And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-one of the GREEKS (A.D. 1150), when the men of KHISUM saw the growing power of the TURKS, they sent the holy man MAR 'IWANNIS (JOANNES) to MAS'UD, Sultan of ICONIUM, and received a pledge concerning the FRANKS who were with them, that they should depart in peace to 'AINTAB; and this actually took place. And the Sultan of ICONIUM himself reigned over KHISHUM and BETH HESNE, and RA'BAN and PARZAMAN, and MAR'ASH. And when he encamped against TELL-BASHIR, NUR AD-DIN, the son of ZANGI, came to him, and the Sultan gave him his daughter to wife. And he left her at TELL-BASHIR, and departed, because he was unable to take her. Then came the king of JERUSALEM, and he expelled the wife of JOSCELYN, and his children, and all the FRANKS, and carried them to JERUSALEM; and he established in TELL-BASHIR certain men of the king of the GREEKS. And these GREEKS also ruled over 'AINTAB and 'AZAZ. And afterwards, when NUR AD-DIN harassed them with war and famine, they handed over to him these places peacefully.
And TEMURTASH, the lord of MARDIN, ruled over BIRAH, and SAMOSATA, and KHURIS, and KEPHAR SUT. Now there was in that Rhomaytish castle a certain man, an ARMENIAN, whose name was MICHAEL. [317] This man sent a message to the wife of JOSCELYN and to his son, [ordering] them to command GREGORIUS, the Catholicus of the ARMENIANS who was in DAlRA DHE YAMETHA, to come and dwell with him and be his helper. And when he came he acted treacherously towards MICHAEL, and he took all his possessions and drove him out, and he himself remained, in that Rhomaytish castle.
And in the year which was the year five hundred and forty-four of the ARABS (A.D. 1149), SAIF AD-DIN, the son of ZANGI, the lord of MAWSIL, took the city of DARA from TEMURTASH, the lord of MARDIN, and he also went and encamped against MARDIN. Then TEMURTASH, being defeated by him, gave him his daughter to wife, and made peace with him. And when SAIF AD-DIN went back to MAWSIL he fell sick and died.
And after him KUTAB AD-DIN MAWDUD, his brother, rose up in his place, and he took to wife the daughter of TEMURTASH. Then certain nobles sent to NUR AD-DIN in ALEPPO and asked him to come to them. And forthwith, without any delay, NUR AD-DIN with seventy horsemen came to SHIGHAR, and [the men] thereof surrendered it to him. And he sent to KARA 'ARSLAN, the lord of the fortress, and promised him the fortress of HAYTAM that he might come to his assistance. And KUTAB AD-DIN, his brother, collected an army and went out to TELL 'AFAR to meet NUR AD-DIN in battle. Then the nobles spake to him and he gave EMESA, because it belonged to SAIF AD-DIN, to NUR AD-DIN. And NUR AD-DIN gave back SHIGHAR to KUTAB AD-DIN, and he left and went back to ALEPPO.
And in this year there was a flood in the fortress of ZAID, on the twenty-third day of the month of 'AB (AUGUST), and it carried away a child and his mother, and two mules, and two buffaloes, and a donkey, and they were all drowned.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-two of the GREEKS (A.D. 1151), the wife of the lord of 'IZANGE strangled him with a bowstring, and she brought her brother from DIBARIGI, and he took her to wife and became king. And a certain Turkish AMIR went up to the monastery of SIRIKHA of the GREEKS of PONTUS, and he took away the gold cross wherein was a piece of the wood of the Crucifixion, and he visited the troops who were in that country. And afterwards he brought back again to the monastery the great amount of spoil which he took from the monks. Then were put to shame, and covered with disgrace, the GREEKS who uttered blasphemies against Saint MAR BAR-SAWMA and said, 'If there was any power in him,why did he permit JOSCELYN [318] to carry off his right hand?
