زبطرة

زبطرة

Zibatra, an old Roman fortress of the frontier; Habib ibn Maslama took it with the old fortress of al-Hadath in Umar's days; the Romans wrecked it in al-Walid ibn Yazid's days and again in Marwan ibn Muhammad's civil war — al-Mansur rebuilt it, the Romans damaged it, al-Rashid rebuilt and garrisoned it through Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, and al-Ma'mun repaired and fortified it after a raid on its people's herds; in al-Mu'tasim's caliphate the Romans came to it, killed the men, captured the women and wrecked it — the proximate cause of his expedition to Amorium — after which it was rebuilt, fortified and garrisoned, the Romans later attempting it in vain.