The one in 1226 CE which is the most similar to 2020’s was used to predict the end of the Abbasid Caliphate
“Mind when the two greater stars approach for it is a sign of the end”
This was then combined with other methods like the lord of the year, ingress, Saturn Mars conjunctions, eclipses, lunar movements, comets etc
Politically it meant the end of the dawla
The end of the Abbasids gave way to the Turco-Mongol dynasties (in the age of Air for 200 ish years)
In politics a ruler with a good astrologer could use these astral omens to legitimize their overthrow of rival dynasty
The destroyer was a title of Mars, likely indicating Mars was rising and also the lord of the year in the horoscope
It’s also probably one of the lesser understood techniques in more recent years, but thoroughly fascinating!