Al-Mas'udi (المسعودي) — Page 17

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

وَصْفُ بَغْدَادَ.

A description of Baghdad.

كَانَتْ بَغْدَادُ زَمَنَ وِلَادَةِ الْمَسْعُودِيِّ فِيهَا مَا تَزَالُ مَدِينَةً حَدِيثَةَ الْعَهْدِ.

At the time of Al-Masudi’s birth, Baghdad was still a newly established city.

وَقَدْ بُنِيَتْ هَذِهِ الْمَدِينَةُ فِي عَهْدِ الْخَلِيفَةِ الْعَبَّاسِيِّ الثَّانِي أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الْمَنْصُورِ بِأَيْدِي مِئَةِ أَلْفِ فَلَّاحٍ عِرَاقِيٍّ وَسَطَ بِلَادِ الرَّافِدَيْنِ فَسُمِّيَتْ دَارَ السَّلَامِ.

Built during the reign of the second Abbasid Caliph, Abu Ja'far al-Mansur, the city was constructed by one hundred thousand Iraqi laborers in the heart of Mesopotamia and named Dar al-Salam.

وَجَعَلَهَا الْمَنْصُورُ عَاصِمَةَ الْخِلَافَةِ الْعَبَّاسِيَّةِ، بَدَلًا مِنْ دِمَشْقَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَاصِمَةَ الْأُمَوِيِّينَ.

Al-Mansur made it the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, replacing Damascus, the former Umayyad capital.

وَكَانَتْ بَغْدَادُ فِي الْبِدَايَةِ دَائِرِيَّةَ الشَّكْلِ، يَقَعُ فِي وَسَطِهَا قَصْرُ الْخَلِيفَةِ، وَلَهُ قُبَّةٌ خَضْرَاءُ عَلَيْهَا تِمْثَالُ حِصَانٍ.

Initially, Baghdad was circular, with the Caliph’s palace at its center, topped by a green dome bearing the statue of a horse.

وَحَوْلَ الْقَصْرِ تُوجَدُ أَحْيَاءٌ يَعِيشُ فِيهَا الْخَدَمُ وَجُنُودُ الْحِرَاسَةِ وَالتُّجَّارُ وَالصُّنَّاعُ.

Surrounding the palace were neighborhoods housing servants, guards, merchants, and craftsmen.

وَكَانَ الْقَصْرُ مُحَاطًا بِسُورٍ، وَالْأَحْيَاءُ بِسُورٍ آخَرَ وَخَنْدَقٍ عَمِيقٍ.

The palace was enclosed by a wall, while the surrounding districts were protected by a second wall and a deep trench.

وَفِي كُلِّ سُورٍ أَرْبَعَةُ أَبْوَابٍ يَحْرُسُهَا جُنُودٌ يَسْهَرُونَ عَلَى أَمْنِ الْخَلِيفَةِ وَالْمُوَاطِنِينَ.

Each wall featured four gates, manned by soldiers who kept watch to ensure the safety of the Caliph and the citizens.

وَبَقِيَتِ الْقُبَّةُ حَتَّى خَرَّبَتْهَا الْحَرْبُ الَّتِي دَارَتْ بَيْنَ الْأَمِينِ وَالْمَأْمُونِ، وَلَدَيْ هَارُونَ الرَّشِيدِ.

The dome stood until it was destroyed during the war between Harun al-Rashid's sons, Al-Amin and Al-Ma'mun.

فَقَدْ ظَهَرَ التَّنَافُسُ بَيْنَهُمَا بَاكِرًا، وَكَانَ الْكُرْهُ قَوِيًّا وَاضِحًا؛ لِأَنَّ كُلًّا مِنْهُمَا كَانَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَكُونَ الْأَقْرَبَ إِلَى أَبِيهِ.

Their rivalry emerged early on, fueled by a clear and intense hatred, as each sought to be his father's favorite.

وَكَانَتْ أُمُّ الْمَأْمُونِ جَارِيَةً، بَيْنَمَا أُمُّ الْأَمِينِ هِيَ زُبَيْدَةُ زَوْجَةُ هَارُونَ الرَّشِيدِ الشَّرْعِيَّةُ.

Al-Ma'mun’s mother was a concubine, whereas Al-Amin’s mother was Zubaidah, the legitimate wife of Harun al-Rashid.

وَعِنْدَمَا تَوَلَّى الْأَمِينُ الْخِلَافَةَ عَيَّنَ أَخَاهُ الْمَأْمُونَ وَالِيًا عَلَى وِلَايَةِ خُرَاسَانَ الْإِيرَانِيَّةِ الْغَنِيَّةِ.

When Al-Amin assumed the Caliphate, he appointed his brother Al-Ma'mun as governor of the wealthy Iranian province of Khorasan.

