The second sack of 'Ayn Zarba, 351

In Muharram 351 AH Byzantine hosts entered 'Ayn Zarba, one of the frontier towns of Syria, with 160,000 men. It was among the hardest blows to the frontiers in the time of al-Muti' lillah, and at the same time al-Mutanabbi was describing Sayf al-Dawla's conquests to him. ¹

The Muslims asked for safe-conduct, and the king of the Romans granted it. When he entered the town, at nightfall he proclaimed that all the people should come out to the congregational mosque, and that whoever stayed in his house would be killed. At dawn he sent his men out, and whoever they found in his house they killed. He also proclaimed to those who had gathered in the mosque that they might leave wherever they wished, and that whoever was still in it at nightfall would be killed. People crowded at the doors, and many died from the crush, while most of the Muslims died in the streets. ¹

The king of the Romans ordered the palm groves of the town cut down, and forty thousand palms were felled. He ordered the congregational mosque demolished, the pulpit broken, and the town wall and houses pulled down. He remained twenty-one days in Muslim lands, and took the fifty-four forts around 'Ayn Zarba, some by the sword and some by safe-conduct. Afterwards Sayf al-Dawla rebuilt 'Ayn Zarba. ²