1822 CE Aleppo Quake

AD 1822 Aug 13 Southeastern Anatolia

This earthquake was the largest to occur at the junction of the Dead Sea fault zone with the East Anatolian fault during the last five centuries The earthquake was felt from the coast of the Black Sea to Gaza and it was followed by a long aftershock sequence. The shock almost entirely destroyed the region between Gaziantep and Antakya in Turkey and Aleppo and Han Sheikhun in northwestern Syria, killing a very large number of people.

Slight shocks, reported mainly from Aleppo and Antakya, began on 5 August and continued intermittently until 12 August, but, since they were like many others that had been experienced in the past, they caused no alarm to the inhabitants. At 20 h 10 m on 13 August a strong shock was felt in the region bounded by Lattakiya, Aleppo and Antakya: this caused considerable concern and warned the people of what was to follow. The main shock happened 30 minutes later in three phases lasting altogether 40 seconds. A flash of light was seen in the sky over Aleppo, Antakya, Suaidiya and Iskenderun. After a short pause, the main shock was followed for about 8 minutes by successive shocks, about 30 in all, each of short duration but of damaging intensity; in Aleppo, Antakya and Aintab these were as strong as the main shock and completed the destruction and caused the bulk of the loss of life.

The most northerly part of the area destroyed was that of Gaziantep and Atmanlu. The chief town of Aintab was almost completely destroyed: most houses collapsed and the remainder were rendered uninhabitable; mosques, medreses, the old castle (already in ruins), part of the old aqueduct and the surrounding villages were destroyed with great loss of life. The villages of Sagce, Araplar, Burc and Kehriz were destroyed and many people and animals were killed. Survivors sheltered in tents and huts outside the villages for a long time after the earthquake.

Damage was equally heavy in the districts of Shikaghi and particularly of Jum and in the settlements along the Aafrine river, where it is said that the flow of water in streams was reversed for some time before they dried up, while elsewhere the flow of stream water temporarily increased. The ground opened up for some distance as a result of the earthquake; the Orontes river overflowed its banks, destroying bridges and embankments so that cultivated land was flooded, and the river altered its course permanently. The exact location of these changes is not known, but may have been where the routes from Antakya and Lattakiya to Aleppo cross the Orontes, that is between Hadid and Jisr as-Shugr, rather than further north. The small town of Kilis was destroyed with loss of life – it is said that there existed an inscription on the Cekmeceli Cami in the town that commemorated the event.

Harim and Armenhaz, further to the south, were totally destroyed, and Darkush was ruined partly by the shock and partly by landslides that carried away part of the village. Near there, at an unknown locality, a landslide temporarily blocked the Orontes river in the valley to the north towards Hadid. South of Darkush narrow gorges of the Orontes collapsed and the village of Jisr asShugr was entirely destroyed, with loss of life. Individual farmhouses and small settlements in the area of Jur were razed to the ground.

Han Sheikhun, al-Riha, Idlib and particularly Maarat were almost completely ruined, but the loss of life was not great. Houses collapsed in these places but large buildings, although shattered, were left standing, except in Maarat, where they were brought down by aftershocks that also crevassed the banks of the Orontes. It is said that damage extended to Hama and that the town suffered as much as did Aleppo.

Aleppo, a city built almost entirely of stone, with about 40 000 houses containing a population of about 200 000, including the suburbs, was ruined. Statistics for earthquake casualties are generally reckoned to be grossly exaggerated; however, the best estimate of casualties in Aleppo is that made some time after the event by European consuls, who reckon that 7000 people were killed within the walls of the city (the gates of which were shut for the night at the time of the earthquake) and about 200 in the extramural part of Aleppo, where most people were able to escape into the gardens.

The shock, and its many destructive aftershocks during the ensuing 10 minutes, killed 5300 Arabs and Turks, including Sheikh Abdallah ar-Razah, a religious leader of Aleppo. The Jews suffered most, since their quarters were badly built and with very narrow lanes between the houses; out of a total of about 3000, 600 were killed, mainly women and children. The Armenian community lost about 1400 and the very much smaller European community lost 13, including the Grand Dragoman and the Austrian consul, who was killed in the street in an aftershock occurring a few minutes after the main shock. Indeed, most of those killed within the walls of the city perished in the narrow lanes trying to escape during this aftershock period. The walls of the citadel were ruined but the 18-m-high watchtower and the nearby 86-mdeep draw-well were not affected. Many hans and souks, including that of the perfume-makers, were ruined. The al-Fanig gate collapsed and the Hanaqa al-qadim was damaged. The houses of all the Europeans, both public agents and private individuals, were entirely destroyed, as were all Christian convents and other buildings. The large building that had been the British consulate for 230 years was ruined, although not entirely reduced to rubble. In general, the upper part of the city of Aleppo and the European sector suffered less than the rest, but damage was so widespread that most European merchants removed themselves to Cyprus after the earthquake.