And in this year NUR AD-DIN went to the country of DAMASCUS. And he sent word to the DAMASCENES, saying, 'I have not come to fight with you, but to remove disgrace from you. For behold, ye are yoked under the tribute of the FRANKS, and the sons and daughters of your country are prisoners with the FRANKS, and ye have no helper.' Then the DAMASCENES sent word to him, saying, 'We are at peace with the FRANKS, and we do not need your help. And if thou dost not leave [us] and return to thine own country, behold, we will send for the FRANKS to come, and we together with them will meet thee with the sword.' And when NUR AD-DIN heard such a message as this he was filled with transports of rage, and he wished to and encamp against the city; but God sent violent and destructive rains, and he was unable to march. And the nobles of DAMASCUS went out and pacified him, and they proclaimed him after the Khalifah and the Sultan; and he left them and returned to ALEPPO.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-three of the GREEKS (A.D. 1152), the FRANKS again sallied forth in anger against the treacherous GREEKS and they came and burnt the whole of the country-side of CONSTANTINOPLE. And they also went forth to PALESTINE, and burnt many villages in the country of ASCALON, and they shed much blood of the TURKS and ARABS whom they found. And they also went forth to EGYPT and laid waste and burnt many villages in the west of EGYPT, and then they returned to their own country. And in that year, DAWLAH, the lord of MELITENE, died, and DHU'L-KARNAIN his son reigned after him. And when MAS'UD, the Sultan of ICONIUM, heard [of this] he attacked YA'KUB 'ARSLAN, the brother of DAWLAH. And having subjugated him he encamped against MELITENE, and he destroyed all the beautiful suburbs thereof.
Then the mother of the young man went forth--now she was his brother's daughter--and she entreated him on behalf of her son. And the Sultan said, 'If he will come forth to me and tender his submission, he will be received by me, and the city shall remain his'. Then the young man went forth carryring a sword and a shroud, and the Sultan received him, and confirmed his authority; and then the young man went forth and departed. Then the mother of the young man ruled the city, and she made [the people] thereof to suffer very many evils--not only the Christians but the ARABS, especially in the matter of imposts and levies and taxes. And she gathered together about her women of sorceries (i.e. witches), and women who [319] raised up the dead, and they prophesied to her that she would reign, and could marry anyone she pleased. And because of this she planned to kill the young man her son, but when her plot was discovered, the nobles cast her out and drove her away, and the sorceresses who were her friends. To that woman the word of prophesy applieth: 'Rise thou up now with thine enchantments and thy sorceries, perhaps thou wilt be able to profit therefrom. I am weary with the multitude of thy thoughts' (Isaiah, xlvii. 12).
And in that year violent rains fell, and they washed away great rocks and hills, and a portion of the mountain also was detached and it slid down into the valley of BETH 'ABDAHAR, the Citadel of the village of TARSHANA. And the flow of the EUPHRATES was impeded for three hours, and the waters mounted up to the village of PROSIDIN, which was situated at the top of the mountaln. And then the obstacles on the skirts of MOUNT CLAUDIA were burst asunder, and the waters poured down and wrought great destruction in SYRIA. And in this year the plague waxed strong among the natives of MEYAT, and about twelve thousand persons died, and very many monasteries were emptied, of their inhabitants. And when NUR AD-DIN again attacked DAMASCUS the FRANKS gathered together to help the DAMASCENES. And when NUR AD-DIN heard [this] he returned to ALEPPO.
And in this year, which was the year five hundred and forty-six of the ARABS (A.D. 1151), SALAH AD-DIN went forth from NAJM AD-DIN 'IYOB his father, who was the governor in B'ELBAK, and he came to ALEPPO, to his uncle'ASAD AD-DIN SHIRKUH. And he brought him to NUR AD-DIN, and he received him and gave him sustenance.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-four of the GREEKS, which is the year five hundred and forty-seven of the ARABS (A.D. 1152), the king of JERUSALEM quarrelled with his mother, and the queen fortified herself in the Tower of DAVID. Then the nobles acted as intermediaries for them, and she abdicated the queenship of JERUSALEM, and left the remaining cities and the troops to the king her son. And the king attacked the city of ASCALON, which was in the hands of the Egyptian ARABS, and he set up against it a wooden tower, and engines of war, and he made a breach in the wall. And four hundred Brothers (Freres?) leaped up and went in through the breach, and the ARABS killed them all; for twenty thousand armour-clad men were standing inside the breach. [320] And the king himself was suffering greatly, and he was about to abandon the place and depart, when a certain warrior captured it; And the FRANKS kept guard over the breach the whole night and did not permit the ARABS to build it up.
