In this year, the caliph al-Mutawakkil ordered the construction of the city of Mahuza and the excavation of its canal. According to reports, he spent 2,000,000 dinars on the construction of this city and the caliphal palace built there, known as Lulue.
In this year, a great number of earthquakes occurred in various parts of the country. For example, due to the earthquake that struck Antioch, 1,500 houses collapsed. More than ninety of the towers on the walls of Antioch were also destroyed. Frightening sounds were heard from various regions. People immediately fled from their homes. Near Antioch, a mountain known as Akra split apart and was swallowed by the sea. The sea waters surged. A foul-smelling and black smoke rose to the skies. The waters of the river at a distance of one farsakh from Antioch dried up. Its destination was unknown.
According to Abū Jaʿfar b. Jarīr, in this year the people of Tinnīs also heard loud noises and many people died.
Additionally, in this year, earthquakes occurred in Urfa, Raqqa, Harran, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Homs, Damascus, Tarsus, Mopsuestia, Adana, and the coasts of Syria. The city of Latakia was also shaken, and all the houses there collapsed upon their inhabitants. Very few people remained there. The region of Jableh, together with its inhabitants, also sank into the ground.
In this year, the water of the Mishash spring in Mecca dried up; so much so that the price of a water-skin in Mecca rose to eighty dirhams. Afterwards, the caliph al-Mutawakkil sent a large sum of money there, had the spring excavated, and water was brought forth.
In this year, famous figures such as Isḥāq b. Abī Isrāʾīl, the judge Suwwār b. ʿAbd Allāh, and Hilāl al-Rāzī passed away.
In this year, Najāḥ b. Salama died. This person was the head of the dīwān al-tawqīʿ (the bureau of official decrees). This bureau oversaw the accounts of governors and other officials. Najāḥ had risen in rank and esteem in the eyes of al-Mutawakkil. However, he later became involved in an affair, and for this reason al-Mutawakkil confiscated his wealth and properties. Ibn Jarīr recounts this story at length.
In this year, other famous figures such as Aḥmad b. ʿAbda al-Dabbī, Abū'l-Hays al-Qawwās, the Meccan Qurʾān reciter, Aḥmad b. Naṣr al-Nīsābūrī, Isḥāq b. Abī Isrāʾīl, Ismāʿīl b. Mūsā b. bint al-Suddī, Dhū'n-Nūn al-Miṣrī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Ibrāhīm Duhaym, Muḥammad b. Rāfiʿ, Hishām b. ʿAmmār, and Abū Turāb al-Nakhshabī also passed away.