Your frontier posts now preserve nothing—thanks to your lassitude and frailty—save the fading traces of their landmarks.
We opened every single Armenian border-fortress with valiant youths as fierce as raging lions.
We mustered the cavalry, their jaws champing the bits until even the nose-bands were bitten through.
Then we swept on to every outpost in al-Jazīra, to the garrison of your Qinnasrīn and the strongholds beyond.
Malatya, and after it Samosata, fell once Karkar was subdued, while at sea still greater conquests came bursting forth.
At the Red Ḥadath my armies ranged unchecked, and at Kaysūm after the Jaʿfarī landmarks (1).
How many of that city’s proud men we humbled, so that they became for us mere slaves and servants!
We levelled the rampart of Sarūj with our host, leaving nothing standing but a lone minaret towering above every structure (2).
The people of ar-Ruhā sought refuge with us, girding themselves with the kerchief of a Master exalted beyond human description.
At dawn Ras al-ʿAyn was struck by our patricians (3), and our white blades were reddened by splitting skulls.
Dārā, Mayyāfāriqīn, and Arzan (4) we surprised at daybreak, our horsemen swarming them like ravenous beasts (5).
Crete itself my ships were hauled toward, over a sea foaming and tumultuous.
I took its people captive, and its women—long, flowing, raven-black hair—were driven off.
There we stormed ʿAyn Zarba by force; aye, and we annihilated every tyrant and oppressor.
Thence to Aleppo, whose womenfolk we violated, while every destroyer battered down its wall.
We seized the wives, then the girls, herding them off, and their boys we dragged away like slave-pages (6).
From that city the Sword of the State of your religion fled, and its would-be helper was one of us, despite every begrudger’s spite.
Next we turned upon Tarsus with a dreadful onslaught, making those inside taste a slaughter that cut the throat.
How many noble, free, ʿAlid ladies—soft-limbed, their wrists fragrant—
we captured and drove away, abased and bare-headed, without bridal gifts and without any judge’s decree.