Complex sentence: The men surrounding the emir famously refused to join his funeral prayer, due to his harshness against them; nonetheless the emir conducted the funeral prayers in person, and the people of Qayrawan were greatly upset by his passing.
Split into simpler sentences: The men surrounding the emir famously refused to join his funeral prayer, due to his harshness against them. Yet the emir conducted the funeral prayers in person, and the people of Qayrawan were greatly upset by his passing.