Tarikh (al-Tabari) 3989
Then the year 332 AH began
ذِكْرُ مِلْكِ الرُّوسِ مَدِينَةَ بَرْدَعَةَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ خَرَجَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الرُّوسِيَّةِ فِي الْبَحْرِ إِلَى نَوَاحِي أَذْرَبِيجَانَ، وَرَكِبُوا فِي الْبَحْرِ فِي نَهْرِ الْكَرِّ، وَهُوَ نَهْرٌ كَبِيرٌ، فَانْتَهَوْا إِلَى بَرْدَعَةَ، فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ نَائِبُ الْمَرْزُبَانِ بِبَرْدَعَةَ فِي جَمْعٍ مِنَ الدَّيْلَمِ وَالْمُطَّوَّعَةِ يَزِيدُونَ عَلَى خَمْسَةِ آلَافِ رَجُلٍ، فَلَقُوا الرُّوسَ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ إِلَّا سَاعَةً حَتَّى انْهَزَمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْهُمْ، وَقُتِلَ الدَّيْلَمُ عَنْ آخِرِهِمْ، تَبِعَهُمُ الرُّوسُ إِلَى الْبَلَدِ، فَهَرَبَ مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ مَرْكُوبٌ وَتَرَكَ الْبَلَدَ، فَنَزَلَهُ الرُّوسُ وَنَادَوْا فِيهِ بِالْأَمَانِ فَأَحْسَنُوا السِّيرَةَ. وَأَقْبَلَتِ الْعَسَاكِرُ الْإِسْلَامِيَّةُ مِنْ كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ، فَكَانَتِ الرُّوسُ تُقَاتِلُهُمْ، فَلَا يَثْبُتُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ لَهُمْ، وَكَانَ عَامَّةُ الْبَلَدِ يَخْرُجُونَ وَيَرْجُمُونَ الرُّوسَ بِالْحِجَارَةِ، وَيَصِيحُونَ بِهِمْ، فَيَنْهَاهُمُ الرُّوسُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، فَلَمْ يَنْتَهُوا، سِوَى الْعُقَلَاءِ فَإِنَّهُمْ كَفُّوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَسَائِرُ الْعَامَّةِ وَالرُّعَاعُ لَا يَضْبِطُونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ، فَلَمَّا طَالَ ذَلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ نَادَى مُنَادِيهِمْ بِخُرُوجِ أَهْلِ الْبَلَدِ مِنْهُ، وَأَنْ لَا يُقِيمُوا بَعْدَ ثَلَاثَةِ أَيَّامٍ، فَخَرَجَ مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ ظَهْرٌ يَحْمِلُهُ، وَبَقِيَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بَعْدَ الْأَجَلِ، فَوَضَعَ الرُّوسِيَّةُ فِيهِمُ السِّلَاحَ، فَقَتَلُوا مِنْهُمْ خَلْقًا كَثِيرًا، وَأَسَرُوا بَعْدَ الْقَتْلِ بِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ أَلْفَ نَفْسٍ، وَجَمَعُوا مَنْ بَقِيَ بِالْجَامِعِ، وَقَالُوا: اشْتَرُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَإِلَّا قَتَلْنَاكُمْ، وَسَعَى لَهُمْ إِنْسَانٌ نَصْرَانِيٌّ، فَقَرَّرَ عَنْ كُلِّ رَجُلٍ عِشْرِينَ دِرْهَمًا، فَلَمْ يَقْبَلْ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا عُقَلَاؤُهُمْ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى الرُّوسِيَّةُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُحَصَّلُ مِنْهُمْ شَيْءٌ، قَتَلُوهُمْ عَنْ آخِرِهِمْ، وَلَمْ يَنْجُ مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا الشَّرِيدُ، وَغَنِمُوا أَمْوَالَ أَهْلِهَا وَاسْتَعْبَدُوا السَّبْيَ، وَاخْتَارُوا مِنَ النِّسَاءِ مَنِ اسْتَحْسَنُوهَا.
Translation
✧ Mention of the Rūs’ possession of the city of Bardhaʿa In this year a party of the Rūsiyya went out by sea to the regions of Adharbayjān, and they sailed by sea into the river al-Kurr, which is a great river, and ended up at Bardhaʿa. The deputy of al-Marzubān at Bardhaʿa came out against them with a gathering of the Daylam and volunteers, exceeding five thousand men. They met the Rūs, and it was no more than an hour before the Muslims were routed by them, and the Daylam were killed to the last of them. The Rūs pursued them to the town, and those who had a mount fled and abandoned the town. The Rūs entered it and proclaimed safety therein, and they behaved well. The Muslim armies advanced from every direction, and the Rūs fought them, so the Muslims could not stand firm against them. Most of the townspeople would go out and stone the Rūs and shout at them, and the Rūs forbade them from that, but they did not desist, except the sensible ones, for they restrained themselves. The rest of the common people and the rabble would not control themselves. When that went on for a long time for them, their crier proclaimed that the people of the town should leave it, and that they should not remain after three days. Those who had a mount to carry them left, and most of them remained after the deadline. The Rūsiyya put the weapon among them, and they killed many people from among them, and after the killing they took captive some ten thousand souls. They gathered those who remained in the cathedral mosque and said: “Buy your lives, or else we will kill you.” A Christian man interceded for them and fixed twenty dirhams for every man, but only the sensible ones among them accepted that. When the Rūsiyya saw that nothing could be obtained from them, they killed them to the last of them, and none of them escaped except the fugitive. They plundered the property of its people and enslaved the captives, and they chose from among the women those they deemed beautiful.
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