to me, I should not consecrate one of them except him whom they [the people] propose of themselves, and they make an obeisance to me for him, according to what the Canon contained. The consecration depends on them and the delay (depends) on them; I am innocent of the transgression which has taken place in

5 A Muslim term for Christians or Jews living as second-class citizens in a Muslim State and subject to a special tax and various legal disadvantages.

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this case, lest they think that I delayed this see for worldly advantage, (but) all with which I am preoccupied is not in that, (but) on account of the lack of him who is suitable, and the matter is in the hands of God. May the peace of the Lord ---- praised be He! ---- be with them and descend upon them and (be) among them! It is written in the second decade of Bau'unah, year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [5th-14th June, 1118 A.D.], and thanks be to God for ever». This year is eight hundred and thirty-three [1117AD] if we consider that the beginning of the year is Tut [29th August], and it is the correct date upon which the Fathers based the Epact Computation, solar and lunar (years). And when this letter reached (us) and we read it, we found it is a letter from one who is blamed, and a letter of which the reply was not befitting to him. And we discovered the reason for it, and we knew that the father, the patriarch, did not wish to make a bishop for the see of Cairo (Misr), and that he had the idea to be ruler in it [the see], if he were present, and if he were absent to appoint a substitute for himself. We did not consent to this, and we were perturbed about it. And we said that as it is not permitted that a Christian have two wives, likewise it is not permitted to a bishop that he have two sees. And this father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, (as) he is bishop of the City of Alexandria, how is it possible that he have the bishopric of Cairo (Misr)! We came to the opinion to concern ourselves in haste with him whom we should select for bishop. The priests and the people assembled in the Church of the illustrious martyr Sergius in Kasr Sam‘, and they called to mind those who were in the monasteries, from among the hieromonks and others who were suitable for the bishopric

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of Cairo (Misr), and the hermitages. And they mentioned twelve men, and these are their names: Kayil, the singer at the Monastery of Abba Macarius; Menas, the priest of the Sanctuary of Abba Macarius; Gabriel, the Alexandrian priest; Agapius (Habib), the priest, the scribe; James (Ya‘kub), the priest of the Monastery of Abba John; Mercurius, the hermit at Abyar; Theodore, the priest of the Monastery of Abba Macarius ; John of Sanhur, the disciple of Macarius the door-keeper; John, son of Sanhut; Apater (Badir), the priest in the sanctuary; Joseph (Yusib), the monk in the Monastery of Abba Macarius; Eulogus (Awlakah) the monk. Then they chose from this number four persons and they are: Mercurius the hermit at Abyar; Theodore the priest of the Monastery of Abba Macarius; John the monk, the disciple of Macarius the door-keeper and John the deacon, son of Sanhut. And I wrote the names of those four on four pieces of paper in my handwriting, and I sealed them, and I placed them on the altar, and we celebrated the Divine Liturgy on it. And when the Divine Liturgy was finished, and the people had been communicated, a youth from among the deacons approached; he took from the pieces

---- 26 ----

of paper one, in such a manner that all the people saw it, and lo, on it (was) the name John, son of Sanhut. And all agreed to that, and they wrote a report about it, and the archons and the priests and the notables of the people wrote in it their signatures consenting to it. And I, the sinner, abstained from writing my signature in it, and I said: 'If the man come, and I see him, and I converse with him, and I learn that he is learned, sound in the Orthodox Faith, then I will write my signature consenting to it'. And when the signatures of the priests and the people of Cairo (al-Misriyin) and of Cairo (al-Kahiriyin) were completed in the report, I forwarded it to the father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, enclosing a letter on behalf of the assembly to him. A copy of it: «There arrived the letter of Your lofty, most venerable, saintly, virtuous, presidential, esteemed Presence, the crown of the Orthodox Community, the light of the Christian, Church, the beauty of the Children of Baptism, the Master of the fathers, the Chief of chiefs, who follows in the traces of the Pure Fathers, the Apostles, and the successor of my lord Mark, one of the Righteous Apostles ----may God prolong its duration and guard its glory and its eminence. After expecting its [the letter's] coming and awaiting its arrival, his [the patriarch's] subjects received it with what it merits in the way of importance, and what its state deserves in the way of honour. They multiplied thanks to God the Exalted for what it [the patriarch] revealed by it in the way of its safety which they esteem on account of the more important gifts of God towards them, and His more