It is said that before the earthquake the temperature of well water had perceptibly increased and that after the earthquake the flow of the Quwayq river was arrested for many hours near Hailan, where there was much damage.

The town of Antakya and its surrounding villages were ruined. The town was evacuated and its inhabitants camped in the open fields for a long time. Many small settlements in the upper and lower Quseir area were razed to the ground. The shock did not cause any extensive ground ruptures near Antakya, although crevasses were to be seen in the low ground near the town and in the Amik valley. Water issued from many of these, but soon subsided, this being a clear indication of the liquefaction of the ground.

Beilan was heavily damaged, presumably without casualties, but some of its more substantial buildings were almost totally destroyed. At Iskenderun the shock was strong enough to destroy a number of houses and to cause extensive liquefaction along the coast and in the plain at the foot of the Gavur mountain, where areas of cultivated land turned into marshes, the ground water rising permanently to well above ground level and inundating a number of settlements. At Payas damage was more serious – some houses near the old port sank into the ground but most of the people escaped unhurt.

Damage along the Syrian coast was also serious. One third of Lattakiya was again destroyed and a further third was damaged. Not a single warehouse in the harbour area was considered to have escaped; the convent and the French consulate were damaged and 48 people were killed and 20 injured. The town was completely evacuated. In the marina, about 15 km from the town, the ruined fort, the mosque and the large han which had been rebuilt after the 1796 earthquake collapsed and houses and stores were considerably damaged. Jeble was more heavily damaged and people were killed. The great mosque that housed the tomb of Sufi Ibrahim b. Adham collapsed. Damage was also reported from Markab, where, among other buildings, the castle of the Crusaders on the mountain partly collapsed.

Damage extended to the region of Adana and Misis, where villages along the road to Antakya were ruined. It is not known whether this was due to the severe shaking or to the widespread liquefaction of the ground which was reported from the low-lying plain of the Ceyhan river. Kozan, Maras and Nizip also seem to have been affected, although contemporary reports seem to exaggerate the effects of the 1822 earthquake, which they confound with the effects of that of 1811, a much smaller event that caused considerable damage to these towns.

Further away, the shock was strongly felt in Tarsus. At Homs it caused unspecified damage while in Tripoli and its dependencies it was violent and caused damage in places.

The earthquake was reported from Beirut and Sidon, and from Damascus, where people spent the night camping in the open spaces and outside the city, which is said to have suffered slightly. In Jerusalem and Gaza to the south, and in Trabzon, Tokat and Merzifon to the north, the shock was strongly felt; it was not, however, reported in Alexandria, contrary to later statements that confuse this place with Alexandretta (Iskenderun). The earthquake was felt throughout the island of Cyprus, particularly at Kition and Larnaca, where it caused some concern, but it was not so strong at Limassol. Northeast of Aleppo, at Urfa and along the Euphrates, there is some evidence that both the main shock and the aftershocks of August 15 1822 and June 30 1823 were felt and caused some damage. Contemporary reports also suggest damage at Kiyarbakir and add that the earthquake was perceptible throughout Mespotamia (Jazira).

The main shock was felt by ships sailing between Cyprus and Lattakiya and halfway between Alexandria and Cyprus. There is no evidence that this event was associated with a seismic sea wave in the eastern Mediterranean or with an abnormal fluctuation of sea level. Destructive aftershocks occurred on 15 and 23 August, 5 and 29 September, 18 October 1822 and June 30 1823, the sequence terminating in March 1824.

It is not possible to determine the total number of people killed in this earthquake. Contemporary estimates vary between 30 000 and 60 000, while more sober estimates put the total at 20 000 dead and as many injured. Internal evidence does suggest, however, that the destruction and loss of life may have been very great. For example, although the number of people killed in the Aintab (Gaziantep) region is not known, the fact that the authorities issued instructions after the earthquake to regulate the handling of inheritance cases that arose in the district is itself an indication of the gravity of the situation. A further indication is that Aintab (Gaziantep), Aleppo and other affected districts were relieved of the obligation to provide supplies for the Ottoman troops in the area, the plea for assistance from the Ottoman Porte being met with the rejoinder that there was no other solution than enduring God’s decree. It is said that the loss of life amongst the Armenian population in Aintab, one third of the total, was so great that there were no priests left to officiate at burials and that the amount of property left by those killed without surviving relatives to inherit, which passed to the state, was very great. At Kilis it is said that the loss of life was so great that there were too few people to pick the olive harvest that year.

