Half a dozen authors recorded that Damascus suffered damage during the 1170 CE Earthquake(s). Among the earliest albeit distant accounts, Robert of Torigni reported that “part of Damascus” collapsed, Michael the Syrian wrote that the earthquake caused “disasters” in the city, and Ibn al-Athir described “very serious damage,” noting that the walls of houses and citadels were destroyed and that there were many fatalities. Writing later, the Damascene historian Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, who often relied on high-quality sources, stated that “severe damage” occurred in Damascus, specifically noting that “the balconies of the mosque [the Great Umayyad Mosque] collapsed, as well as the tops of the minarets, which shook like palm trees on a stormy day.” Kemal ad-Din (also known as Ibn al-Adim) added that “great parts” of Damascus were “ruined,” with walls and citadels overthrown, houses collapsing upon their inhabitants, and many killed. Finally, as-Suyūṭī, writing in the 15th century CE, summarized these earlier accounts, writing that the earthquake “destroyed many walls and houses in Syria, more particularly at Damascus.”