Tarikh (al-Tabari) 4173
Then the year 351 AH began
ذِكْرُ اسْتِيلَاءِ الرُّومِ عَلَى عَيْنِ زَرْبَةَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ فِي الْمُحَرَّمِ، نَزَلَ الرُّومُ مَعَ الدُّمُسْتُقِ عَلَى عَيْنِ زَرْبَةَ، وَهِيَ فِي سَفْحِ جَبَلٍ عَظِيمٍ، وَهُوَ مُشْرِفٌ عَلَيْهَا، وَهُمْ جَمْعٌ عَظِيمٌ، فَأَنْفَذَ بَعْضَ عَسْكَرِهِ، فَصَعِدُوا الْجَبَلَ فَمَلَكُوهُ، فَلَمَّا رَأَى ذَلِكَ أَهْلُهَا، وَأَنَّ الدُّمُسْتُقَ قَدْ ضَيَّقَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَمَعَهُ الدَّبَّابَاتُ، وَقَدْ وَصَلَ إِلَى السُّورِ وَشَرَعَ فِي النَّقْبِ، طَلَبُوا الْأَمَانَ فَأَمَّنَهُمُ الدُّمُسْتُقُ، وَفَتَحُوا لَهُ بَابَ الْمَدِينَةِ فَدَخَلَهَا، فَرَأَى أَصْحَابُهُ الَّذِينَ فِي الْجَبَلِ قَدْ نَزَلُوا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ، فَنَدِمَ عَلَى إِجَابَتِهِمْ إِلَى الْأَمَانِ. وَنَادَى فِي الْبَلَدِ أَوَّلَ اللَّيْلِ بِأَنْ يَخْرُجَ جَمِيعُ أَهْلِهِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْجَامِعِ، وَمَنْ تَأَخَّرَ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ قُتِلَ، فَخَرَجَ مَنْ أَمْكَنَهُ الْخُرُوجُ، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ أَنْفَذَ رِجَّالَتَهُ فِي الْمَدِينَةِ، وَكَانُوا سِتِّينَ أَلْفًا، وَأَمَرَهُمْ بِقَتْلِ مَنْ وَجَدُوهُ فِي مَنْزِلِهِ، فَقَتَلُوا خَلْقًا كَثِيرًا ( مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالصِّبْيَانِ، وَأَمَرَ بِجَمْعِ مَا فِي الْبَلَدِ مِنَ السِّلَاحِ فَجُمِعَ، فَكَانَ شَيْئًا كَثِيرًا ). وَأَمَرَ مَنْ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ بِأَنْ يَخْرُجُوا مِنَ الْبَلَدِ حَيْثُ شَاءُوا يَوْمَهُمْ ذَلِكَ، وَمَنْ أَمْسَى قُتِلَ، فَخَرَجُوا مُزْدَحِمَيْنِ، فَمَاتَ بِالزَّحْمَةِ جَمَاعَةٌ، وَمَرُّوا عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ لَا يَدْرُونَ أَيْنَ يَتَوَجَّهُونَ، فَمَاتُوا فِي الطُّرُقَاتِ، وَقَتَلَ الرُّومُ مَنْ وَجَدُوهُ بِالْمَدِينَةِ آخِرَ النَّهَارِ، وَأَخَذُوا كُلَّ مَا خَلَّفَهُ النَّاسُ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِهِمْ، وَهَدَمُوا سُورَيِ الْمَدِينَةِ. وَأَقَامَ الدُّمُسْتُقُ فِي بَلَدِ الْإِسْلَامِ أَحَدًا وَعِشْرِينَ يَوْمًا، وَفَتَحَ حَوْلَ عَيْنِ زَرْبَةَ أَرْبَعَةً وَخَمْسِينَ حِصْنًا لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ بَعْضُهَا بِالسَّيْفِ وَبَعْضُهَا بِالْأَمَانِ، وَإِنَّ حِصْنًا مِنْ تِلْكَ الْحُصُونِ الَّتِي فُتِحَتْ بِالْأَمَانِ أَمَرَ أَهْلَهُ بِالْخُرُوجِ مِنْهُ فَخَرَجُوا، فَتَعَرَّضَ أَحَدُ الْأَرْمَنِ لِبَعْضِ حُرَمِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَلِحَقَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ غَيْرَةٌ عَظِيمَةٌ، فَجَرَّدُوا سُيُوفَهُمْ، فَاغْتَاظَ الدُّمُسْتُقُ لِذَلِكَ، فَأَمَرَ بِقَتْلِ جَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَكَانُوا أَرْبَعَمِائَةِ رَجُلٍ، وَقَتْلِ النِّسَاءِ وَالصِّبْيَانِ، وَلَمْ يَتْرُكْ إِلَّا مَنْ يَصْلُحُ أَنْ يُسْتَرَقَّ. فَلَمَّا أَدْرَكَهُ الصَّوْمُ، انْصَرَفَ عَلَى أَنْ يَعُودَ بَعْدَ الْعِيدِ، وَخَلَّفَ جَيْشَهُ بِقَيْسَارِيَّةَ، وَكَانَ ابْنُ الزَّيَّاتِ صَاحِبُ طَرَسُوسَ، قَدْ خَرَجَ فِي أَرْبَعَةِ آلَافِ رَجُلٍ مِنَ الطَرَسُوسِيِّينَ، فَأَوْقَعَ بِهِمُ الدُّمُسْتُقُ، فَقَتَلَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ، وَقَتَلَ أَخًا لِابْنِ الزَّيَّاتِ، فَعَادَ إِلَى طَرَسُوسَ، وَكَانَ قَدْ قَطَعَ الْخُطْبَةَ لِسَيْفِ الدَّوْلَةِ ( بْنِ حَمْدَانَ، فَلَمَّا أَصَابَهُمْ هَذَا الْوَهَنُ، أَعَادَ أَهْلُ الْبَلَدِ الْخُطْبَةَ لِسَيْفِ الدَّوْلَةِ ) وَرَاسَلُوهُ بِذَلِكَ، فَلَمَّا عَلِمَ ابْنُ الزَّيَّاتِ حَقِيقَةَ الْأَمْرِ، صَعِدَ إِلَى رَوْشَنَ فِي دَارِهِ فَأَلْقَى نَفْسَهُ مِنْهُ إِلَى نَهْرٍ تَحْتَهُ فَغَرِقَ، وَرَاسَلَ أَهْلُ بَغْرَاسَ الدُّمُسْتُقَ، وَبَذَلُوا لَهُ مِائَةَ أَلْفِ دِرْهَمٍ، فَأَقَرَّهُمْ وَتَرَكَ مُعَارَضَتَهُمْ.
