Journal d’un bourgeois du Caire

Ibn Iyas

Vol. 1

p. 60. (16^th of May – 13 of June, 1504 CE) At the end of the month, a few days after Easter at the moment the Pleiades appeared, the plague arrived in Cairo and lasted until the first days of the month of “bauna” and on the date of the falling of the drop, which was very unusual. We recall that the epidemic was light in comparison to that which is going to follow: it is still an extraordinary thing to see the plague break out two years in a row.

pp. 72-76 Ramadan (Feb 15^th-March 6^th 1505 CE) (p. 72) The plague spread in Egypt: it had begun around the end of last year, with more or less virulence, but on this month its rise was brutal. The sultan had a basin for the washing of the dead moved near the fountain Mumini which was very useful.

On Saturday the 19^th they announced the death of the qadi (judge) Kamal al-Din ibn Muzhir, brother of the qadi Badr al-Din, a man who was still young and a respected functionary, having directed the chancellery after his brother Badr al-Din under the reign of Zahir Qanush. One noted that it was curious the fact that three sons of the former chancellor, Abu Bakr ibn Muzhir perished during the course of the dame year: Badr al-Din died during his punishment (corporal punishment endorsed by the State) as we have seen; his brother Yusuf hanged himself out of fear of the sultan; and the last one, Kamal al-Din died during the plague. Their deaths followed one another at short intervals. All three were very good people of excellent morality.

Shawwal (March 7^th-April 4^th) The festival of the end of the fast fell on Friday and it had therefore two “khotbas” (sermons –khutbah – a public address, sermon, especially the Friday sermon –presumably there was a khutbah for the breaking of the fast (Ramadan) and the usual khutbah given every Friday), which the populace judged as (p. 73) a bad omen for the length of the sultan’s reign, about which it (the populace) was wrong.

Ali Dawlat sent an ambassador to the court in order to intercede in favor of the governor of the province of Aleppo Sibay and of the governor of the province of Tripoli Dawlatbay: one has seen that both had revolted, to uphold, one said, the pretensions of Qait Radjabi.

The plague’s ravages were terrible among the children of a low age, the Mamluks, the black slaves, the young women slaves and the foreigners: one counted up to a quarter thousand burials per day. Sugar candy became extremely rare and rose in price to 8 ½ “faddas” per “ratl” and one did not find much summer watermelons nor pomegranates.

This month saw the death of the qadi Ibrahim Laduni, director of the arsenal accounts, followed in the grave a few days later by his son, Muhammad; he was a functionary of immense prestige.

By proclamation the sultan prohibited the presence of mourners (women mourners, probably professionals) and the use of tambourines in the funerals. A mourner was denounced for having used tambourines during a funeral ceremony; Barakat ibn Musa condemned her to parade as a spectacle: she was hauled up on an ass, the tambourines hung from her neck and her face was stained with smoke. Before such severe measures, the abstained from such detestable practices. The prefect furthermore forbade women to attend meetings of condolences which would take place at night.

The pilgrims left Cairo: the caravan of the mahmal (a richly decorated litter sent by Islamic rulers to Mecca as an emblem of their independence at the time of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)) was commanded by the great notable Qanibay Qara, and the first convoy was directed by the buyer of Mamluks, Djanbiridi.

Cases of the plague did not stop increasing, the sultan forbade dignitaries from maintaining their doormen at their gates, and he suspended all law cases except those that took place under religious jurisdiction. The sultan ordered the great chamberlain and the prefect of Cairo to enforce the confiscations of Christian houses, to break the jars of wine that one could find there, to set fire to the locales where one consumed hashish or “bouza” in short to act to the best to ensure their suppression. Analogous measures had been taken under the reign of Ashraf Shaban ibn (p. 74) Husain. The finely lettered Ibrahim Mi’mar had composed popular poetry on this subject. This one passed on the year 769H.

The 25^th, the sultan accorded a robe of honor to the ambassador of Ali Dawlat for his diplomatic stay and gave him his response on the subject of the governor of Aleppo Sibay and the governor of the province of Tripoli Dawlatbay.

The 28^th the sultan lost a daughter of marriageable age. She was carried on a stretcher with a canopy brocaded with gold attached above: the cortege was preceded by penitential alms; the prayer was recited at the mosque of al-Azhar and the princess was entombed in the funerary room of the college of her father: these were the funeral ceremonies which great affluence sparked.

Dhul-qa’da (April 5^th-May 4^th) The first, one announced the death of the second secretary Djanim, parent of Ashraf Qansuh Khamsmiya, a handsome young man, known for his bravery and chivalrous spirit, of excellent morality.