---- 27 ----

perfect kindness latent in them. They rejoiced about this with the rejoicing of those who hold fast to its [the Patriarch's] obedience, and draw nigh to God ---- praised be He! ---- by doing according to its [the Patriarch's] good-will, (and) of those who are directed in all their affairs through the guidance of God by its [the Patriarch's] spiritual teaching and its just and acceptable judgments. May God protect by its [the Patriarch's] holiness the organization of religion from being disordered, and guard by the blessing of its [the Patriarch's] invocations all the people from calamities, and preserve by its prayers which are offered to Him ---- praised be He! ---- without a partition wall, and its accepted and heard invocations the Orthodox word from being dispersed, and may He strengthen the Christian Churches by the distinction of agreement, and may He draw near its [the Patriarch's] return and the presence of its people before it, and may He bless them through its holiness in the best conditions transmitted by tradition and elect judgments through its holy prayers. And as regards what it decided ---- may God perpetuate its highness ---- in the way of choosing him whom they approved, to consecrate for them [the Cairenes] to supervise their affairs according to what the canons of the Church require. They accepted it [the decision] with hearing and obedience, after knowing the extent of the favour towards them through it, and the benefits according to it. And they assembled in the Church of the illustrious martyr Sergius, after they had performed divination, and had implored Him (God) with a mind free from passion, confident in their prayer for success in choosing him who was suitable in word and in deed, and (who) would observe among them the best manner of life and magnanimity. And they confirmed the names of twelve men concerning whom it was agreed to be informed of their religion and to have knowledge of the

---- 28 ----

soundness of their belief. Then they selected from this number four persons, and they (were) Mercurius the hermit at Abyar, and Theodore the priest at Monastery of Abba Macarius, and John of Sanhur, and the deacon John, son of Sanhut. Their names were put on four pieces of paper, and sealed and borne to the holy altar at the aforementioned Church, and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated over them for three days, the last of which was Sunday, the fourteenth of Abib [July 18th]. And the priests assembled, and they surrounded the altar; and the people (were) standing at the door [of the Sanctuary], and clamours, supplications and entreaties these raised by all to the Master Christ, asking that He may choose for governing His people and for directing His Church him whom He sees performing His precepts (and) observing among them [the people] the manner of life of the pure, virtuous and righteous Saints whom He elected to pasture His flock and chose for being chiefs of His faithful. And the deacon, the boy, son of the elder Abu '1-Fakhr approached ----may God perpetuate His support [of him] ---- and he took in the presence of the congregation one of the aforementioned pieces of paper. And it was opened and there was found (on it) the name John, son of Sanhut. Then they thanked God the Exalted for that to which He had directed them, and they took a good omen from that to which He had guided them, and they consented to him whom He willed and chose to preside over them. And its [the patriarch's] disciples enclosed a report about all this in which were confirmed the signatures of their congregations. And its [the patriarch's] disciples kiss the skhema and make an obeisance before it, and they ask that it shall summon the aforementioned

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deacon, as is the custom to summon such as he, and to consecrate him bishop for them, in order that he may undertake the repairing of the churches, and may direct the affairs of the people; and that it [the Patriarch] may be agreeable to execute them [the demands], according to its excellent (and) generous custom, (and) that it may remember them in its holy prayers and its requests which are heard, and that (it may give them) its prosperous opinions, if God the Exalted wills». The answer arrived, of which (this) is a copy. «There arrived the letter of the chosen, beloved, and happy brethren, the good priests, and the honourable, beloved, prosperous, and virtuous elders, victorious in every Christian virtue, who are specialized with all spiritual greetings, the Orthodox archons and the rest of the Christian people ---- may God prolong their lives and perpetuate their graces, and exalt them and raise them up, and restrain their enemies, and bless them and their houses and their children and their livelihood with the blessings by which their affairs are exalted, and increase thereby their rank, and magnify thereby their positions, and multiply their fortunes, and confirm for them perpetual grace and enduring well-being. May He guard them with eyes which sleep not, and (under) His wing which does not oppress, and may He turn them away from all satanic snares and evil traps, and may He hearken to the good requests for them from my wretchedness, through the intercession of her who possesses intercession, Mary the Virgin, and the prayers of the Evangelist, my lord Mark, the completer of the witnesses and the certifier of religion and belief, and of all the Saints and the Righteous together. It [the letter] contained their [the people's] sublime expressions and their sweet, spiritual words like the honey and the

