Tarikh (al-Tabari) 4215
Then the year 354 AH began
ذِكْرُ اسْتِيلَاءِ الرُّومِ عَلَى الْمَصِّيصَةِ وَطَرَسُوسَ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ فَتَحَ الرُّومُ الْمَصِّيصَةَ وَطَرَسُوسَ. وَكَانَ سَبَبُ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ نِقْفُورَ مَلِكَ الرُّومِ بَنَى بِقَيْسَارِيَّةَ مَدِينَةً لِيَقْرُبَ مِنْ بِلَادِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَأَقَامَ بِهَا، وَنَقَلَ أَهْلَهُ إِلَيْهَا، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَيْهِ أَهْلُ طَرَسُوسَ وَالْمَصِّيصَةَ ( يَبْذُلُونَ لَهُ إِتَاوَةً )، وَيَطْلُبُونَ مِنْهُ أَنْ يُنْفِذَ إِلَيْهِمْ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِهِ يُقِيمُ عِنْدَهُمْ، فَعَزَمَ عَلَى إِجَابَتِهِمْ إِلَى ذَلِكَ. فَأَتَاهُ الْخَبَرُ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَدْ ضَعُفُوا وَعَجَزُوا، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا نَاصِرَ لَهُمْ، وَأَنَّ الْغَلَاءَ قَدِ اشْتَدَّ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَقَدْ عَجَزُوا عَنِ الْقُوتِ، وَأَكَلُوا الْكِلَابَ وَالْمَيْتَةَ، وَقَدْ كَثُرَ فِيهِمُ الْوَبَاءُ، فَيَمُوتُ مِنْهُمْ فِي الْيَوْمِ ثَلَاثُمِائَةِ نَفْسٍ، فَعَادَ نَقْفُورُ عَنْ إِجَابَتِهِمْ، وَأَحْضَرَ الرَّسُولَ وَأَحْرَقَ الْكِتَابَ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ، وَاحْتَرَقَتْ لِحْيَتُهُ، وَقَالَ لَهُمْ: أَنْتُمْ كَالْحَيَّةِ، فِي الشِّتَاءِ تُخَدَّرُ وَتَذْبُلُ حَتَّى تَكَادَ تَمُوتُ، فَإِنْ أَخَذَهَا إِنْسَانٌ وَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهَا وَأَدْفَأَهَا، انْتَعَشَتْ وَنَهَشَتْهُ، وَأَنْتُمْ إِنَّمَا أَطَعْتُمْ لِضَعْفِكُمْ، وَإِنْ تَرَكْتُكُمْ حَتَّى تَسْتَقِيمَ أَحْوَالُكُمْ، تَأَذَّيْتُ بِكُمْ. وَأَعَادَ الرَّسُولَ، وَجَمَعَ جُيُوشَ الرُّومِ، وَسَارَ إِلَى الْمَصِّيصَةِ بِنَفْسِهِ، فَحَاصَرَهَا وَفَتَحَهَا عَنْوَةً ( بِالسَّيْفِ يَوْمَ السَّبْتِ ثَالِثَ عَشَرَ رَجَبٍ )، وَوَضَعَ السَّيْفَ فِيهِمْ، فَقَتَلَ مِنْهُمْ مَقْتَلَةً عَظِيمَةً، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ السَّيْفَ وَنَقَلَ كُلَّ مَنْ بِهَا إِلَى بَلَدِ الرُّومِ، كَانُوا نَحْوَ مِائَتَيْ أَلْفِ إِنْسَانٍ. ثُمَّ سَارَ إِلَى طَرَسُوسَ فَحَصَرَهَا، فَأَذْعَنَ أَهْلُهَا بِالطَّاعَةِ، وَطَلَبُوا الْأَمَانَ، فَأَجَابَهُمْ إِلَيْهِ وَفَتَحُوا الْبَلَدَ، فَلَقِيَهُمْ بِالْجَمِيلِ، وَأَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يَحْمِلُوا مِنْ سِلَاحِهِمْ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ ( مَا يُطِيقُونَ ) وَيَتْرُكُوا الْبَاقِيَ، فَفَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ، وَسَارُوا بَرًا وَبَحْرًا، وَسَيَّرَ مَعَهُمْ مَنْ يَحْمِيهِمْ حَتَّى بَلَغُوا أَنْطَاكِيَّةَ. وَجَعَلَ الْمَلِكُ الْمَسْجِدَ الْجَامِعَ إِصْطَبْلًا لِدَوَابِّهِ، وَأَحْرَقَ الْمِنْبَرَ، وَعَمَّرَ طَرَسُوسَ وَحِصْنَهَا، وَجَلَبَ الْمِيرَةَ إِلَيْهَا حَتَّى رَخُصَتِ الْأَسْعَارُ، وَتَرَاجَعَ إِلَيْهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا، وَدَخَلُوا فِي طَاعَةِ الْمَلِكِ، وَتَنَصَّرَ بَعْضُهُمْ. وَأَرَادَ الْمَقَامَ بِهَا لِيَقْرُبَ مِنْ بِلَادِ الْإِسْلَامِ، ثُمَّ عَادَ إِلَى الْقُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةِ، وَأَرَادَ الدُّمُسْتُقُ وَهُوَ ابْنُ الشَّمَشْقِيقِ أَنْ يَقْصِدَ مَيَّافَارِقِينَ، وَبِهَا سَيْفُ الدَّوْلَةِ، فَأَمَرَهُ الْمَلِكُ بِاتِّبَاعِهِ إِلَى الْقُسْطَنْطِينِيَّةِ، فَمَضَى إِلَيْهِ.
