1759 CE Safed and Baalbek Quakes

Al Bidiri (eyewitness) writes: At the beginning of Rabia' II (Tishrin II), not a drop of water had fallen from the sky. The night of Tuesday 8 Rabia' II, in the last third of the night, the muezzins launched the call to prayer from the minarets and then came a slight earthquake, followed by a second tremor, then a third. Then, in Damascus, the earthquake was enormous, and the Damascenes believed the last hour had come. There was very significant destruction of houses and mosques. Most minarets lost their tops throughout Syria. We cannot count the damaged houses and other places in all the country. Even the dome of An-Naçr, which stood atop Mount Qassiun was shaken and half destroyed. In the villages of Syria, there was a lot of rubble, burying countless victims.

The second night^1a, the earth shook at the same moment as the day before and in the morning the earthquake continued, and during the day too, it continued again, several times, but lighter than the first two shocks. Panic and dismay were their height. People evacuated their homes and they slept in the alleys, the gardens, the cemeteries and tombs, the plantations, and the courtyard of the Umayyad mosque.

During this earthquake, the Qunaytira hotel fell on its occupants, and there were few survivors among the animals and travelers. The same disaster occurred at the Khan of Sa'asa'. News came to Damascus that the towns and villages of Syria had collapsed on their inhabitants without sparing any survivors.

On Tuesday night, at the tenth hour of the night, On the 5th of Rabia' II, the sky parted, and we heard cries, rolling noises, thunderclaps, and horror. Illuminated people saw the ceilings rise, the stars appear, and the ceilings return to their place.

News came that mountains had collided, imprisoning villages which disappeared without any trace of them being found.

On the night of Friday 18 Rabia' I, at the time of the twilight prayer, a shooting star crossed the sky from west to east, illuminating the mountains and houses. Then it fell and we heard a huge sound, louder than a cannon shot, and we saw lightning. During the first shocks, an enormous rock fell into the Qanawat river, which it blocked and the city waited for water for 11 days. It took 11 days to cut this rock and let the river water pass through. People endured two misfortunes: the earthquake and the water cut.

On the night of Monday 6 Rabia' II, at the fifth hour, a prodigious earthquake occurred, with a power of several degrees. There were terrible tremors. The rest of the minarets collapsed. The great lady of the Umayyad Mosque collapsed, as well as the entire North Pillar, the Madrasa Al Kallasata was also destroyed, as was the Al-Barid gate and the towers of the citadel, and most houses of Damascus. Those which had not fallen had nevertheless been badly damaged. Many victims were killed in the villages, people evacuated their houses to escape and take refuge in orchards, plantations, and cemeteries. They pitched tents in the fields and took refuge there with their families. Despite this, the shaking did not stop, during neither the day nor the night. Then the governor of Syria Abd-Allah Bacha-Achataji ordered that everyone shout together for 3 days in the great mosque for a solemn prayer, the Friday, because we knew that God was not deaf to the invocations that rose from the mosque (Al Muçlaa).

People went to the mosque. Then the governor joined them, with the notables, the muphti and the judge. The scholars followed, women and children. They spent 3 days in prayers, supplications, implorations, like the day of Arafat, as one can imagine the Last Day.

God merciful more than the Clements forgave, the tremors diminished, became lighter. The people stayed in the orchards and meadows, not very reassured, until the snow and rain. So they returned, still not very reassured.

On 8 Djumada II, news came from Damascus that Abd-Allah Bacha-Achataji had fallen disgrace, and on 22 Djumada II, the governor was transferred to Diyar Baqr.

On the night of Monday 25 Djumada II, before dawn, an earthquake occurred in Syria, lighter than the previous one.

Rumors circulated, announcing more violent earthquakes, people gave in to panic, went out again to the cemeteries and gardens, imploring her, mercy of God.

On the first Monday of Rajeb, the new governor Muhammad Pasha-ach-châlik ibn Bulaîd-Pasha made his entry.

In the middle of the month of Rajeb, intense winds blew for 4 days and 4 nights, destroying many places, leaving very few trees standing. The tremors were incessant, night and day.

Prices soared, even those of vegetables. The historians testify:

The poor man had no more resources, the rubble from the earthquakes constantly accumulated. The townspeople sought refuse in the countryside:

During the day of Saturday 22 Rajeb, an architect specializing (in domes) came from Constantinople. His name was Sabaniah Zada. He examines the Umayyad mosque, to reconstruct the dome and its northern pillar, the minarets damaged by the earthquake. With him was a site manager, workers, men to undertake the repairs to the mosque.

We noticed that a plague epidemic had begun, weak at first in Djumada II, increasingly strong in Rajeb and Chaeban. The price rise was also growing.

The month of Ramadan began on Thursday, so the festival (Eid) took place on Friday. It was a celebration for the dead more than for the living. Two days before 'Eid al-Fitr, and two days after the festival, of each Damascus Gate left 1000 funeral processions of victims of the plague. This has never been seen since the time of the plague of 'Amwas^1b.

