وكان وصل من الإمام الراشد بن المسترشد رحمهما الله، ابن بشر رسولًا إلى أَتابك يستدعيه.
Before the battle there had arrived ibn-Bishr, an envoy from the Imam al-Rashid ibn-al-Mustarshid (may Allah’s mercy rest upon their two souls!), in order to summon the atabek to appear before him [the caliph].
فحضر ذلك المصاف وعليه جَوْشَنٌ مذَهَّب، فطعنه فارس من الإفرنج، يقال له ابن الدقيق، في صدره، أخرج الرمح من ظهره رحمه الله،
Bishr took part in that battle clad in a gilden byrnie [jawshan]. A Frankish knight, named ibn-al-Daqiq, smote and pierced him in the chest with a lance, making the lance come out of his back (may Allah’s mercy rest upon his soul!).
وأمر أتابك رحمه الله، فجُمعت رؤوسهم في حقل مقابل الحصن، فكانت قدر ثلاثة آلاف رأس.
The atabek (may Allah’s mercy rest upon his soul!) gave orders according to which their heads were assembled in a field opposite the castle, and they turned out to be about three thousand.
ثم إن ملك الروم عاد خرج إلى البلاد في سنة اثنتين وثلاثين وخمس مئة، واتفق هو والإفرنج خذلهم الله، واجمعوا على قصد شيزر ومنازلتها.
Later on in the year 532, the emperor of the Byzantines once more set out against the land of Syria and made an alliance with the Franks (may Allah render them helpless!) to go conjointly against Shayzar and attack it.
قال ” نفذت إلى أتابك أقول تسلم موضعك “. قلت ” بئس ما فعلت “! أما يقول لك أتابك لما كانت لحمًا أكلها، ولما صارت عظمًا رماها علي “؟
“Well,” replied Salah-al-Din, “I sent word to the atabek, saying, ‘Take back thy place.’” I then remarked, “What an awful thing thou hast done! Will not now the atabek say to thee, ‘When it was meat he ate it, but now that it has become bone he threw it away to me.’”
قال ” فأي شيء أعمل “؟ قلت أنا جالس فيها. فإن سلم الله تعلى كان بسعادتك، ويكون وجهك ابيض عند صاحبك. وإن اخذ الموضع وقتلنا كان بآجالنا، وأنت معذور ” قال ” ما قال لي هذا القول أحد غيرك “
“What shall I do then?” asked he. To this I replied, “I shall establish myself in it [Shayzar]. If Allah (exalted is he!) vouchsafes its safety, it will be to thy future welfare and will redound to thy glory with thy lord. If, on the other hand, the town is taken and we are killed, that will be our fate and thou wilt not be to blame.” To this he replied, “No other man has ever said such a thing to me!”
وتوهمت أنه يفعل ذلك، فحفلت الغنم والدقيق الكثير والسمن وما يحتاجه المحاصر، فأنا في داري المغرب ورسوله جاءني قال ” يقول لك صلاح الدين نحن بعد غدٍ سائرون إلى الموصل فاعمل شغلك للمسير”.
Believing that he would act accordingly, I brought together sheep, a large quantity of flour, butter and other provisions needed during a siege. But as I was in my home at sunset time, his messenger came to me, saying, “Salah-al-Din wants thee to know that the day after tomorrow we shall be on the march to al-Mawsil. Prepare thyself, therefore, for the march.”