The serious damage caused to the city of Aleppo had social implications. Many left and settled elsewhere, while business life was so much affected that the French consul requested permission from Paris to move his office to Beirut; he was only one of the Europeans who never returned to Aleppo after the earthquake. Some built timber-frame houses outside the walls on a site that eventually became the al-Kattab suburb, where permission was given for a church to be built. The extent of damage to the part of the city outside the walls is reflected in the fact that the moat was soon filled with the rubble from the houses thrown down in the earthquake. One of the reasons for the decline of Aleppo as a commercial centre in the early 1800s was the earthquake of 1822 and its long and damaging aftershock sequence. For many years after the earthquake only a few huts were to be seen on the ruins of the villages further south, along the Orontes river at Darkush and Jisr as-Shugr.

Much of the news about the earthquake originated shortly after the event from the consular correspondence and letters from missionaries published in the European press. Communications with the stricken area were made difficult not only by the civil war raging at the time but also by the restrictions imposed on movements as a result of the cholera epidemic that spread into the region from Mesopotamia. To make matters even worse, Bedouins descended on Aleppo and the eastern bank of the Orontes from the Syrian desert and plundered the ruins. Marauding tribesmen and renegade soldiers made the countryside unsafe for a number of years after the earthquake.

News of the disaster reached the Ottoman Porte on August 28, but was kept from the public during the festivities of the Feast of Sacrifice. Except for the temporary relief from taxation mentioned above, no evidence has yet been found that the affected areas received any outside assistance. The Levant Company raised subscriptions in London for the sufferers, but only a small part of this was spent since the Porte did not, on this occasion, permit its subjects to be relieved by a foreign nation.

The importance of the earthquake of 1822 lies not only in the fact that it was one of the largest shocks in the Eastern Mediterranean region, but also and mainly in that it occurred in an area that has been totally quiescent during this century.

What follows is a sample of the sources of information available for this event, which are too numerous to incorporate as part of the text.

References

[1] AN Corr. Consul. (Beyrouth), (Alep), (Tarsus) and (Larnaca).
[2] BBA CD 6009.
[3] BBA MMD 8950.4, 26.
[4] PRO FO 78/110.35, 195/39, 112.418 (Constantinople); 78/110.40 (Aleppo); 78/112.31 (Alexandria); 78/112.10/ 1 (Latakia, Aleppo) addendum; 78/112.82.6 (London); SP.105/140.311–347, 142.203–208 (Antioch); 105/141.307 (Aleppo); and 105/141.291–301 (Suedia).
[5] PGG 1822, 10.9.
[6] PJD 1822, 10.2, 4, 11.25, 12.31.
[7] PMU 1822, 10.5, 11.13, 1823, 1.1.
[8] PTT 1823, 1.17–28, 3.2, 9.30.
[9] Anonymous (1822a).
[10] Anonymous (1822b).
[11] Anonymous (1822c).
[12] Anonymous (1822d).
[13] Anonymous (1823a).
[14] Anonymous (1823b, 2–7).
[15] Anonymous (1854).
[16] Aucher-Eloy (1842, 84).
[17] Barker (1823, 104–107; 1825, 64–65).
[18] Barker (1876, 321–341).
[19] Beadle (1842).
[20] Bodman (1963).
[21] Brun (1868, 38).
[22] Callien (c. 1830, 15–55).
[23] C¸ evdet (1891, xii. 45).
[24] Derche (1824).
[25] Dienner (1886).
[26] Ehrenberg (1827, 602).
[27] Elisseeff (1967, 766).
[28] Esad (f. 81r).
[29] Galles (1885, 3–7).
[30] Al-Ghazzi (iii. 329).
[31] Guzelbey and Yetkin (1970, 121). ¨
[32] Guys (1822, 301–305).
[33] Jowett (1825).
[34] Kadri (1932, 105).
[35] Le Calloc’h (1992).
[36] Lemmens (1898).
[37] Neal (1852, ii. 94).
[38] Nostitz (1873, i. 117).
[39] Oberhummer (1902).
[40] Prevelakis and Katsiadakis (2005, 345, 356).
[41] Regnault (1822).
[42] Robinson (1837a, 306; 1837b, ii. 253, 312).
[43] Sale (1840).
[44] Sauvaget (1941, 203–219).
[45] Schmidt (1867a, 37).
[46] Al-Tabbakh (Halab, iii. 400).
[47] Tarih-i Esad 2083. f. 81r.
[48] Verneur (1822, 6, 154, 394).
[49] Wolff (1860, 272, 294)



References

Ambraseys, N. (2009). Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: a multidisciplinary study of seismicity up to 1900. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press.

