In his work Sunan, Abū Dāwūd relates that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah, the Exalted, will not leave my community helpless by postponing them before their Lord for as long as half a day." When Saʿd was asked, "How long is half a day?" he replied, "It is 500 years." This too is among the evidences of prophethood. The mention of half a day in the hadith does not preclude the possibility of a longer period being experienced. For such is the reality. Indeed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned this hadith while enumerating some of the signs of the Hour whose occurrence is certain. These signs will inevitably come to pass exactly as stated. Further explanation regarding these will be given later. The One whose help is sought is the Exalted Allah.
One of the events that occurred in this year is as follows: Sultan Muḥammad ibn Malikshāh besieged one of the fortresses of the Bāṭinīs. He conquered many places in those regions. He killed some of the Bāṭinīs. One of the fortresses he captured was one that his father had built atop an inaccessible mountain near Isfahan. The reason for the construction of this fortress was as follows: While his father was out hunting, his dog ran away. He chased after his dog and finally caught it atop a mountain. One of the Byzantine envoys was with him. The envoy said to him, "If this mountain were in our country, we would certainly build a fortress upon it." These words of the envoy prompted the sultan to have a fortress built atop this mountain. He spent 1,200,000 dinars on the construction of the fortress. Later, one of the Bāṭinīs named Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ʿAṭā seized this fortress. Because of this, the Muslims suffered greatly. Sultan Muḥammad, son of Malikshāh, came and besieged this fortress for a year. Then he conquered it. He flayed the Bāṭinī who had seized the fortress, stuffed his skin with straw, cut off his head, and paraded it throughout the land as a warning. Then the stones of this fortress were dismantled one by one until it was destroyed. The wife of the Bāṭinī also threw herself from the fortress and died. The precious jewels she had with her were also lost. People would say, "It was a dog that showed the location of the fortress, an unbeliever who suggested its construction, and a heretic who sought refuge and protection in it," thus declaring the fortress to be inauspicious.
In this year, many battles took place between the sons of Ḥafāja and the sons of ʿUbāda. The ʿUbādīs defeated the Ḥafājīs and took their old revenge upon them.
In this year, Sayf al-Dawla Ṣadaqa, after long-lasting wars, seized the city of Tikrit.
In this year, Sultan Muḥammad sent Emir Chavlı Sakavu to Mosul. He granted the city to him as an iqṭāʿ (fief). Chavlı went, fought against its ruler, routed his men, took them captive, and seized it from Chökermish. Then he killed Chökermish. Chökermish was one of the good and distinguished emirs in terms of administration, justice, and ihsan (spiritual excellence). Then Kılıç Arslan, son of Kutalmış, came and besieged Mosul, taking it from Chavlı. Chavlı then went to Raḥba, seized it, and later returned to fight Kılıç Arslan. After Kılıç Arslan was defeated, he threw himself into the Khabur river and died.
In this year, a battle took place between the Byzantines (Rūm) and the Franks. They fought for a long time. Praise be to Allah. Many men were killed on both sides. Then the Franks were routed. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.