Al Ghazzî writes^2a: I saw in the text of Chihab ad-Dîn Ahmad al-'Aglouni Ad-Dimachqi Adj-Djarahi -ch-Chafîf, died on Monday 18 Dhul Qi'ada 1188, that the night of Tuesday 6 Rabiaâ I, (in the middle of Tishrin I), an earthquake had occurred at the tenth hour of the night, the ground had suffered a violent shaking, then subsided, then the agonizing trembling resumed; the wind had blown in a storm, with many claps of thunder, the people were stunned, the ceilings had cracked, the walls had split and there had been in Syria, a quantity countless houses destroyed. The tops of the minarets of Damascus had collapsed, the minaret East of the Great Umayyad Mosque had been damaged, as well as part of the Al Arous minaret; Overall, this mosque had not been significantly damaged.

On the other hand, all the minarets of Damascus had been affected, with rare exceptions.

Other shocks occurred the next day (7 Rabia' I) In the morning, the earth shook very hard and the minaret of the venerable mosque of the Umayyads was damaged, as well as the North and East walls; we heard a loud noise. All the minarets were greatly weakened, even that of the Sulaymaya al-Mahyawiya mosque, (Mosque built by Sultan Selim II, near the tomb of Muahy ad-Din b-Araby) in the Salahyya district. Sections of construction were rushed to the ground, finally, the minaret collapsed. Same disaster at the mosque Muzafary, at the minaret of the Sibay mosque, at the Mu'alaq mosque, Hassan Mosque, Emir Mandjaq Mosque, Mahallat Masjid al-Aqcab, to the minarets of the mosques of al-M1dân square, the other minarets of the mosques of Damascus were not spared, with rare exceptions close.

The great dome of Naçr, in the great mosque, split and was weakened, the east wall of this mosque was cracked, and most of the houses in Damascus had their ceilings demolished. The battlements of the great mosque, which were 5 cubits long and dominated by a from a man's height the ceiling of the mosque over its entire perimeter were shot down. They had been built to cut off the view of the neighboring houses to those who climbed onto the roof of the mosque. The battlements collapsed on nearby buildings, including the houses of the Ghazzites. The Khaloutya room, At-tabakhya, in the Simisiatids convent (north-east of the Cmayyad mosque) was damaged, and the vault of the Nawan Hall was dislocated. This is for the northern parts of the mosque.

The other sides of the mosque suffered the same damage. The stones were broken, the columns of the mosque split, on the side of the door which opens onto the venerable mausoleum of the Prophet, in front of the capital which supports the dome.

At the end of the month of Rabia' I, people implored God to put an end to this ordeal, the likes of which they had never seen. They read the whole tradition of Imam Bukhari and the marvelous Quran many times. They implored God with divine formulas and the formulas of the prophet. During this night, at Chihab's house Ahmad -b- Al Mininl, two floors collapsed on top of each other and 6 of his children died under the rubble. The father did their funeral toilet and buried them together Marj-ad-Dahdah. Three other victims died under the rubble of the minaret of Mahalat al-Midan. A man was killed by the crescent of the minaret of the mosque of Hassan when he had come out of an oven which he feared the collapse. That night the earth shook in Çafad (Safed), most of the inhabitants died; there were 1,300 Jewish victims. A large part of Nablus was destroyed, and there was a crowd of victims. In Acre, the earth shook in the same way and part of the towers the enclosure fell into the sea. Among the other towns affected: Tiberias, Dir Hanâ, Qala' at al-Jandal^1c, the country of Chouf, the rest of Palestinian coast: Saida, Beirut, Tripoli, Latakia, Djafa, Haifa, all the rest of the coast of northern Syria, not a single one remained village of Jebel Druze which was not affected by the disaster, the Khâns were destroyed, and collapsed on the travelers.

In Damascus, the number of victims (men and women) is incalculable. The catastrophe which occurred at the Damascus mosque was without previous precedent. And this disaster had an amplitude less than one degree. The people cried out to God, fearing that the Last Day had come, asking him what would become of them after the resurrection. The people came running from the West and the coast, the Damascenes told them, Praise be to God, he spared us, among your neighbors there are only a few survivors.