• Jisr Ash’Shoughour: IX
• Quseir: IX
• Aleppo: VIII-IX
• Darkoush: VIII-IX
• Antioch: VIII
• Iskenderun: VIII
• Idleb: VIII
• Sarmeen: VIII
• Kelless: VIII
• Armanaz: VII-VIII
• Sarmada: VII-VIII
• Lattakia: VII
• Homs: VII
• Hama: VII
• Maraash: VII
• Ram Hamadan: VII
• Bennesh: VII
• Maarret Missrin: VII
• Damascus: III
• Gaza: III
• Al-Quds: III
• Black Sea: III
• Cyprus: III

• Faulting
• tsunami

• Ambraseys (1989): 1822 August 13, 20:40 (LT), 36.7N-36.9E, M_S = 7.4, I₀ (MSK) = X.


• Plassard and Kogoj (1981): 1822 August 13, in Lebanon I=V, an earthquake, causing destruction in Antioch, Aleppo and Lattakia with tsunami. It was felt in Damascus and Cyprus (Blanckenhorn; Sieberg; Willis).


• Poirier and Taher (1980): 1822 August 13, I₀= X-XI (MMS), Aleppo destroyed at 60%, sea wave at Iskenderun.


• Ben-Menahem (1979): 1822 August 14, 36.4N36.2E, I₀= X-XI, M_L= 7.1, destruction of Antioch and Aleppo. Felt in Jerusalem and Cyprus. Tsunami at Beirut (Amiran; Kárník; Ergin et al.; Plassard and Kogoj; Sieberg).


• Ambraseys and Barazangi (1989): 36.7N36.9E, M_S= 7.4

Ambraseys (1989): 1822 August 13, this earthquake was the largest in the Border Zone in the last five centuries. It was felt from the coast of the Black Sea to Gaza, and it was followed by an aftershock sequence that lasted almost 2.5 years. The shock almost destroyed the region between Gaziantep and Antakia in Turkey and Aleppo and Khan Sheikhun in NW Syria, killing a very large number of people. Slight shocks began on August 5 and continued until August 12, reported from Aleppo and Antioch. At 8 h 10 min p.m. on August 13 a strong shock was felt in the region between Lattakia, Aleppo and Antioch, causing considerable concern. The main shock happened 30 min later. Gaziantep and its surrounding villages were almost completely destroyed with great loss of life. Damage was equally heavy in the districts of Shikaghi and particularly of Jum and in the settlements along the Aafrine River. The ground opened up for some distance. The Orontes River overflowed its banks destroying bridges and embankments. Killis was destroyed with loss of life. Harem and Armanaz were totally destroyed. Darkush was ruined partly and a landslide blocked the Orontes River. Jisr As-Shugr was entirely destroyed with loss of life. Khan Sheikhun, Ariha, Idleb and particularly Maarat were almost completely ruined but the loss of life was not great. Houses collapsed in these places but large buildings, although shattered, were left standing, except in Maarat where they were brought down by aftershocks which also crevassed the banks of the Orontes. It is said that damage extended to Hama and that it suffered as much as Aleppo. Aleppo was ruined with 7000 deaths within the walls of the city. The walls of the citadel were ruined. Many houses, gates and Souks were ruined. It is said that before the earthquake the temperature of well water had increased. Antioch and its surrounding villages were ruined. Many small settlements in the upper and lower Quseir area were razed to the ground and there was a liquefaction of the ground near the town. Beilan was heavily damaged without casualties. In Iskenderun, number of houses were destroyed with liquefaction. At Payas, some houses sunk into the ground but without loss of life. One-third of Lattakia was destroyed and one-third damaged. In Marina, the fort, the mosque and the large khan collapsed, and houses and stores were considerably damaged. Jableh was more heavily damaged and people were killed. Damage was also reported from Markab and the castle of the Crusaders partly collapsed. Villages in the regions of Adana and Misis were ruined. Marash and Nizip also seem to have been affected. Tarsus was strongly affected by this event. At Homs it caused unspecified damage. At Tripoli and its dependencies, it was violent and caused damage. It was strongly felt at Beirut, Sidon, Jerusalem, Gaza, Trabzon, Tokat and Merzifon. It caused panic at Damascus. It was felt in Cyprus and Mesopotamia. It was felt at Urfa, Dyar Bakr and along the Euphrates and caused some damage. Destructive aftershocks occurred in 1822 August 15 and 23, September 5 and 29, October 18 and 1823 June 30, the sequence terminating in 1824 March. The total number of killed people varies between 30000 and 60000 (Consular Archives; Güzelbey and Yetkin; Press Reports).

