[Nureddin besieges Kerak and Shabani He was on the road from Syria when, on 12th Shawwal
of the above-mentioned year [a.H. 565] he
received news of the earthquake which had ravaged
and Aleppo and many other regions so badly. The Atabeg was then at Ashtera; he took the road to Aleppo . . . (Abu Shama, RHC, 150).
[According to al-`1mad al-Asfahani]
The Franks had citadels near Barin, Hisn al-Akrad, Safitha and ar-Raqa, which found themselves as it were drowned
by the tide of earthquakes, and in particular the citadel of Hisn al-Akrad, not one wall of which is standing,
and the repairs occupied the Franks completely.
We learned of the gravity of the damage which was suffered in several regions of Sham, but one piece of news made our
hearts rejoice: in the territory of the infidels [i.e. the Franks] the damage was worse than in ours, for it was a
feast day: they were all assembled in the churches and roofs collapsed on them.
The same author composed a eulogy on Nureddin which mentions this earthquake:
The unleashing of violence shook the earth with its inhabitants. It destroyed the solid citadels,
justice overcame their [the Franks] force and they were blasted by fate. All the high buildings
were dashed down and the fortresses were razed. God had decided, and so it was accomplished. The
infidels [lit. polytheists (i.e. Christians)] were massacred, and this was a sign for the monotheists.
The enemy suffered the same punishment as the people of Aad . ..
al-Asfahani also said,
Behold a new sign which I find in the earthquake: [the earth] complains at being the home of the corrupt..
(Abu Shama, RHC, 154).
I read in the diwan of al-'Argala that Salah ad-Din Yussuf al-Ayub found himself on the day of the earthquake,
in the company of Vbayd, his valet, who was known to be a man of ample physique, in a house at Huma. All of
the city was destroyed except for this house. Then al-'Arqala said to Salah ad-Din,
Grant to "Ubayd whatever he wishes: for it is due to his great size that the house stayed standing.
(Abu Shama, 1/185, 186).
. . they have replaced their luxurious houses with huts which are as good as tombs with wooden roofs,
or boats from which escape is impossible. (Abu Shama, 1/185, 186).
[Nureddin suspends the tax on wood. The poet Abu Shama says to him:] It is in order to recompense you
for the lifting of taxes on wood for the sake of the people of Sham that Egypt offers you her riches.
(Abu Shama 160, al-qmad al-Asfahani on Abu Shama).