The Umayyad Mosque was restored by the governor of Damascus Ach—Chitadji and the administrator[s] of the Waqfs of the mosque, the sheikh, the mawla Ali ibn-Baha-d-Dîn b-Mohammed Muràd, al Mùràdi, the Hussimid An-Naqchabandi, mufti Sàda the Hanafi of Damascus, who displayed intense zeal to repair the minarets. The rickety sections of wall of the eastern minaret were torn down. The workers were afraid to put hands on it as the enormous construction had become fragile. The team of Christian masons asked a crazy price to accomplish demolition work as they required security fences. The governor sent to cut enormous pieces of wood which he had transported towards the mosque. Much wood was felled in the famous groves from the valley east of Damascus and other places. We transported the pieces until they filled the mosque. All the saws of the city were requisitioned to cut large beams a third or so thick of a quarter of a cubit. The masons erected the scaffolding around the minaret in question. The Christian Masons protested before the necessary work and a member of the guild (Al-Habtalf) was delegated as the sawyer [one who saws] to order the demolition and he took up the challenge: he climbed the minaret without scaffolding, up to the crescent, without removing his Qauq^1d (headdress) nor his Chukchtra (pants)^2b. He took a hammer and a small iron chisel and he freed the stones which he threw down.

Spectators watched him from the courtyard of the mosque. He thus demolished part of the minaret, which at that time measured 35 cubits higher than today in height and 5 cubits more in width. The crescent rested on a large stone. Seeing these exploits, the Christian masons looked grim. The governor that we mentioned above was there when Habtali accomplished his feat and he rewarded him with a magnificent present, and promised him another when the construction was completed. The masons set to work. They prepared the mortar and dug the foundations to rebuild the building.

The month of Rabia' II began on Wednesday and Monday the 16th after the evening prayer, in the venerable mosque, a shock took place, which lasted 3/4 of an hour and was very violent. We had never recorded anything like it before.

The mountains began to move, the earth to jump, and the waters to sink. The shock calmed down and a second followed it, softer, of an amplitude by 2 degrees. People implored God who sounded the future, the spirits lost their way, the strongest became frightened, the dust and darkness came at that moment; that moment, the darkness spread, the people were surprised by this disaster, overwhelming, Through this overwhelming terror, tongues tied, words cut off, their eyes sunk, their lips dried up. The earth shook and undulated like broth on the fire. The minaret of Damascus fell, broken like a straw. The East Minaret mentioned fell, and it was no longer necessary to demolish it. The dome of An-Naçr fell despite the remarkable quality of its construction. The North Pillar fell, with all its columns supporting also of good quality as well as their bows.

Between two columns were placed marble arches, made of eight-sided stones; the eastern minaret fell on the mosque, it demolished three mihrab^1e which were near him. Walls and ceilings cracked and almost collapsed. It is God who commands, God the Lord Almighty. All the domes of Damascus collapsed and the Yalbugha mosque collapsed with its immense dome and its minaret, and yet, it was of remarkable construction quality. The Khan that Asa 'ad-masha, governor of Damascus, had built, lost three domes. The houses of Damascus were almost entirely demolished. The victims were countless that night. Neighboring villages of Damascus were damaged and an inestimable quantity of animals and people died there. The devastation extended to the villages of the hills and there were more than 500 victims. There were few survivors. The mountain villages were devastated, such as Al-Hama and Zabadani, in the Barada valley, there was an uncountable number victims buried under the rubble.

The walls of Damascus collapsed into the river 'Aqrabâ and its course was crossed out. The western wall of the citadel of Damascus collapsed totally; by blocking the course of the Bânyâs. The roads were blocked. Dust, wood, stones. The sky shook, the earth moved, fortunes and crowds were destroyed. No one can know the number; everything has disappeared, the furniture, the domestic belongings, the porcelain pottery, a number of other objects. It is an action that God thus accomplished to make it known that all the things of this world would disappear one day. People became landless, always on the run. The Damascenes evacuated the city, taking their belongings, by taking their children. They pitched tents and stayed 3 months out of town.

On the occasion of this earthquake, the scholar Mustafa b-Ahmad b-Mohammed, originally from Damiàt, resident in Damascus, where he died, known under the name of Al-Luqimi, the chafifte, composed this poem:

I will forget all the good times of the broken,
I will never forget the night of the earthquake,
yes reminds us of the cradle,
and shows us the dance of the mountains,
makes us see the palaces cradled like a child.

When the governor of Damascus, ach-Chitadjî, made the report of the events at the Sublime Porte (in Constantinople) where he had informed the Sultan on the state of the Umayyad mosque, the citadel of Damascus, and other destroyed places, he asked him where were the repairers.

At that time, Sultan Mustafa, the son of Sultan Ahmed, reigned ; he issued a decree ordering reconstruction and sent to Damascus as secretary Mustafa Mohammed nicknamed Isbatahdji^1f, who, upon his arrival in Damascus, reported the decree and orders of the Sultan (this was happening in the year 1174).

The Governor of Damascus and the Judge of Judges Sati Ali b-Mustafa b-Khatan Effendi, the Hanafist, went down to the mosque to take an inventory of damages. The person in charge of the Waqf was called.

An anonymous historian writes:

Let us now consider^2c the earthquake in terms of the damage it caused to schools, mosques, almshouses, caravanserais, mausoleums, markets, and homes. We will leave the numbers to the discretion of God who knows everything. The earthquake occurred on the night of 7 Rabia'a I, after half past ten in the evening. We were in a village near Dames, in the district of La Chuta: Barza^1g. There is in this village the mausoleum of Abraham al-Khalil, upon this prophet remaining prayer and peace. It was there that he saw the moon appear and he thanked God for having allowed him to find one another according to ibn 'Asâkr^2d.