A considerable number of emirs of ten (?!) and of noble guards perished.

The emir Tarbay lost a son who was not yet 10 years old. One of his Abyssinian slaves who carried his shoes died; one found 8,000 dinars of spices on him and an important lot of cloth. One of his porters, originally from the oases succumbed: he left 1,000 dinars in spices, not counting the letters of credit.

The sultan made proof of justice by abolishing the monthly payment that people had to give to the provost of the market. This measure was greeted with transports of joy. But as soon as the danger of plague had been overturned, this fee was reestablished as in the past and was even raised.

Friday the 6^th one learned of the death of the sultan’s son. Nasir al-Din Muhammad, steward of the pantry. This one was a handsome adolescent, of magnificent presence, and of a very pretty figure, about 13 years old. He was very intelligent and gifted with a good nature, such that he was unanimously (p. 75) regretted, and that his decease saddened many people. He died at the Citadel, and the ceremony took place immediately after the Friday prayer, on the side of the door of the Veil. The corpse was caused to descend the stairs of Mudarraj; the cortege, at the head of which the officers made their way, passed by Darb al-Ahmar street and the postern of Aidughmish; this was a grandiose funeral. The populace took hold of the penitential alms when the convoy arrived near the door of the Vizir. The officers continued to walk up to the college of the sultan; Muhammad was entombed in the funerary room, under the cupola.

Nearly at the same time, the sultan lost one of his concubines, a Circassian, mother of a small child; she was buried at the same spot.

Tuesday of the 10^th the emir of 10 Djan Qilidj died; [he was] the treasurer, a familiar of the sultan, a handsome young man of lovely appearance and figure, on whom luck was smiling; he had just been named second secretary.

Monday the 16^th, the sultan nominated second secretary Allan Qaradja, prefect of Cairo, in place of Djanim, parent of Qansuh Khamsmiya. He was replaced in the prefectorship of Cairo by Qansuh, commonly called Abu Sunna. The emir Tumanbay, parent of the sultan, was designated to replace the son of the sultan as steward of the pantry.

Wednesday the 25^th Nasir al-Din Muhammad died, son of the former emir of the audiences Anibak Qara, a notable of Mamluk descent, esteemed functionary of a good morality.

The 26^th the emir of 10 Ezbek Narani died, master of the hounds, being of detestable mores.

Friday the 27^th, Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Rifa’i died, a known sufi (Muslim mystic), an appreciated personality of excellent morality.

Dhul-hidjdja (May 5^th –June 3^rd) The Sultan nominated the qadi Muhi al-Din Abd al-Qadir Qasrawi steward of the army, replacing Shihab al-Din Ahmad, son of the former steward of the private house of Djamal al-Din Yusuf.

(p. 76) The sultan ordered the recall of four emirs of 10 exiled in Damietta; they were frequently authorized to return home after having received a tunic with a border of Siberian squirrel.

One learned of the death of Baha al-Din ibn Qudama, who had been one instant a great hanbalite qadi of Egypt; he had just been invested with the same post at Damascus and died en route.

The 21^st Bashans of the Coptic year, the sultan quit dressing in wool in order to put on white and he began [to have] polo parties.

The Easter period of the Christians began and the plague raged in a particularly terrible manner; the mortality was unimaginable among the Mamluks, the black slaves, the young slave women, the children of low age and foreigners.

The year caused the population many alarms because of the mortality, the scarcity, the robberies in the Charkieh, the Gharbieh and even in the Hedjaz (the area of Arabia where Mecca and Medina are located). It is necessary to give oneself to God in this.

(Feb. 19^th-March 18^th 1512 CE) (p. 235) To sum up, such are the events of the year, which overall was happy and blessed since there was neither a plague epidemic nor revolts. The one inconvenient thing to recall is the excessive cold: there were days with very low temperatures to the point that the waters froze and the trees were burnt….

(March, 1513 CE) (p. 277) Overall the year went well; it was blessed, fertile; the crops flourished, and one harvested the watermelons of Abdalli and Sawasili in abundance as well as other fruits. Prosperity reigned, more than that, the Nile’s level rose and maintained a good level for a long time….

….Wednesday the 1^st, the Caliph Mutawakkil and the 4 qadis went to renew their vows to the sultan: it was a day of torrential rain, hail and storm.

Saturday the 4^th, the sun passed into the sign of the Ram, which marks the beginning of Spring. So the plague made its apparition in Cairo, striking many children, black slaves and young slave girls. A certain number of individuals originating from the Oases returned to their region, fleeing this epidemic which was becoming menacing.

