Hama
A city on the Orontes in central Syria, which Ibn al-Wardi praised as one of the best of lands.
Today: Hama, Syria
The Plague Goes Town by Town
Ibn al-Wardi, The Report of the Pestilence, from his chronicle (Aleppo, 1348) · 1348 (the essay); the chronicle entries 1346–1349
ثم أمر المزة وبرز إلى برزة وركب تركيب مزج على بعلبك وأنشد في قارة قفانبك ورمى حمص بجلل وصرفها مع علمه أن فيها ثلاث علل ثم طلق الكنه في حماه فبردت أطراف عاصيها من حماه:
Then it made al-Mizza bitter and came out to Barza. It fused itself to Baalbek, and at Qara it recited “Halt, let us weep.” It struck Homs a heavy blow, then let it go, knowing that Homs had three ailments. Then in Hama it [...?], and the banks of its Orontes turned cold with fever:
(يا أيها الطاعون أن حماه من ... خير البلاد ومن أعز حصونها)
(لا كنت حين شممتها فسممتها ... ولتمت فاها آخذا بقرونها)
O plague, Hama is one of the best of lands, the strongest of its fortresses. Curse you! You smelled it and you poisoned it, and kissed its mouth, holding it by its locks.