According to Matthew of Edessa, who appears to have been an eyewitness living in a monastery near Samosata, the earthquake struck at night with a “horrible, crackling, and reverberating sound,” as plains and mountains shook and rocks were cleft apart. He describes people awakening in terror, believing that “the final day, the day of judgement, has arrived,” while the ground continued to resound even after the shaking ended. He adds that “on this night Samosata, Hisn-Mansur, Kesoun, and Raban were destroyed.” Later writers across different regions repeat and expand this picture of devastation. Ibn al-Jawzi states that “Sumaisat sank and its position was swallowed up,” while Michael the Syrian likewise records that “Samosata also fell in that earthquake.” Chronicon Ad Annum 1234 adds that the ruler Michel, son of Constantine, was buried in prison at Samosata when the earthquake struck. Ibn al-Athir reports widespread destruction across the Jazira, including Edessa, Harran, Sumaysat, and Balis, with many killed under the rubble, while Bar Hebraeus notes that many houses collapsed in Samosata and that Constantine, lord of Gargar, perished in the ruins in Samosata. Together these accounts, spanning Armenian, Syriac, and Arabic traditions, portray a destructive regional earthquake that devastated multiple cities across northern Syria and the Jazira, including Samosata.