(pp. 278-280) The same Monday there as a light earthquake; three successive tremors alerted the population. This was (p. 279) a precursive sign of the reappearance of the plague, in effect during this Easter period, the epidemic grew and made serious ravages. A doctor counseled the sultan to wear rings of rubies as protection against the plague. Therefore the ruler had 2 rubies of value brought from his treasury which were set in gold rings; they never left his fingers even in the middle of official gatherings. This practice was extraordinary especially on the part of a Turkish sultan.

(Continued descriptions of bad weather – hail, rain and such. Pilgrims returning from Mecca arrive. On the 28^th the Sultan spent the day at the Nilometer and in the evening he casts off a new boat and has great fanfare with tambourines and fireworks. The sultan was very happy and returned to the Citadel after the afternoon prayer was acclaimed by the crowd)

(Safar April 8-May 6) (p. 280) The plague made frightening progress and sowed terror in the country. The great hanafite qadi Abd al-Barr ibn Shihna took it upon himself to send his children to the region of Tor; he had the habit during periods of epidemic, to put his children in the shelter of that region. All of the family returned thereafter, complete, safe, and sound. It was pretended that the plague never penetrated there. The qadi counseled the sultan to send his son there, but Qansuh Ghawri did not listen to him. After this invitation of the great hanafite qadi, Abd al-Barr, the wife of the great notable Qanibay, the daughter of the former secretary of state Yashbak demanded of her husband:

Send my son in the company of the qadi.

He gathered a trousseau for her and she departed in a litter with her son. This example was followed by the emir Djanbirdi, former commander of the garrison at Mecca, who joined his son on the convoy, the buyer of Mamluks Nawruz sent his son and his concubines, the chamberlain Anasbay, several of his Mamluks; the commander of a thousand Timur Zardkash did the same, so that several notables sent their children into the areas of Tor to protect them against the plague. The officers had never acted in this manner before this epidemic; which shows well the terror which it caused at this time. Nevertheless it was light in comparison with those which had preceded it.

The sultan had the cupola of his college demolished. At the sellers of “sharbush” market, it was fallen in and menaced ruin; it was completely destroyed to build a new one.
On Wednesday the 7^th the death of the great hanbalite qadi Shihab al-Din Shishini was registered. [He was] one of the great learned men of his rite, who was born in the year 844H, thus this one was an old man of more than 70 years. He died of the plague; his funeral was very solemn, and was celebrated at the mosque of al-Azhar.

(p. 282) The plague extended itself, ravaging the Mamluks, the black slaves, the young women slaves, children of young age and foreigners. The daily mortality had its highs and lows; the civil registers indicate a maximum mortality of 365 individuals duly inscribed; though one considers that in an epidemic period the persons of which death is noted represents only a 10^th of the total. In the face of this rise (of the plague) new basins for cleaning the dead were arranged, as had been done during previous epidemics. As for the sultan, he made use of it in order to think up a new injustice; he prohibited the director to the arsenal Mughulbay from controlling the succession of the sultan’s Mamluks who had a credit debt. The testamentary executor had to be put under surveillance up until the delivery of a sword encrusted with silver, a coat of mail, a chest, arrows; and the director of the arsenal did not hesitate to imprison the widow of a Mamluk in order to bring him to pay. Furthermore an order was given to the grand notable to charge in advance for the succession of Mamluks who received a credit debt and forage ration two horses or their equivalent value, on those of the noble guards, three horses and a mule, on those Mamluks entrusted with an office five horses and a mule. He continued with arrests of the testamentary executor or the widow, who were not liberated until after fulfilling the debt. Even better the sultan enjoined the courier of the cabinet of Olmas to tax the succession of the payment of the deceased 50 dinars…The army could not tolerate such an outrage, and very little was necessary (p. 283) before a revolt broke out; this new state of affairs continued for several days, then the regime allowed a lightening (of the taxes). IN any case that one had never seen and nothing was more ignoble than this iniquity. The epidemic continued to spread, the sultan had porches placed at the gates of the military tribunals removed, (he) forbade the doormen to stand in front of the domicile of the great dignitaries, which he had already done in the year 901H under analogous circumstances; the same defenses were played. This was the third epidemic of his reign, the one in 909H was very light, and according to the State there was a maximum of 100 dead in one day. It (the plague) stopped, only to recontinue 8 months later, making a total for a single day, of 415 dead registered. Finally the scourge took arms against the country in the present year, being 919H. What is curious is that these three epidemics conserved a permanent intensity until the fall of the drop.