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manna which are mentioned in the Book of the Psalms. When I became acquainted with the sources of their kindness and the abode of their honour, I found them confined to their praising of my poorness, of which I am not worthy or to which I am not related, nor competent for it, because I know myself, and that I am not worthy of what you made me worthy of being thanked ---- the sincerity of their love and the purity of their belief and the skill of their understanding and the depth of their knowledge and their proficiency and good manners, as it was said concerning Moses the prophet in the Pentateuch (Taurah) «And Moses was learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians», in whom was boast and perfection, and the rest by which hopes are raised, and there is increase of age and periods. May God whose remembrance is exalted, establish through them the beacon of religion, and set up through their life a support of the Christian brethren, perpetuate existence, and hallow the souls of their forefathers, and grant to us all mercy and pity before His fearful Judgment-Seat and His terrible Presence. Amen. And as regards what they mentioned in the way of spiritual yearning, I have of it what surpasses the limit of description ---- and they exceed in every enlargement and exaggeration. I ask the Creator ---- praised be He! ---- to bring near (my) return and to perfect the assembly for the completion of pleasant affairs and memorable facts. And (the matter) which they indicated is (one) about which it is pleasant (for me) to thank them and to praise them on account of their love for their spiritual fathers, and of their desire of him who will guide their affairs and repair the cracks of their church. They gave priority to God the Exalted at the beginning of their request, and they implored Him that He should manifest to them him who was worthy of what they implored and desired. What they did is well, for the Holy Scriptures say: «Let God be the beginning of your affair». And He through His generosity shall make their endeavour succeed, and perform for us and for them what (is)

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in it of good and praiseworthy issue. He whose name God manifested to them, and the Presence [=the Real Presence of Christ in the communion] drew forth for them, and with whom all were satisfied, he is the right man; and my heart is agreeable to him to whom their souls are agreeable, and by whom their affairs shall be arranged and the direction of their matters shall be perfected. Let them proceed by the Will of God ---- Whose Name is great ---- to get him with them and to make sure of him and to guard him, and then I shall come, if God accord (me) life, and we shall fulfil their request and reach to their goal. It is not hidden from them that the aforesaid offered himself for a rank other than a rank of the episcopate, in that he went to the most honoured presence, the holy, chaste, pure, father, the Patriarch of the Armenians ---- may God perpetrate his holiness, and he came to him, and importuned him, until he obliged me to write for him [the Armenian Patriarch] a document from the cell that I shall not appoint him in any of the ranks of the priesthood, with a testimonial to me of that Saint, the Patriarch of the Armenians, together with what he wrote about him. This was in the year in which the messenger was sent to the land of the Abyssinians. Inquire you, then (about) this matter from him [the Armenian Patriarch], and ask him to help in summoning the aforesaid person to you, and in getting him with you to learn that I am innocent. The matter is in your hands, and he has to be asked what he wishes, that he may not regard me as having said to him a word and broken it. To sum up, endeavour

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to get him, and I will not delay with his consecration for them, according to what they solicited and desired. Up till then, let them not cease from their correspondence which relates to the mention of their affairs and their news. The peace of the Lord ---- praised be He! ---- be with them and descend upon them and (abide) with them. It is written on the twenty-fourth of the month of Misra (in the) year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Pure Martyrs [17th August, 1118 A.D.] and thanks (be) to God for ever and ever». And when the letter from the father Macarius the patriarch arrived, and we were informed of it, we assembled, and we went to the Patriarch of the Armenians, and he was at that time in the Church of the Mistress at the demesne of Az-Zuhrt which is between Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and we read it to him. And he said. «The father, the patriarch, is right as to what his letter contains ». We asked him to help us to bring John the monk, ibn Sanhut, the aforesaid. And he wrote a letter to the father Macarius, that he should send to him (one) of his disciples who would bring him, and he sent to him two disciples, and they brought him, and they caused him to descend at the house of the Shaikh Abu '1-Fadl which is between Nagib and Dar al-Ghazl in Cairo (Misr). And it was on the second day, (and) the Patriarch of the Armenians convoked him to his cell, and he remained with him (the Patriarch) for some days. And this was at the suggestion of Abba Macarius our Patriarch. He intended thereby that the Patriarch of the Armenians should examine him and test his state, and his knowledge and his belief. And he found him according to what was necessary in all that he required of him. Then the Shaikh Abu '1-Fadl Sa‘id Ibn Abraham (Ibrahim) Ibn al-Mustana' who was related to the sons of al-Iskaf by reason of their affinity, though he was not of them 4, took

4 i.e. he was related to them by marriage.