Translation
✧ Mention of the Byzantines' seizure of al-Maṣṣīṣa and Ṭarsūs In this year the Byzantines conquered al-Maṣṣīṣa and Ṭarsūs. The reason for that was that Niqfūr, king of the Byzantines, built a city at Qaysāriyya in order to be close to the lands of Islam, and he resided there and moved his family to it. The people of Ṭarsūs and al-Maṣṣīṣa sent to him offering him tribute and asking him to send some of his companions to stay with them, so he resolved to grant them that. Then news came to him that they had become weak and helpless, that they had no supporter, that high prices had become severe for them, and they had become unable to obtain food, eating dogs and carrion, and that plague had become widespread among them, with three hundred of them dying in a day. So Niqfūr went back on granting their request. He summoned the envoy and burned the letter over his head, and his beard was singed. He said to them: "You are like a snake: in winter it hibernates and withers until it nearly dies. If a person takes it, treats it kindly, and warms it, it revives and bites him. You have only obeyed because of your weakness, and if I leave you until your conditions improve, I will suffer harm from you." He sent the envoy back, gathered the Byzantine armies, and marched to al-Maṣṣīṣa in person. He besieged it and conquered it by force with the sword on Saturday, the thirteenth of Rajab. He put them to the sword, killing a great number of them. Then he stayed the sword and transported everyone in it to Byzantine territory—about two hundred thousand people. Then he marched to Ṭarsūs and besieged it. Its people submitted in obedience and sought safe-conduct, and he granted them that. They opened the city, and he treated them kindly, ordering them to carry what they could of their weapons and wealth and leave the rest. They did so and departed by land and sea, and he sent protectors with them until they reached Antioch. The king made the congregational mosque a stable for his mounts, burned the minbar, and rebuilt Ṭarsūs and its fortress. He brought provisions to it until prices became cheap. Many of its people returned to it, entered into obedience to the king, and some of them became Christians. He wanted to stay there in order to be close to the lands of Islam, but then he returned to Constantinople. The Domesticus—who was Ibn al-Shamshiqīq—wanted to make for Mayyāfāriqīn, where Sayf al-Dawla was, but the king ordered him to follow him to Constantinople, so he went to him.
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