Obituaries of 815:
My father died, when he was nāʾib of Damascus, on Thursday 16/01. We mention what we know about him. He was Taghrī Birdī b. ʿAbd Allāh min Khawājā Bashbughā. He was of Rūmī origin. Al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Barqūq bought him in the beginnings of his sultanate, manumitted him and made him one of his khāṣṣakī on the day of his emancipation. Then he appointed him as sāqī, and bestowed a share of Shībīn al-Qaṣr to him. Then he appointed him as raʾs nawbat al-jamdārīya, until al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Barqūq was removed, deposed and imprisoned in the prison of Kerak. My father was also imprisoned in Damascus, because he had gone there with other persons of the army of the sultan to fight al-Nāṣirī and Mintāṣh. He was captured there and imprisoned. He stayed in the prison of Damascus until amir Buzlār al-ʿUmarī, the nāʾib of Damascus released him and took him in his service, with Damurdāsh al-Muḥammadī. My father stayed in Damascus until al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Barqūq left the prison of Kerak. My father went quickly to him, before his cause progressed too fast, and he was present with him at the famous battle between him and Mintāsh. In this battle my father charged against one of the amirs of Mintāsh, called ʾĀqbughā al-Yalbughāwī and threw him from his horse. Barqūq asked him who he was and he was told “Taghrī Birdī”. Barqūq regarded his name as a good omen, because it means “God has given” and he gave him in one time an ʾiqṭāʿ of an amir of 40, although before he left for the journey he had given him an emirate of 10, he had not taken over its management. Then al-Malik al-Ẓāhir sent him to Egypt, to announce there his sultanate and his victory over Mintāsh, and al-Ẓāhir entered Egypt following him. After a short time the sultan gave him an emirate of 100 of Egypt, then he appointed him raʾs nawbat al-nuwab. Then he appointed him nāʾib of Aleppo, after Julbān Qarā Saqal. He then dismissed him and made him again amir of 100 in Egypt, with the khubz of Shaykh al-Ṣafawī al-Khāssakī, the ʾamīr majlis, but before he gave him a robe of honour and appointed him as ʾamīr majlis, he transferred him to the function of ʾamīr silāḥ, in replacement of Baklamish al-ʿAlāʾī, who had been arrested. He stayed in this function until the conflict between ʾatābāk ʾAytamish and al-Nāṣir Faraj began, in the year 802. My father and a group of amirs had supported ʾAytamish, as we have mentioned in the chapter on al-Malik al-Nāṣir Faraj. They were defeated and after the battle they fled from Egypt to amir Tanam, the nāʾib of Damascus, and returned with him to Damascus. Tanam also was defeated, they were all arrested and killed in the citadel of Damascus, except my father, after intercession of the mother of al-Malik al-Nāṣir. ʾĀqbughā al-ʾUṭrūsh was also spared, but except those two all were killed. My father stayed imprisoned in the citadel of Damascus, until he was released and he went to Jerusalem as baṭṭāl, also by mediation of the mother of al-Malik al-Nāṣir. He stayed in Jerusalem until al-Malik al-Nāṣir summoned him at Gaza, gave him a robe of honour and appointed him as nāʾib of Damascus, in replacement of Sūdūn, the relative of al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Barqūq, because he had been captured by Timurlenk. My father governed Damascus for a while then he fled with al-Malik al-Nāṣir to Egypt and Timurlenk took control of Damascus. My father became amir of 100 in Cairo. He stayed there for a short time, and then he received a robe of honour and was reappointed as nāʾib of Damascus, after the departure of Timurlenk. All of this happened in 803. My father went to Damascus and stayed there until the news reached him that he was going to be arrested. He fled to Damurdāsh, the nāʾib of Aleppo and the two rebelled. There were several battles and affairs, until they were defeated. My father fled to the land of the Turkmen, and stayed there for a while, until he was summoned to Egypt, and he was given a double emirate of 100 and he sat at the head of the right,as ʾatābak. He stayed in this function until al-Malik al-Nāṣir went into hiding and was deposed in favour of his brother al-Manṣūr ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. My father left Egypt with some mamluks, and they went to Jerusalem, where he stayed in the desert of Jerusalem until al-Malik al-Nāṣir returned as sultan and consummated the marriage with my sister. Al-Nāṣir had concluded the marriage contract with her, before he was deposed, in presence of my father, then, when he became sultan for the second time, he consummated the marriage, in absence of my father. Then he summoned him and when my father arrived, he stayed in his former function, until al-Malik al-Nāṣir gave him a robe of honour and appointed him as ʾatābak al-ʿasākir of Egypt, in replacement of Yashbak al-Shaʿbānī, in the year 810. He stayed in this function until he was transferred to the function of nāʾib of Damascus, at the end of 813, against his will, after the battle of Kerak. We have mentioned the reason of his appointment in the chapter on al-Malik al-Nāṣir, when he besieged Kerak. He stayed nāʾib of Damascus until he died, it was the third time he exercised this function. He was buried in the tomb of amir Tanam, with him, in one mausoleum. I don’t know nothing about his career, because I was very young during his lifetime. If his career was praiseworthy, may God grant him the benefit of the deeds, if not, may God be merciful to him. My father left 10 children, 6 boys and 4 girls. The oldest was Princess Fāṭima, who died in 846; then al-Zaynī Qāsim, who is still living, and was born before this century; then al-Sharafī Ḥamza, who died in 849 of the plague; then Bayram, who died in 826; then Hājir, who died in 845; then ʾIbrāhīm, who died in 826; then ʾIsmāʿīl, who died in 833 of the plague; then Muḥammad, who died in 819, then Shaqrāʾ, still living; then the author, may God pardon him. I am the youngest of them all and I was born somewhere after 811. My father left a large amount of possessions, arms, horses and camels, but al-Malik al-Nāṣir Faraj took everything when he returned to Damascus, defeated by amir Shaykh and amir Nawrūz. Al-Nāṣir was killed a few days later and left us amongst the poorest of Muslims. But God did not neglect us, and we grew up in the best of conditions without money or property, thanks to God.