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him and he returned with him to his house which is between Nagib and Dar al-Ghazl. And he stayed in it from the time that he had departed from the cell of the Patriarch of the Armenians. And when it was the seventeenth day of the aforementioned (month of) Babah [October 14th], the priests and the archons and the people assembled at the house of the Shaikh Abu'1-Fadl the aforesaid, and they sent to the Mutawali of Relief in Cairo (Misr), and they informed him that there had been appointed for them a new bishop in place of the deceased (one), and they wished to conduct him from where he was to the Church of Abba Sergius in the Kasr as-Sam‘, according to what was the custom, and they were afraid of the common people, lest there might happen to them some insolence from them on the way, and there occur thereby what would make (their) heart uneasy. The wali sent to them his substitute and a company of his men, and the bishop [-elect] rode a high mule from among the beasts of some of the possessors of the diwans [=government officials] at the third hour of the day [at 9 a.m.], and they conducted him with readings, and before him (were) candles, and gospels and censers of incense, from the aforesaid house to the aforementioned Church of Abba Sergius. And he [the bishop-elect] celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and his deed of investiture was read in it (by) Abba Menas, bishop of Malig, and Abba Michael

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bishop of Atfih, and Abba John, bishop of al-Khandak, and it is the See of Bastah. And it was a great day, and similar to it was that of the Sunday after it in Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the Church of the Mistress in the Harat Zuwailah, and he [the bishop-elect] was consecrated in it, after they had conducted him with readings and candles and gospels and censers from the Gate Khaukhat Maimun Dabbah which (is) at the Khalig to this Church, and with him (was) the substitute of the Mutawali of Relief at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and his men. And the Shaikh Abu'1-Fadl, the aforesaid, related to me, when he came to visit me, that he did not pay to the disciples of the Patriarch nor to his scribe a single dirham for the consecration nor for other than it. And they did not dare to demand from him any thing, for fear of the archons. This was the case with Sanhut ---- may God give rest to his soul I ----at his consecration as bishop, and thus (was it) with Abba James who was bishop before him. But when the aforesaid Patriarch made this father Abba John hegoumenos, he declined to finish (making him) bishop, until he had received his [Yu'annis'] signature that he would convey half of the revenue of the See every year to the cell of the Patriarchate for the diyariat 10 which used to be taken from Abba Sanhut the bishop ---- may God give rest to his soul! ---- every year to the cell, (namely), fifteen dinars, and (for) the scribes and the disciples two dinars, if they should bear to him the Synodical

10 Contribution collected from the monasteries.

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Letter, in all, seventeen dinars a year. And in Abib of the year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [September-October, 1118 A.D.] and it (was) the fifteenth year of the patriarchate of the saintly father Abba Macarius the Patriarch, Baldwin, the leader of the Franks arrived with a great army at al-Farama, and he pillaged it and he burned it, and he determined upon a sudden attack against Cairo (Misr). Then he fell sick, and on the third day his sickness became serious, and he commanded his companions to carry him and to return to Syria. Then they carried him and returned, and when they reached al-‘Aris, he died there. Then they cut open his belly and they salted him, as he had commanded them. And they returned with him to Jerusalem. And it happened, when news of their arrival at al-Farama reached the noble lord al-Afdal, he raised a great army (to oppose) them. When Baldwin, their leader, died, and they returned, the army pursued them to Syria (as-Sam‘), and returned, and God protected us against their deeds. We asked Him, whose Name (is) great, to perpetuate His mercy and His grace; and to inspire us to give thanks to Him and to cause us not to forget the remembrance of Him through His goodness and glory. And when it was the Sunday of the half of (the month of) Kihak [December 12th-26th] (in the) year five hundred and eleven of the Tax Year, and it (was) the year eight hundred and thirty-eight of the Martyrs [1122 A.D.], and it (was) the end of the month of Ramadan of the year five hundred and fifteen of the Lunar (Year), on the morrow of which would be the fitr 8, the noble lord Al-Afdal rode from his house in Cairo (Misr) which is

8 i.e. the day following the end of the fast of Ramadan.