In this mosque rests one of the companions of the prophet, which makes the village bear his name.

Here is a poem about the earthquake:

He made him who was standing sit down, and
wake the sleeper,
the earth was shaken with its inhabitants,
the one who lived righteously and the one who was in the wrong.

The people were overwhelmed, women, children, animals. We heard various voices, haunting like the sound of waterfalls, which lasted until morning. We gathered for prayer in a garden outside the village. It was the garden of the heirs of the late 'Agha al-Warana. We stayed there three days and three nights, the earthquake continued night and day. People brought us news of Damascus and Salahya. Some people told us that the top of the minaret East of the Umayyad Mosque had fallen. It was called the minaret of Our Lord Jesus, according to Tradition which says that Jesus will descend at the end of time on the white minaret east of Damascus, at the time of Lord Muhammad al-Mahdy. It will be brought by a cloud, with an angel on his right and an angel on his left, his face will be covered with sweat. It is indeed this minaret, no one has confused it with the one yes is also located east of Damascus, on the square of the Orient Gate.

Women. The women congratulated each other on having survived. But my insides were naked before these blows of fate. We cleared the rubble to extract the corpses. The death market was saturated. People buried their dead without funeral. The son carried his father, the brother his brother, neighbor his neighbor. There were up to 8 bodies buried in the same grave. The earthquake lasted without anyone seeing safety arrive. The people stayed in the orchards and the mountains, under tents. Sleep no longer came when they closed their eyelids. They no longer knew sleep. We cannot count the victims buried under the rubble, only God knows their number. I wanted to take an inventory of the destroyed mosques, public baths (hammams), and schools, because I could not estimate the number of victims. I went down in Damascus to al-Barîd gate, to see the devastation suffered by the solitary mosque built by WalId as-Salih, the Umayyad, who was fair and righteous, and who had spent an incalculable amount of money. The mosque had 7 doors; one is there. Bab-al-Barid^1h: to its right and to its left, you find two small doors, they overlook the Bab al-Barid market. This is the district where the big traders are: musk traders, amber, 'Ud, perfumers and sellers of rose water and other flowers. Another large door is called Bah-Djirun, to the east of the mosque, at its right and to its left, two small doors flank it, and it opens onto the Adh—Dhahabiya market.

This is the district of scarves embroidered with gold and silver, there is a coffee that has no equal. There is a jet of water there 5 cubits high stambouliennes [Istanbul like ?], the water flows into a large basin.

Opposite the coffee market is a thermal bath called Adh-Dhahabiya - you climb ten steps to access it, it is among the most beautiful hammams [thermal bath]. There is also the mosque of the Prophet John (Yahya).

Another large northern gate is close to Chirabâchyya. Another large gate, to the north, is called Bab-as-Sâ'at, it overlooks the Al-Kalasa school.

Two smaller gates were built after the repairs. A large door is to the south. It is called 'Ambarânyya. All these doors are covered with yellow copper, chiseled, on each the name of its builder and that of its decorator is written.

The mosque is decorated with three minarets. One is called the eastern minaret is the minaret of Jesus, son of Mary; In these minarets 75 muezzines, doua'ajys and chiefs are employed. There are 7 schools there. The most grandiose is located below the dome An-Nâçir. There are 25 study locations. In everyone there is a master since morning prayer until noon, serving students in all science.

Outside the sanctuary there are two domes, one of which rests on 8 columns, the other on 6. One of the two has a basin from which water gushes out.

The mosque has 4 covered aisles: one to the east, near the minaret of the Lord Jesus; there is a master of the Chochtouri sect there, and there the rosary is said after the great Friday prayer.

The second covered aisle is outside the sanctuary, there is a master who leads the litany on Friday nights and Monday.

The third aisle is to the West. There is another Chochtourite master. There the rosary is said every Friday after the afternoon prayer.

The fourth aisle is to the west too, it has two windows overlooking the mosque's thermal baths. There is a pool for ablutions.

There are wonderful rooms where the Quran is recited. There are more than 100 copies. There is the copy of 'Uthman who collected the suras, wrote with his hand, the liter [?] still bears traces of his blood.

There were inscriptions that the most skillful; theoreticians cannot reinvent, before Tamerlan [burned] them.

There were the marvels in this mosque that even a century-old man would have been surprised to find there.

There were amulets there which prohibited entry to those who were harmed. soiled from having made love. There are also talismans there to ward off the birds, the sparrows. There are talismans in the walls that keep sweepings away.

