as-Suyuti misdated the earthquake to Shaʿbān
A.H. 597 (7 May – 4 June 1201 CE), whereas the correct date should
be Shaʿbān
A.H. 598. He wrote of “an earthquake almost over all the world,”
which caused great destruction in Upper Egypt. The tremors were said to
have “extended over Syria and the sea, Mesopotamia, the Greek Empire, and
Iraq,” and to have been felt as far as Armenia and Azerbaijan. The first
shock “lasted but a short time,” he noted, “but after that it continued
for several days.”