And at the time of dawn the king took a cross, and cast it into the city and cried out, 'Any man who will not go in with the cross is no Christian'. And they all leaped up and went into the city. And about fifteen thousand ARABS were killed in ASCALON, and the remainder in thousands fled to EGYPT. Now what is correct is (i.e. the truth is) that in the year five hundred and forty-eight of the ARABS (A.D. 1153), which is the year fourteen hundred and sixty-five of the GREEKS (A.D. 1154), the FRANKS took ASCALON, but MAR MICHAEL states that it was [taken] the year before. And by this triumph which the king of JERUSALEM won the sovereignty of ANTIOCH became his by right, and he took to wife the wife of its lord who was dead. And TOROS, the ARMENIAN, the governor of CILICIA, went forth to the country of CAPPADOCIA, and he made captives of the TURKS and went to his country.
And Sultan MAS'UD of ICONIUM gave his daughter to YA'KUB 'ARSLAN, and they agreed to invade CILICIA, but because all the garrison towns were strongly held by the ARMENIANS, the TURKS returned from the fortifications with shame. Then TOROS increased in power, and he took the places which were left in the hands of the GREEKS from them. And MANUEL, the king of the GREEKS, became hot with anger, and he sent ANDRONICUS, the captain of the host, who belonged to the royal family of CILIC1A. And the ARMENIANS and the GREEKS gathered together, and they met the GREEKS in battle at the Gate of TARSOS, and the GREEKS were defeated; and about three thousand of them were killed, and the rest fled by sea.
And in [that] year there was discovered a goat which had brought forth a kid which had three eyes and two mouths. And a terrible pestilence broke out in CILICIA and in ICONIUM. And in the month of TESHRIN (OCTOBER) of that year, when men and women were crossing the EUPHRATES from the country of the fortress of ZAID to go to the festival of MAR' AGHRIPAS, which was taking place in the country of GUBOS, an abandonment [by God] took place among them, and they all sunk in the water and were drowned. And as very many people were offended, the doctors of the Church made three kinds of apology, viz., FIRSTLY, 'It is not right to scrutinize the incomprehensible judgements [321] of the Creator'. SECONDLY, 'At this time men and women do not throng to the commemoration of the martyrs in order to be blessed thereby, but to make themselves contemptible with [carnal] pleasures.' THIRDLY, 'It is not right to consider that those people have perished. For God judged that death was better for them than life. The heathen would perish but not the Believers.'
In this year MAS'UD, the great Sultan of KHORASAN, died in the city of RAMADAN, and his brother's son MALIK SHAH, the son of MAHAMMAD, reigned after him, and KHASBAG the Amir became his governor, And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-five of the GREEKS (A.D. 1154), MAS'UD, Sultan of ICONIUM, invaded CILICIA with a numerous army of TURKS. And having encamped against TELL HAMDUN and harassed it with war, the Lord smote them with a plague of gnats and flies which was like unto that of the EGYPTIANS in the days of MOSES the Great. And in these days the air which they breathed became foul and stinking, and they and their horses became sick. And when they saw that the plague had begun among them they abandoned all their treasure and fled, And TOROS and the ARMENIANS came down upon them from the mountains, and killed them until they were exhausted. And he also went forth to GABDANYA, which is DAWALU, and plundered the TURKS and went back.