I arrived at Bab al-Barid, and realized the effects of the earthquake. I saw that the roof was broken down, the columns and arches which supported on the length and breadth lay on the ground. What humiliation! The mind refuses to accept! I cried over the misery of this building. I say this improvised poem:

On the al—Barid gate, I wanted to cry
His solitary door to the mosque was closed
I implore God to come to his aid,
On the mail horses.

(he asks the Sublime Porte to repair the damage).

Then I surrendered, full of sadness and horror, and I walked like one who goes to the top of a mountain, to go around from the doors of the honorable mosque, in order to realize the effects of the shock.

I saw the northern aisles, the small doors, the Dome, the dome of the Shafiite mufti, the ceiling had fallen, the arches and columns were lying on the ground. The Al-Aàraus minaret, the minaret of Our Lord Jesus, the western minaret lay on the ground.

The An-Naçr dome was also on the ground; most of the mosque: its ceilings, its walls, its arches.

What I saw filled me with amazement. I regretted coming; my spirit escaped, and I was prey to torment. I improvised:

The Umayyad mosque cries with sadness,
She was like the head of the other mosques,
The destruction has weakened its minarets,
She lost the 'Aârous,
Its dome of Naçr fell to the ground,
She humbly greets the class location.

I then arrived at the Djirun gate, to the north, there my my approach was weighed down by sadness, my eyes watered. I repeated: Everything happened by the will of God. I found the neighborhood deserted, the cafes emptied of their customers. Where were the companions? Absent or returned to dust? No seats around the pool. The thermal baths were also not very lively only graves.

"I will ask for the help of the Sultan and the intervention of Al Müràdi (the head of the Waqf)"

I left, my heart swollen with sadness, and I saw that the Gate was destroyed on its 4 sides. I then visited 'Umara, near there, under the citadel, the Khan of Pasha, there Al Ghawani lane, Al Bahça, Al hasûdyya, Darwichyya, Châghur, what had not yet fallen would soon do so.

Here is the list of mosques and minarets demolished:

The Tawba mosque, M'ulaq, Châmyya, A1 Bugha, Sanjaqdâr, the Sibahyya mosques, Chamyya, part of the Sulaymanyya, the mosque of Safar DJalâny^1j, the mosque located in Al Kharâb, that of Annata'aayin that of Châghur, the mosque of Calahyya, the mosque of Selim, that of Hanbal, the Al Jadid mosque, the Atabakyya mosque, that of 'Azizat ad-Din Al Mardanyya, the Al Murchadyya mosque, the Al Afram mosque, the Al Hajib mosque, in Salahyya, that which was among the most beautiful mosques.

The Al Hajib Mosque in Salahyya, one of the best mosques, which saw its walls completely ravaged, as well as its parquet floor in white and pink marble, up to the wooden window frames fragrant, the dome of the minaret, which rested on 6 marble columns, which had remained intact despite the ravages of time; all is fallen, mosque, minaret, only the 6 columns remained; We ask God Most High that good people rebuild it, it is he who has the power to do what he wants in all things.

Damage occurred in villages:

• the Barzat mosque
• Tal Mosque
• Minin Mosque
• the mosque of Alqabûn
• the mosque of Alqabûn
• the mosques of Arbin and Aichâ'ary
• the mosque of An Nachâbyya
• Al Farida Mosque
• the mosque of Al 'Ibada

And some of these honorable places fell to the ground, and others were not far from it. All of the minarets were destroyed, what I say in my verses:

The minarets of the mosques have fallen in prostration,
their head has joined their foot,
By seeing people prostrate themselves,
The stones followed suit.

The hammams were also affected:

• The Qaramâni thermal baths, located below the citadel (on Mahalat Tahat al Qala')
• The An-Naçr thermal baths on the mentioned mahalat
• Al Bawabjyyà thermal baths^1k
• The thermal baths of As Silsila al Kabir and Al Silsila As-Saghir
• The Manjak thermal baths
• The Sultan Baths
• The thermal baths ach Chamyya
• Al Aaqbat al Kubra thermal baths
• The thermal baths of Aâilâni
• The thermal baths of An-Naib
• The Misq thermal baths in Tali' Al Quba
• In Salahyya, the Muqaddim and al Hajib thermal baths
• In the villages: the thermal baths of Duma, Al Hama, Qatanà, 'AarbIn, of At Tal, of Minin, of Halbun, everything was destroyed, even the bases that had been spared by the previous earthquake.

The brick domes bound with mortar were also damaged. Among them are:

The dome of the Damascus mosque (An Nàcr) which rested on 4 pillars, each of about a hundred cubits, in white and red marble, and was adorned with indescribable decorations.

The top of the dome was decorated with 22 crystal moons, ten cubits high. On another level, below, we admired a frieze of inscriptions that no one would be able to imitate. The dome housed a place of study, as I say in this verse:

The Dome of Naçr fell to the ground
to respectfully salute the study.

