[78] The following example was told to me by Chief Sahri,132 who was in service to the amir Shams al-Khawwas Altuntash, lord of Rafaniya; between the latter and ‘Alam al-Din ‘Ali-Kurd, the lord of Hama, there was a standing enmity and dispute:
Shams al-Khawwas ordered me to appraise the hinterland of Rafaniya and inspect its crops. I went accompanied by a band of troops and I appraised the land. One evening, I encamped at one of the villages of Rafaniya which had a tower, so we climbed up to the roof of the tower and had our dinner and relaxed while our horses were down at the tower door. Before we knew it, a man emerged from the tower battlements and screamed at us, then hurled himself at us with a knife in his hand. We fled from him, descending the first flight of steps with him in pursuit, then the second flight, with him still in pursuit, until we reached the door. We rushed out and what do you know, but he had stationed some men at the door! They grabbed every one of us and tied us up with cords and brought us in to Hama to ‘Ali-Kurd. We only escaped execution because of a special dispensation of Fate. Instead, he imprisoned us and set a heavy ransom on us. And the one who caused all of this was that one man from the tower.