And in this year the FRANKS took ASCALON (according to correct reckoning), and it remained theirs for thirty-five years--until SALAH AD-DIN took it. And in [that] year also, which is the year five hundred and forty-eight of the ARABS (A.D. 1153), HUSAM AD-DIN TEMURTASH, the lord of MARDIN, died, and his son NAJAM AD-DIN reigned after him. At the beginning [of his reign] he dealt very severely with the Christians, but at the time of his death he commanded his sons to deal kindly with the Christians, and not to treat them harshly. It is said that Saint MAR 'ABAI appeared to him in a revelation. And another son of his, JAMAL AD-DIN, ruled over HANI, and another [son], SAMSAM AD-DIN, over DARA.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-six of the GREEKS (A.D. 1155), MAS'UD, the Sultan of ICONIUM, died, and after him his son KELEJ 'ARSLAN reigned. And whilst he only with difficulty could protect his country from the men of the house of DANISHMAND, and especially from YA'KUB 'ARSLAN, NUR AD-DIN attacked PARZAMAN and 'AINTAB, and he took them without fighting. And in this year, which is the year five hundred and forty-nine of the ARABS (A. D. 1154), NUR AD-DIN took DAMASCUS [322] from its lord MUJIR AD-DIN without fighting, having first of all cast dissension between its lord and his nobles. For he wrote to him secretly, saying, 'In respect of so-and-so and so-and-so, beware of their treachery (now they are sending messages to me continually that they will surrender DAMASCUS to me). I am unable to decide whether or not I shall leave the FRANKS and make war on the ARABS.' And whilst he led astray that wretched man with such messages as the above, he killed the captains of his host one by one. And when NUR AD-DIN saw that there remained in DAMASCUS no one who could meet him in battle, he attacked it and took it easily. And he gave unto MUJIR, its lord, certain villages in the country of EMESA, and sent him there. And he dealt kindly with the DAMASCENES, and they rejoiced in him as one who was able to stand up against the FRANKS.
And in this year TAFIR, the son of HAFIT, the Khalifah of EGYPT, died, and his son 'ISA, a child three years old, was made king after him; now he was called FAIZ. And a man whose name was 'ABBAS became his Wazir. And because the great Amir FARIS AD-DIN did not approve (of him], he was wroth and dismissed 'ABBAS [on the grounds that] he acted without his advice. Then 'ABBAS was afraid, and he took everything which he possessed and went forth with three thousand ARMENIANS who were in his service, and he began to flee and to take asylum with NUR AD-DIN. And when the EGYPTIANS pursued him the ARMENIANS turned upon them and killed the greater number of them. And 'ABBAS and those who were with him marched into the desert, where for some days they were in a miserable condition through hunger and thirst, because their guide had deceived them, even as in the time of JULIAN the Apostate. And having brought them out opposite ASCALON, the FRANKS went forth against them. And when the ARMENIANS saw the crosses which were affixed to the tops of the spears of the FRANKS, they threw down their weapons and mingled themselves with the FRANKS. And on that day about five thousand ARABS were killed. And MUJIR ('ABBAS?) himself was captured and sold by the FRANKS to the EGYPTlANS and they impaled him.
And in that year the Khalifah, who was MUKTAFI, went and encamped against TAGRIT, and he made fierce war upon it and destroyed the district entirely; and he began to fight against the Citadel thereof. Then MAHAMMAD SHAH, the son of Sultan MAS'UD, sent to the Amirs of MAWSIL, and said unto them, 'My fathers, [323] in order that ye may be a help to me, I make you governors over these countries. And now in the whole land of SEN'AR there remaineth to us no territory except this fortress of TAGRIT. And this man, that is to say the Khalifah, wisheth to remove this from our hands; therefore I entreat you to come without delay and to save me from him.' Thereupon the men of MAWSIL straightway gathered themselves together, and they went forth and set their gaze directly on TAGRIT. Then when the Khalifah heard that they were willing and were coming to him fear fell upon him, and he abandoned all his treasure and implements of war, and departed to BAGHDAD. And after some days the Amir, a TURK, collected about twelve thousand men, and he sent and brought out 'ARSLAN SHAH, the son of TUGHREL the SALJUK, from the prison of TAGRIT, for the name (or, fame, renown) which appertained to the royal race of the SALJUKS was with them, and he went forth. And the Khalifah, with his forces, also went forth to meet them in battle. And when they had been encamped facing each other on the side of the road of KHORASAN for eighteen days, they attacked each other. And the party of the Khalifah was broken and wished to flee. Then two of his nobles entreated him to make some small resistance, and they brought him by force to his horse in front. And the men of BAGHDAD plucked up courage and turned upon the TURKS, and broke them, and put them to flight, and captured all their treasure, And it is said that they looted from the TURKS fourteen thousand sheep, besides oxen and camels.