وَلَكِنَّهُ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَجْعَلَ مِنِ ابْنِهِ مُوسَى الصَّغِيرِ السِّنِّ وَرِيثًا لِلْعَرْشِ بَدَلًا مِنَ الْمَأْمُونِ؛ فَنَشَبَتْ بَيْنَهُمَا حَرْبٌ قُتِلَ فِيهَا الْأَمِينُ وَتَوَلَّى الْمَأْمُونُ الْخِلَافَةَ.

However, Al-Amin later sought to name his young son, Musa, as heir to the throne instead of Al-Ma'mun, sparking a war that ended with Al-Amin’s death and Al-Ma'mun’s ascension to the Caliphate.

وَيُحَدِّثُنَا الْمَسْعُودِيُّ بِأَلَمٍ شَدِيدٍ عَنْ خَلْعِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الْعَبَّاسِيِّينَ وَتَنْصِيبِهِمْ عَلَى أَيْدِي الْجُنُودِ الْأَتْرَاكِ.

Al-Masudi writes with great sorrow about how Turkish soldiers began deposing and installing Abbasid Caliphs at will.

فَإِذَا كَانَ الْأَمِينُ أَوَّلَ خَلِيفَةٍ عَبَّاسِيٍّ يَمُوتُ قَتْلًا، فَإِنَّ الْمُتَوَكِّلَ كَانَ أَوَّلَ خَلِيفَةٍ عَبَّاسِيٍّ يَقْتُلُهُ حُرَّاسُهُ الْأَتْرَاكُ.

While Al-Amin was the first Abbasid Caliph to be murdered, Al-Mutawakkil was the first to be killed by his own Turkish guards.

وَكَانَ الْخَلِيفَةُ الْمُعْتَصِمُ مُولَعًا بِشِرَاءِ.

Caliph Al-Mu'tasim had a passion for purchasing.

لِمَزِيدٍ مِنَ الْمَعْلُومَاتِ عَنْ بِنَاءِ بَغْدَادَ وَتَوَسُّعِهَا انْظُرْ دِمِيتْرِي مِيكُولْسْكِي، الْمَسْعُودِيُّ هِيرُودُوتُ الْعَرَبِ (مَرْجِعٌ سَبَقَ ذِكْرُهُ).

For further information on the construction and expansion of Baghdad, see Dmitri Mikulski, Al-Masudi: The Herodotus of the Arabs (previously cited).

Vocabulary · المفردات (22 verbs · 69 nouns)

• بَنَى — to build
• سَمَّى — to name
• جَعَلَ — to make
• وَقَعَ — to lie
• وَجَدَ — to find
• عَاشَ — to live
• أَحَاطَ — to surround
• حَرَسَ — to guard
• سَهِرَ — to stay awake
• بَقِيَ — to remain
• خَرَّبَ — to destroy
• دَارَ — to revolve
• ظَهَرَ — to appear
• أَرَادَ — to want
• تَوَلَّى — to assume
• عَيَّنَ — to appoint
• نَشَبَ — to break out
• قَتَلَ — to kill
• حَدَّثَ — to tell
• مَاتَ — to die
• نَظَرَ — to look
• سَبَقَ — to precede
• وَصْف — description
• زَمَن — time
• وِلَادَة — birth
• مَدِينَة — city
• عَهْد — era
• خَلِيفَة — caliph
• أَبٌ — father
• يَد — hand
• مِئَة — hundred
• أَلْف — thousand
• فَلَّاح — farmer
• وَسَط — middle
• بِلَاد — lands
• رَافِد — river
• دَار — house
• سَلَام — peace
• عَاصِمَة — capital
• خِلَافَة — caliphate
• بِدَايَة — beginning
• شَكْل — shape
• قَصْر — palace
• قُبَّة — dome
• تِمْثَال — statue
• حِصَان — horse
• حَيٌّ — neighborhood
• خَادِم — servant
• جُنْدِيٌّ — soldier
• حِرَاسَة — guarding
• تَاجِر — merchant
• صَانِع — craftsman
• سُور — wall
• خَنْدَق — trench
• بَاب — door
• أَمْن — security
• مُوَاطِن — citizen
• حَرْب — war
• تَنَافُس — competition
• كُرْه — hatred
• أُمٌّ — mother
• جَارِيَة — maid
• زَوْجَة — wife
• وَال — governor
• وِلَايَة — province
• ابْنٌ — son
• سِنٌّ — age
• وَرِيث — heir
• عَرْش — throne
• أَلَم — pain
• خَلْع — deposition
• تَنْصِيب — inauguration
• قَتْل — killing
• مُولَع — fond
• شِرَاء — buying
• مَعْلُومَة — information
• بِنَاء — construction
• تَوَسُّع — expansion
• مَرْجَعٌ — reference
• ذِكْر — mention
• أَقْرَب — closer, nearest
• حَدِيثَة — modern
• مُحَاط — surrounded
• بَاكِر — early
• خَضْرَاء — green
• دَائِرِيَّة — circular, round
• غَنِيَّة — rich
• إِيرَانِيَّة — Iranian (feminine)
• عَمِيق — deep
• شَدِيد — extreme
• عَبَّاسِيَّة — Abbasid