In the month of Shdban,
there was a tremendous earthquake [which came?] from Upper Egypt. For an hour, the ground
was like the sea; the towns of Baniyan, in Egypt, and Nabulus were destroyed, and many people perished in the ruins.
Then the earthquake reached Syria and its coast; at Nabulus not so much as a wall was left standing, except in the
Samra district, and there were 30,000 victims. Acre and Sur were destroyed, as well as all the citadels along the coast.
The earthquake reached Damascus: part of the east minaret of the [Great Umayyad] mosque collapsed. There was massive
damage to the lime kilns (al-Kallasa), the Nur al-Din hospital, and nearly all the houses in the city. The inhabitants
ran out into the squares. Sixteen balconies fell from the [Umayyad] mosque, and the Nasr mausoleum split open.
Banyas was destroyed. People from Ba'alabik who had gone out to pick wild fruit were crushed to death when two
mountains collapsed on top of each other. The citadel of Ba'alabik was destroyed, in spite of the fact that it
was a strong building made of solid stone. The earthquake reached Hims, Hamat, Aleppo and other towns. The sea
withdrew from the coast as far as Cyprus. There were very high waves which smashed boats on the shore. Then the
earthquake spread towards Akhlat, and into Armenia, Adharbayjan and Mesopotamia. About 1,100,000 victims were counted.
The initial violence of the earthquake abated in the time it takes to read the sura of The Cave; but the shocks
continued for days. [Abu Shama, al-Dhayl `ala al-Rawdatayn, fol. 20]