Also destroyed:

• The dome of King Zahir, that of King Al 'Aàdil^1k, that of the famous Nur ad-din^2e
• the dome of Al 'Açrûnyya^3a
• that of As-Sâdât
• also 5 domes of the new khan, built for the late Haj A's âd—Pasha
• the domes schools
• the thermal baths café
• the golden dome in the orchard of Dahdah
• the dome of Nacryya
• that of Dar at-Tarh (this was the tax administration) which was previously Mahalat Man al-Qaçab
• the dome of the Al Hachr mosque
• that of the mosque of Fatha-effendi
• that of Marj ad-Dahdàh
• that of the top of the citadel of Damascus, which was called Diwân de Zahir (the offices of Zahir)
• that of Sheikh Al Nahlawy
• 12 domes of Darwichyya
• that of the Al Yaghuchyya mosque below the citadel

Here is the damage that occurred in Salahyya:

The dome of the great master Muhyie ad-Din al 'Araby; two domes in Tikyya, two domes of Sheikh Abi-l-Hassan Al 'Umary, two domes of the school Aj-Jakrkasyya, two domes of Al Ma'azamyya, the dome of Sheikh Raslân, with its arch, the dome an Naçr, the dome Al Mardânyya, other numerous domes that I do not know.

The Sultan's citadels were not spared:

the citadel of Damascus lost its southern curtain wall, and the neighboring walls of the ditch, a tower, on the portion which goes from the Khana towers to Al-Manakhilyya, and many houses were destroyed by its fall. The citadel of Bâ'albak, one of the most marvelous citadels of the world, the one that Sulayman b—Dawid had offered as a dowry to Balqls when he married her. There was the changing of the guard tower there, 3 Ahjâr (stones) wide. One of the stones that made it up had a size of 5 cubits by 5 cubits. There was a room of 30 cubits long and 20 cubits wide. Its walls were made of stone carved, the ceiling rested on a stone rat decorated with inscriptions, there were no columns.

The citadel also housed the palace of Balqis, which had 16 columns twenty cubits long, plated with yellow copper, which fell until the last one.

There was also the citadel of Tiberias, that of Chaqif, the khan of Nabatyya which looked like a citadel; some citadels of Saida were shot down.

The caravanserais also suffered damage:

• the Khan of Pasha
• in Damascus
• the Khan of A'Sa'ad-Pacha
• the Khan which is located below the citadel
• Khan Al-Dalakyya
• the Khan of Othman
• Khan al Qacir
• Khan As-Sabil
• Khan Maysalun
• Khan Hâçbaya
• Khan Al Qabun
• Khan Saâsaâ,
• Khân Ad-Dimâs
• the Khan al Khuçaryya
• the Khan of the Franks in Beyrout

The mills were also affected:

• The Turba mill
• Chinan’s
• that of Harasta
• that of Tell
• Minin’s mill

The presses were not spared either:

• The An—Nachabyya press
• the Zamalka press

Neither do covered fountains; in villages, such as Muarra, in Tal, there were 425 victims under the rubble and there were many others that were not removed.

In the village of Machout, the well was destroyed. That of Halbûn was in part. The well of the village Dartj was destroyed, that of Saydnaya too, and those of Harastâ, Aârbîn, Dawma, 'Adhra, Maza, Hamuryya, Bayt Sawa', Jisrin, Al Aftaris, Kafr Batna, Al Manima, Zabdin, Bayt Nayam in full, Al-Acha'ari, Salahyya Al Marj, Al-Jarba, Al Farida, Al Bahrya, Maydâ'à, Al Maymunya, As Sawamia', Tal al Kurdi, Rayhan, Kafr Madir^1l, Chaqunyya, Damar, Alhamat in its entirety, Dirraya, Al Jadida, Ayn Tûz, Qawqab, Qatana, Sarghaya, Ba'albak and its region, Al Hûlat and its surroundings, Al Biqa'a and its region; Most of these villages were completely or almost destroyed. Only God can estimate the number of victims. In the houses there were 10 victims, a little more or a little less. Misfortune and mourning struck everyone, men, women and children. There were a few survivors who pitched tents in the meadows, others built huts in wood for shelter, others had neither tent nor cabin, and they would have preferred to die.

The peasants dug niches in the ground, above which they placed bamboo and branches. They observed the fast for three days and called on God. The earthquake continued night and day; The victims were still fleeing.

As for me, I saw Salhya and the location of my house, the rising of my sun, the abode of my affairs, the goal of my hope; I entered and saw that the corners of my house were destroyed, everyone was upset, its trees slept on the ground, the vines lay on the ground; I lost my spirits, I was dizzy.

I went out to my garden and saw that it was completely empty, ravaged with rubble, what was yesterday a cause of pleasure had become a cause of sadness.

I looked at the ruined palace, the houses without their owners, and the mosques with closed doors.