Translation
✧ Mention of the Byzantines' seizure of ʿAyn Zarbah In this year, in Muḥarram, the Byzantines with the Domesticus encamped at ʿAyn Zarbah, which is at the foot of a great mountain that overlooks it, and they were a great host. He dispatched part of his army, and they climbed the mountain and took possession of it. When its people saw that, and that the Domesticus had pressed them hard, having with him siege engines, and had reached the wall and begun to breach it, they sought safe-conduct, and the Domesticus granted them safe-conduct. They opened the city gate for him, and he entered it. Then he saw that his men who were on the mountain had come down to the city, and he regretted having granted them safe-conduct. At the beginning of the night he proclaimed in the town that all its inhabitants should go out to the congregational mosque, and whoever delayed in his house would be killed. So those who could go out went out. When morning came, he sent his infantry into the city, and they were sixty thousand, and ordered them to kill anyone they found in his house. So they killed a great many of men, women, and children, and he ordered the collection of all the weapons in the town, and they were gathered, and it was a great quantity. He ordered those in the mosque to leave the town wherever they wished that day, and whoever remained until evening would be killed. So they went out crowding one another, and a group died in the crush. They wandered bewildered, not knowing where to turn, and died on the roads. The Byzantines killed those they found in the city at the end of the day, and took all the property and goods that people had left behind, and demolished the city's two walls. The Domesticus remained in Muslim territory for twenty-one days, and captured fifty-four Muslim fortresses around ʿAyn Zarbah, some by the sword and some by safe-conduct. One of those fortresses that was captured by safe-conduct: he ordered its people to leave it, and they left. Then one of the Armenians molested some of the Muslim women, and great zeal seized the Muslims, so they drew their swords. The Domesticus was angered by that, and ordered the killing of all the Muslims, who were four hundred men, and the killing of the women and children, and he spared none except those fit to be enslaved. When the fast overtook him, he departed, intending to return after the feast, and left his army at Caesarea. Ibn al-Zayyāt, the governor of Ṭarsūs, had gone out with four thousand men of the people of Ṭarsūs, and the Domesticus fell upon them and killed most of them, and killed a brother of Ibn al-Zayyāt. So he returned to Ṭarsūs. He had previously suspended the khuṭbah for Sayf al-Dawlah b. Ḥamdān, but when this weakness befell them, the people of the town restored the khuṭbah for Sayf al-Dawlah and wrote to him about that. When Ibn al-Zayyāt learned the truth of the matter, he climbed to a balcony in his house and threw himself from it into a river below and drowned. The people of Baghrās wrote to the Domesticus and offered him a hundred thousand dirhams, and he left them alone and ceased to trouble them.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording. Ask what scholars say about its grade