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called the House of the King, and he went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, and he entered into the noble Castle, and he sat before our Sire Al-Amir bi Ahkami'llah. The umbrellas and the beasts and the saddles and other things beside were displayed to him, and he chose from them what should be (used) for the ceremony of the cavalcade on the morrow of that day, according as was the custom on similar (occasions), and he went forth from the Castle and he returned to Cairo (Misr). And when he had passed through the market of As-Suyufiyin and the Ras al-Gisr, three unknown men came out against him, and it is said that they were from the land of the East. Two of them confronted him, and in their hands (were) two knives. When the pages saw them, they hastened towards them with swords, and they killed them. But while the pages were occupied in killing them the third (one) came out from the lane of the Dar al-Kitabah, and he struck him with a knife and killed him. The pages hastened towards him, and they cut him down with their swords. They bare the noble lord al-Afdal to the House of the King, and they thought that he was alive. But when he was in the house, they found that he was already dead. When news of him reached our Sire Al-Amir bi Ahkami'llah, he went down immediately to the House of the King, and he took care of all what (was) in it in the way of money. And he ordered his death to be concealed that night from the people, and in the morning he revealed his case to the public. And on the morning of Tuesday, he caused to be brought out his coffin

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after dawn, and all the people walked about it barefooted. Our Sire al-Amir ---- may God perpetuate his kingdom ---- went forth riding behind him with bleached garments and a Hamdani turban on his beast, until he reached the tomb of his father outside Cairo (al-Kahirah) beyond the Bab an-Nasr. And prayers were said over him, and he was buried in it 2. Our Sire returned to the House of the King in Cairo (Misr), and he stayed in it for seventeen days, until he had carried (off) all what was in it in the way of money, jewels, gold, silver, garments, carpets, furniture and utensils to the Castle. And it is said that the money which was found in coin in bags (was) four thousand thousand dinars besides that which was mentioned before, with weapons and beasts the value of which is not known. Our Sire ----peace (be) upon him! ---- used to sit every day in the Gold Room in the Prosperous Castle to supervise the affairs of the kingdom and the men of the State. And the noble general Abu ‘Abd Allah and his brothers (were) before him to execute affairs and to ride with him every Saturday and Tuesday to the gardens and the belvederes in the suburbs of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and the outskirts of Cairo (Misr). And he continued with this for the remaining months of the year five hundred and fifteen of the Lunar (Year) [1122A.D]. When it was the year five hundred and sixteen [1122-3 A.D.], our Sire ---- may God perpetuate his kingdom! ---- bestowed a robe of honour on the noble general ‘Abd Allah, and he invested him with the ministry (wizarat) and the direction of his kingdom and the supervision over the affairs of the government officials, and he

2 i.e. the tomb of Al-Afdal's father.

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wrote for him for this reason an important decree , and he mentioned in it his titles and his designations, (one) among all (being) the Noble Master al-Ma'mun, until he determined to kill him [the Caliph], when he should be alone with him [the Caliph] in his Castle. This was clear to him [the Caliph] from indications of which he knew the correctness and the truth. He (the Caliph) forestalled him, and he hastened to seize him and his brothers and his sons and his father, on the evening of Friday, the third (of the month) of Ramadan in the year five hundred and nineteen [1125-1126 A.D.], and he imprisoned them in a closet in the Prosperous Castle, bound with iron and fetters. After a time Hiduh died, and there remained Muhammad Ibn Fatik who was designated al-Ma'mun. The Caliph was informed that the aforesaid Muhammad Ibn Fatik had sent, in the days of his ministry, to the land of the Yemen a man of his own known as Abu'l-Hasan Nagib ad-Daulah, as his messenger to al-Hurrah, the queen of the Yemen, openly, but in secret he arranged with him that he should noise it abroad that he [Muhammad Ibn Fatik] was the son of Ibn Nizar, son of our Sire Al-Muntasir bi'llah, and that he (was) more worthy of the Caliphate dwelling in it 5, and he (was) now, and that he should make propaganda for him there, and should strike for him coins there with his name. The Imam Al-Amir bi Ahkami'llah sent to her [the Queen of the Yemen] one of the amirs who bore the designation Asad ad-Daulah and with him letters to al-Hurrah. When she learned of their contents, and she understood the matter of the case of Abu'l-Hasan the aforesaid, she continued according to her policy to act with cunning, until she seized him and sent him to Egypt (Misr). And when he arrived on Tuesday, the tenth of (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and eleven [1117-1118 A.D.], he

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was shewn in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) riding on a camel and beneath him a bench, and on his head a decorated lead fool's cap, and on his shoulder an ape, and in his hand a mirror showing him his face, and behind his back men of the common people, and in their hands shoes, and they were belabouring (him) with them all the way until he reached the Prosperous Castle, and he was imprisoned with his companion Muhammad Ibn Fatik.

[Note]. I ask of God, ----may His might be magnified and His remembrance be exalted! ----that He may grant to you, O father, the monk, son of the esteemed John, the deacon and the singer, grace and security and sufficiency through the intercession of the Mistress, the Pure Virgin, my Lady Mary, the Bearer of Salvation, and of all the Martyrs and the Saints.