Here is some very surprising news spread by the itinerants:

When the governor of Damascus Haj Abdallah Ach Chitajy saw the earthquake lasted like this, he gave orders to keep a close watch on people in bad conditions. life; There was a house in Salahyya inhabited by a woman, and frequented by the Kurds, night and day, shamelessly. The neighbors didn't say anything for fear of the soldiers who were the Kurds. When the governor of Damascus made his decision, the neighbors asked that this woman be evicted.

The governor summoned her to him and ordered her to leave her house, which she did. In her place came an honest man moved with his family. The first night he spent there, the earthquake occurred, and honest people were buried and the debauched woman was saved. A man from Dimas did not want to sleep under a roof and preferred to sleep the desert. He was so afraid that he no longer trusted anyone. In the morning, the travelers mounted their mounts to continue their journey, abandoning their camp where embers were still burning.

Our man was a smoker. He approached a wall to light his pipe. The wall collapsed on him.

Thieves attacked a man in the village of Zabadan, and they wanted to spend the night at his house. The walls fell on them. 5 perished, killed in the rubble. The sixth had an arm caught in the scree, but his life was saved. In the morning, he was surprised.

A gardener went to sell his beef at the market because he had no more money. The thieves awaited his return to steal the proceeds of the sale. They waited until nightfall, they entered his home and kidnapped his child, whom they made cry outside. The father went out, believing in the wolf. The thieves broke into his house... to die under the rubble.

The earthquake surprised people invited to friends' houses or parents. Those who remained at home were spared.

Here is another very strange prodigy, which we cannot understand only on condition of having faith. The village Ach-Chalf, in the district of Al Latiqa was built at the bottom of a valley where a river flowed. After the earthquake, the valley became a plain and the village disappeared. Someone passed by and a shepherd told him that the village had disappeared with all its inhabitants, without there being any survivors.

The village of Bayt 'Jin was between two mountains which joined under the effect of the earthquake; nothing remained of the village.

In the village of Al Hama, a wanderer came to show his conjuring tricks. Everyone came out to see him and when the earthquake occurred, everyone was spared.

In Hasaya, the water in the river stopped flowing and people remained deprived of water for several days, until it returned by the will of God.

There was a plain nearby, at the base of a mountain. The relief was reversed: the mountain took the place of the plain and the plain that of the mountain. A man from this village swears he saw the ceiling of the hall of his house crack open and let you see the stars, to then take its place again. Another man swears by Wonderful God to have seen in the hall of his house in Damascus a carved stone albino horse go down twice and go back up again. It happened at the occasion of this earthquake of wonders that words cannot describe, that a living being is quite incapable of reporting. Let us implore God, that faith does not get lost, may he give us patience, may he spare us from fantasies of nightmares, that it strengthens the unity of the group of those faithful to the last prophet, the imam of the founding prophets of religion, may he grant us all rest in his mercy, sheltered from misfortune. Amen.

Then, after the period mentioned above, on the night of Sunday 24 Jumada II, at 10 a.m. evening, the earth shook twice, then the earthquake continued to visit the world, taking or leaving the living, according to the luck of each, until the morning of Friday 28 Rajah, followed by rain, snow and winds of prodigious violence. People remained locked in their homes for 4 days, without going out, because the storm was raging. Some lost their minds and said "what a waste, all that lost!" The earth's temples were white with snow, people stayed in their homes without moving for fear of the earthquake, they were in danger inside, but outside the snow was spreading everywhere cape, on the plains and the mountains, the cold added to the wind which pierced the great body of the snow with an arrow, which bled until it fell lifeless. The seven rivers that flowed from the same heart began to foam and bubble. They overflowed tyrannical and destructive, nothing opposed them, so they spread their waters from the Mahla which is found under the citadel, up to the Khân du pasha, at 'Al Khadiryya, sparing no house, no inhabitant, flooding the markets with devastating waves, opening every door, until morning.

Here the author of this article stops,
Glory to God the Most High
that prayer hovers over the prophet,
and his generous followers.

Mohammed Khâlil b—Al Murâdi^1m, Hanafi muphti in Damascus, was born in Damascus in the year of the great earthquake of 1173 AH, he died in 1206 AH, barely 30 years old.

He establishes a relationship between the earthquake and injustice, murder and quarrels, famine and inflation. There was in fact a quarrel between the Yankarajyya faction and that of the Yurlyya. In the biography of Fathy Ad-Daftary, we find mention of these militias Hassan Pasha gave the order to assassinate this chronicler "which was made on Sunday at one o'clock in the afternoon, on the 15th of Jumada II, from the year 1159, and at the time of his death occurred an earthquake followed by a other after the burial".

In the biography, Husin Pasha Miky, governor of Damascus, prince of the pilgrimage of 1171, Al Muràdi writes:

He did not hold very firmly in his faction, which made the Yurlyya gain importance, and the quarrel developed, although it had previously remained unnoticed. Inflation and famine appeared in Damascus, the inhabitants complained troubles arose, the situation deteriorated; Yurlyya sects, Qaby Qu1 and others among the factions of Kurdish soldiers, events happened like this, from quarrel to civil war, even during the month of Ramadan, stubborn tyrants continued murder and violence, after which an epidemic of plague occurred, tremors of earth, these are the events of this time, plague, tremors of land, quarrels, wars, go beyond the possibilities of description.