And in this year the waters of the TIGRIS ran very red, like blood, and at various places in the country of WASIT blood bubbled up from the earth; and no man knew why it did so.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty-seven of the GREEKS (A.D. 1156), PRAYNS, the lord of ANTlOCH, fought with TOROS, the governor of CILICIA, because the FRANKS demanded those fortresses which the ARMENIANS had taken from the GREEKS, as they ought to belong the Brethren (Freres?), whose labor was for the benefit of all Christians, because the GREEKS had taken them from the FRANKS. And the ARMENIANS were resisting the demand. And the two parties met each other in battle near the Gate of SUNKRATON (SEKUNTARON?), and the ARMENIANS were defeated, and TOROS fled. And then he made peace and gave the towns to the Freres (?).
And in the year when the lord of MAR'ASH [324] went to make war on a certain village of the ARMENIANS, STEPHEN, the brother of TOROS, collected ARMENIANS, and they came by night and hid themselves in the houses of the ARMENIANS. And in the morning, when the gate of the fortress was opened, they leaped out and went in, and they seized the gate and the outer wall, and they began to dig out those who were inside. And suddenly terror fell upon them because of the report, 'The Amir and many TURKS are coming'. And being afraid lest they should be shut in between the two walls, and that they would have to fight those who were inside, and those that were outside, they looted the city, and set fire to the houses and to whatsoever they were unable to carry away, and they took all the people and fled.
And among those who were taken captive was also the holy man MAR DIONYSIUS BAR-SALIBHI. He was captured by the accursed ARMENIANS, but he escaped on foot to the Monastery of KALASYUR (KALASYUD?). And he composed three DISCOURSES on the destruction of MAR'ASH, because it was at that time his pasture. Now when the TURKS came they entreated mercifully the Christians who remained [there]. And they did not withhold the houses and vineyards and farms from any ARMENIAN who had run away and returned. But the priest, inasmuch as he had had speech (i.e. an understanding) with the ARMENIANS, they flayed whilst he was alive, and after three days they cut out his tongue, and cut off his hands and his feet, and then they burned him in the fire. And when the ARMENIANS heard [this] they treated certain TURKS in precisely the same way.
And in this same year, also in MELITENE, another priest, who was likewise an ARMENIAN, was flayed alive because he had debauched a maiden of the neighbourhood who had been recently betrothed. He had taken her into the church, and wished to commit fornication with her, and when the miserable maiden began to cry out he placed the palm of his hand over her mouth until he had accomplished his shameful act. And when he rose up from her he found her drawing her last breath, and then he strangled (or, choked) her completely. And he cut off her ears and some of her fingers because they were swollen, and the rings of her fingers and her earrings would not come away from her, and he hid them in the lamps. And he wrapped her body up in a garment and placed it inside the altar. And after an hour, when her kinsfolk and parents began to seek for her, the children who were playing in the street said to them, [325] 'We saw her go into the church'. And when they asked the priest he said unto them, 'Yes, she came into the church, and when she saw that I was in the church she was shy of me and went out hurriedly without stopping for one moment'. And those believing folk believed him as they would naturally believe the priest.
And as they were going round about in the city and making search in the houses of their relatives, they saw the filthy man, who was no priest, with boots on his feet, and he was going out through the gate of the city; and they seized him and carried him to the governor. And when they had beaten him a little he confessed, and showed them the maiden's body and her ears and her fingers. And the whole city assembled there, ARABS and Christians, men and women, and with much weeping and loud lamentations they took the maiden out and buried her. And they flayed the filthy man and dismembered him, whilst he was alive, and [then] they burnt him.
