656 AH, as will be clarified, Allah willing, in its proper place (1). And Allah—glorified and exalted—knows best.
[Then entered] (2) the year 600 AH of the Prophetic Hijrah.
In this year the Franks gathered (3) a great host of their people, intending—so they claimed—to wrest Jerusalem from the Muslims. Allah, however, diverted them (4) from that by setting them against the Byzantines. As they passed through Constantinople they found its rulers divided, so they besieged the city until they captured it by force and allowed it three days of unrestricted killing and captivity. More than a quarter of its wealth (5) was consumed by fire, and when the three days were over (6) not a single Byzantine remained save someone slain, impoverished, manacled, or taken captive. The great majority of those who survived (7)(8) fled to their grand church called Sophia (9). The Franks made for it (10), and the priests (11) came out carrying the Gospels, pleading with them and reciting its words before them, but they paid no heed to anything with which (12) they were confronted. Instead they slaughtered them to the last man, sparing none whatsoever, and seized everything in the church—ornaments, gold, and wealth beyond counting—together with whatever adorned the crosses and the walls. Praise belongs to Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate: whatever He wills comes to pass, and whatever He does not will never occurs.
The Frankish kings then drew lots. They were three: the Doge (13) of the Venetians, an elderly blind man whose horse had to be led; the Marquis of the French; and the Count of Flanders, who possessed the largest host and the most equipment. The lot fell to him three times, so they installed him as king of Constantinople, while the other two kings took portions of the territory. Thus, in this year, dominion passed from the Byzantines to the Franks in Constantinople. “Say, ‘O Allah, Master of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:26).
Nothing remained in Byzantine hands there except the land beyond the strait, which was seized by one of them called Lashkri (14). He continued to hold that district until he died—may Allah curse him.