It seems that the earthquake occurred in Châm between 1171 and 1173, under the mandate of 'Abd Allah Pasha-Chitaji, and about whom Al Muradi reports:

It occurred in Damascus¹ⁿ in 1173, on Tuesday night 8 Rabiaâ I, shortly before dawn; it spread towards Jerusalem, Gaza, Sayda, Safad, all the countries on the Syrian coast, Hums, Ramat, Caesarea, Hiçn al A'krad, Antioch, Aleppo, with 2 or 3 tremors per week, until the night of Monday 6 Rabia'a II at the time mentioned, at the end of the twilight prayer, and it reached in Damascus 3 degrees, by ravaging Damascus, Antioch, Sayda, Qàl'at al Burayj, Hisyya, the pillar North of the Umayyad mosque was destroyed, the great lady too. the northern minaret, the Bâb al Barid market was ruined, most of the houses in Damascus were demolished, the mosques too; the shaking continued until the end of the year mentioned. Then in Damascus, before the end of the year, an epidemic occurred; most mosques were rebuilt thanks to funds donated by wills of the dead and the great mosque of Damascus, the citadel, Latakia Sulaymanyya. were rebuilt with funds from the Ottoman state.

In the biography of Mustafa Al-'Alwâny, we are told that he composed a poem about earthquakes, dedicated to. Al Murâdt, mufti of Syria, father of our chronicler. This piece mentions the destruction of the Damascus mosque, undermined by the earthquakes and the last verse allows us to date the disaster:

The Umayyad Mosque was destroyed by the earthquakes, and Mustafa, the famous king, rebuilt it

AMAWY JILAQ AN HAWYYA 'ZALAZIL
75    133    51  21    21   77
PABIMUCTAFA AL MALIK AL MAJID YUSHADU
3 1 1          1 2 1      7 7            3 1 5
Year 1174.

A scholar from Aleppo 'Umar Al Labaqy also talks about the earthquake that hit Aleppo:

My heart is at peace thanks to the God of Truth, he stripped away the fear that the tremor inspired in him earthen.

In the dictionaries of Al Muràdi's biographies, there is no mention of the victims of the earthquake, as usual, apart from the indication contained in the note on Asa 'ad Al Mujallid:

When the earthquake occurred in Damascus and throughout the region in 1173, he was half paralyzed as a result of the wall which had fallen on his body, and he lay on his back until he died, occurred in Ramadan 1180.

Raslàn b-Yahya Al Qary^1o writes these sentences in his work:

"The Minister Governor of Damascus", p. 82, which contains the biography of 'Abd Pasha Ash-Shitadjy:

"In 1173, in the month of Rabia' I, on the night of the 7th, in the last third of the night, an earthquake occurred wanted by God, we never had seen a similar one before; the tops of the minarets fell, some houses collapsed and some people were killed. — it was their time — some mosques were damaged. The phenomenon lasted 27 nights with low intensity, then the night of Monday 4 Rabiaa II, half an hour after dusk, a very violent shock occurred, which did not spare the minarets, neither the domes nor the mosques, the hammams, and the buildings which had resisted were no longer of any use, no one dared to enter. Many saw their houses collapse on them, several took and fled, but the landslides killed them in the alleys. The columns broke apart. The eastern wall of the Umayyad mosque collapsed, and the East minaret was damaged and by collapsing, damaged a third of the sanctuary. People sought refuge in the desert, some set up cabins bamboo, the others set up the tent; the number of victims who found death in Syria is incalculable. May the clemency of God accompany them, those who died in faith. In the villages too, there was a crowd of victims. God is merciful in his plans and actions. When reached the capital the news of the events occurring in Syria, of the almost total destruction of the buildings, an expedition of architects, specialists in vaults, accompanied by masons set out to repair the Umayyad mosque and the citadel, and they expelled 'Abdy Pasha in the month of Jumada II 1173." References

Taher, M.A. (1979): Corpus des texts arabes relatifs aux tremblements de terre et autres catastrophes naturelles, de la conquete arabe au XII H/XVIII JC, Ph.D. Thesis (Univ. Paris), 337 pp.

Al-Bidiri¹ writes:

On the third night of Ramadan, at the time of twilight prayer, a terrible earthquake occurred. The people cut prayer short and fled in an abominable stampede. They lost their minds. They also lost clothes. The next night passed in the same way.

References

Taher, M.A. (1979): Corpus des texts arabes relatifs aux tremblements de terre et autres catastrophes naturelles, de la conquete arabe au XII H/XVIII JC, Ph.D. Thesis (Univ. Paris), 337 pp.