And in the year fourteen hundred and sixty~eight of the GREEKS. (A.D. 1157), PRAYNS, the lord of ANTIOCH, went to CYPRUS, which was with the GREEKS, and he took the whole island, men, and sheep, and oxen, and horses, and all [its] riches. And when they brought them down to the seashore the CYPRIOTES undertook to ransom themselves and their beasts with much gold, and the FRANKS released them, but they took away all the treasure. And the bishops, and the archimandrites, and the governors of the people they carried off with them as hostages to ANTIOCH, until the gold was paid
And in the year fourteen hundred arid sixty-nine of the GREEKS (A.D. 1158) STEPHEN acted treacherously against TOROS his brother, and he wished to kill him. When TOROS perceived this he seized him and shut him up for ten months. And afterwards, at the entreaty of the FRANKS, he brought him out and he entered the service of the FRANKS. And in this year, which is the year five hundred and fifty-two of the ARABS (A.D. 1157), severe earthquakes took place in SYRIA and they destroyed many towns. As for HAMATH, its fortress and its town and all its large houses fell down upon old men, and women, and children, and tens of thousands of its inhabitants perished therein. And the fortress of SHAIZAR fell, every part of it, and only one woman and one eunuch escaped. And the people of EMESA went forth in great haste and were delivered, but their monasteries and its fortress perished. And in like manner the people of ALEPPO fled from the city, and sat down outside it for days and were delivered, and their houses were thrown down, but only five hundred souls perished in it. And so with KAPHAR TAB, and APAMEA, not one man escaped [326] from them, and many other places as far as RAHBUTH. And also the cities of the FRANKS, HESEN AL-AKRAD and 'ARKA, fell completely. In LAODICEA the great church only remained, and all those who were in it were delivered. And the ground inside it was rent asunder, and a chasm which was full of clay appeared, and in the middle of the clay a molten image was standing upright. And similarly the greater part of ANTIOCH and TRIPOLI was destroyed.
And in the year JOSCELYN died a prisoner in ALEPPO, after a complete repentance, according to what saith IGNATIUS, the bishop of ALEPPO, who administered to him the Mysteries. And in this year Sultan MAHAMMAD, the son of Sultan MAHMUD, came with a numerous army to BAGHDAD, and he encamped against it for four months, and harassed it greatly with war. Then the Khalifah having induced the nobles of the Sultan, by means of bribes, to agree, stopped him from fighting. And then came to them the report that MALIK SHAH, his brother, had captured HAMADAN and plundered it, and had taken also the wives of the nobles. Then the Sultan ceased to fight and he removed from BAGHDAD. And the armies of the people of BAGHDAD pursued him, and every one of the TURKS whom they captured they killed without mercy, because those TURKS had wrought great damage in the western side of BAGHDAD, where they were camped. And they used to commit fornication with married women in the Mosques in the sight of their husbands, and the murders which they committed, and the burnings of houses (or, quarters of the city) which they carried out were many.
And in this year Sultan SENJAR, the son of MALIK SHAH, the son of 'ALB 'ARSLAN, the son of DAWUD, died, after he had been saved from the hand of the GHUZZ who had made him prisoner. And in the year fourteen hundred and seventy of the GREEKS (A.D. 1159-58), MANUEL, the king of the GREEKS, went to CILIClA, and TOROS, the ARMENIAN, fled. And he, the king, ruled over TARSOS, and 'ANAZARBA and the other cities, and he remained there the whole winter. And the king of JERUSALEM and of ANTIOCH, together with the Patriarch of the FRANKS, came to him and they made an agreement with him; And they made peace between him and TOROS, and they brought him to him, and he made him captain of the host of all the cities of the GREEKS which are on the seashore. And all the Christians banded themselves together, GREEKS, and FRANKS, and ARMENIANS, to go and attack ALEPPO, [327] and DAMASCUS, and all SYRIA. Then came a report of treachery from CONSTANTINOPLE to the effect that they (i.e. the people) wished to appoint another king. Then MANUEL, the king, returned hurriedly to CONSTANTINOPLE, and the plan which they had planned did not come into effect. And in [that] year, in the month of NISAN (APRIL), a flood took place in BAGHDAD, and the waters destroyed a part of the walls of the palace of the Khalifah. And the people fled to the western part [of the city] carrying the sick, and the aged, and the young children on their shoulders, because wrath hurried them. And the hire of a boat for one journey amounted to four gold dinars.
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