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Concise History of Humanity by Abu'l-Fida

المختصر في أخبار البشر by أبو الفداء

Aliases
Aliases Arabic
Abu'l-Fida أبو الفداء
Abū al-Fidāʾ أبو الفداء
Abulfeda Latinized
Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان
Background and Biography
Background and Biography

Excerpts

Abu'l-Fida provided two brief descriptions of what appears to be the same earthquake in A.H. 597 and A.H. 600. Both dates appear to be incorrect.
A.H. 597 Earthquake - English from Baron (1872)

A.H. 597

...A strong earthquake is felt in Mesopotamia, Syria and the maritime provinces, and a large number of cities collapsed.

A.H. 597 Earthquake - French from Baron (1872)

An 697 de l'hegire

... Un fort tremblement de terre se fait sentir en Mesopotamie, en syrie et dans les provinces maritimes, et renverse un grand nombre de villes.

A.H. 600 Earthquake - English from Baron (1872)

A.H. 600

... A violent earthquake is felt in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Sicily, Cyprus, Iraq and elsewhere. The walls of Tyre were torn down.

A.H. 600 Earthquake - French from Baron (1872)

An 600 de l'hegire

... Un violent tremblement de terre se fait sentir en Egypte, en Syrie, en Mesopotamie, en Asie Mineure, en Sicile, en Chypre, en Iraq et ailleurs. Les murs de Tyr furent renverses.

A.H. 597 Earthquake - Arabic and French from Baron (1872) - embedded

  • see bottom part of lower left column on page 79 starting with Un fort tremblement de terre
  • from Baron (1872:79)
  • from archive.org


A.H. 600 Earthquake - Arabic and French from Baron (1872) - embedded

  • see upper part of lower left column on page 83 starting with Un violent tremblement de terre
  • from Baron (1872:83)
  • from archive.org


Chronology
Both Passages
Date Reference Corrections Notes
12 Oct. 1200 - 30 Sept. 1201 CE A.H. 597 none
  • Calculated with CHRONOS
  • Year appears incorrect
10 Sept. 1203 - 28 Aug. 1204 CE A.H. 600 none
  • Calculated with CHRONOS
  • Year appears incorrect
Seismic Effects

Both Passages
  • A strong earthquake is felt in Mesopotamia, Syria and the maritime provinces
  • a large number of cities collapsed
  • A violent earthquake is felt in Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Sicily, Cyprus, Iraq and elsewhere
  • The walls of Tyre were torn down
Locations

Both Passages
  • Egypt
  • Syria
  • Mesopotamia
  • maritime provinces
  • Asia Minor
  • Sicily
  • Cyprus
  • Iraq
  • and elsewhere
  • Tyre
Online Versions and Further Reading
References

Notes
Mistaken attribution by Ambraseys (2009)

Ambraseys (2009) made a mistake in his catalog and quoted a slightly different translation from al-Baghdadi which he attributed to Abu'l-Fida. Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)'s excerpts were correctly attributed. Ambraseys (2009) also listed a quote in the notes section from Ibn al-Jawzi (who died in 1200 CE - before the earthquake) when he likely meant Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi who was Ibn al-Jawzi's grandson.