Taranda (Taranta)

طرندة

Taranda (Taranta), a fortress lying in Byzantine country three stages from Malatya; the Muslims settled it after Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik raided it in year 83, building dwellings while Malatya lay ruined — Jaziran troops coming up each summer to stay until the snows fell, then marching home; Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz removed its people against their will, fearing the enemy for them — they smashed their vinegar and oil jars — settled them in Malatya and demolished Taranda.

Overview

Taranda is a fortress in the land of the Romans, three stages from Malatya. The Muslims settled in it after Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Malik raided it in the year 83 AH, and built houses there, according to al-Baladhuri. ¹

Malatya and Taranda

Malatya was then in ruins. In summer the Muslims would come out to it from the troops of al-Jazira, and they would stay at Taranda until the snow fell, and then return. Then Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz moved its people away from it, though they were unwilling, out of concern for them from the enemy. They broke the jars of vinegar and oil, and he settled them in Malatya and ruined Taranda. ¹

The Fall and Demolition of Malatya, 133

In al-Baladhuri from al-Waqidi: in year 133 Constantine the tyrant advanced deliberately on Malatya — Kamkh then being Muslim-held under a Sulami — and Kamkh's people sent the appeal to Malatya's, who rode out with two hundred horse and were beaten by the Roman cavalry; the Roman camped on Malatya and besieged those inside — the Jazira then in turmoil, its governor Musa ibn Ka'b at Harran, the messenger they sent him unable to relieve them — and when Constantine heard of it he told them: 'people of Malatya, I came only knowing your state and your sultan's distraction from you — come down on aman, evacuate the city for me to demolish, and I depart from you'; they refused, so he set mangonels on it, and when affliction ground them down and the siege hardened they asked him for sureties, which he gave; they prepared to march, loaded what they could, threw much of the weight into wells and caches, and went out — the Romans formed two files from the city gate to the end of their line with drawn swords held tip to tip like a bridge's arch, then escorted them to safety, whence they dispersed through the Jazira; the Romans demolished Malatya leaving but a tower they had partly wrecked, and demolished the fortress of Qaludhiya.

Taranda (Taranta)

At a glance

Overview

Malatya and Taranda

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Place

The Fall and Demolition of Malatya, 133