Sieberg (1932): 1822 August 13, a vast destructive earthquake in Northern Syria. It was said that 20000 people were killed. Antioch was a victim completely to that earthquake. In Aleppo, 2/3 of houses became not suitable for living and it was said that 1/3 inhabitants were killed. In Iskanderun and Lattakia, there was heavy damage to the houses. It was felt in Adana, Dayr Bakir, Damascus, Jerusalem and Cyprus. Aftershocks continued to the end of June 1823 in Aleppo and Lattakia.

Al-Tabakh Al-Halabi (1925): Al-Sheikh Bakri Kateb [a religious leader in Aleppo] says that: «In August, many great earthquakes occurred causing the collapsing of the Jewish quarter, the Souk of Perfumery and Al-Aqaba [in Aleppo]. These earthquakes lasted 40 days for every day, collapsing schools and houses in the city [of Aleppo] to the extent people went out of the town. Minerat of the great Mosque was cracked». Jawdat Basha says that: «On the 3rd hour of the night of 6 Zu-L-Hijja 1237 A.H. [1822 August 23], a strong earthquake occurred in Aleppo, Kelless, Antioch and their vicinity, causing many buildings to collapse and large number of people to die under the debris». I [means Al-Tabakh Al-Halabi] catch a poem arranged by Mohammad Taqi edDin who lived in Aleppo during this year [1237 A.H.], describing these earthquakes and their effects in the localities. He says: «An awful earthquake occurred in Aleppo on the night of Wednesday [Tuesday], buildings fell, people were killed, khans collapsed, mosques ruined and the citadel of Aleppo collapsed with falling its stones in the surrounding trench. In Homs, Hama, Marash and Al-Maarat, people were killed. In Ariha and Salqein, the earth faulted. The earth in Gaziaintab and Atareb was shaking. Both Al-Quseir and Jisr Ash’Shougour cities were ruined and people were killed. Houses ruined and people killed in the villages of Aleppo. The ground in Al-Atareb and Ipin sunk. Ram Hamadan suffered. Idlib and Sarmeen became ruined completely. Bennesh and Maarret Missrin were ruined partially. In Darkoush, all houses fell, people were killed and sunk. In Armanaz, houses fell, some inhabitants ran away, others lost and others were injured. Kelless suffered as Aleppo. Sarmada and its vicinity collapsed and people ran away. In Antioch the tower, the city wall, khans and houses collapsed». Al-Sheikh Mohammad Al-Termanini from Aleppo (died in 1250 A.H.) says that: «On the 3rd hour of the night of 27 Zu-L-Qada 1237 A.H. [1822 August 14] there was an earthquake in and around Aleppo. While we were talking on the 3rd hour of that night, a terrible earthquake occurred causing great panic. At the beginning, we thought it was The Day of Judgment. This earthquake caused the collapse of houses, palaces, and the loss of about 10000 lives. We ran away to the desert. This earthquake caused also the collapse of houses, schools, mosques and soaks that were in front of the gate of the citadel [of Aleppo], starting from Khan Al-Farayin (in the west) to the Salt Square, Al-Mzaweq and Bab Al-Ahmar (in the east), and to the boundaries of Al-Qasileh and Al-Saphahiyya (in the north); only the school of Khessrow Basha, Mosque of Al-Atroush, the school of Al-Sultaniyya and the bath of Al-Nassiryya survived».

ANF: A terrible earthquake occurred in 1822 August 13 at 09:50 p.m. (local time) lasted for one minute, causing great damage at Aleppo, destroying monuments, minarets, high buildings and walls of Aleppo, and killing many people. At Lattakia, half the city was destroyed and it was more terrible than the 1794 earthquake. Antioch was completely reduced to ruins and many open fractures appeared, producing smoke and lava (?). The Orontes River fled on the neighboring banks, destroying villages, bridges and dams. Iskenderun was destroyed. New springs appeared. The deeply affected area in north west Syria has a radius of 160 km. Villages of Aleppo district were demolished and others swallowed up. The seismic waves had vertical and horizontal components with East West direction. (In fact, this earthquake was followed by many big aftershocks from the date of the main shock up to writing this letter).

Abdul-Wahed, M. K., et al. (2019). Simulation of 1822 Aleppo historical earthquake. The 34th annual conference for the History of Arabic Science At: Institute for the History of Arabic Science, Aleppo University, Syria, 23-25 April 2019 - in Arabic

Ambraseys, N. N. (1989). "Temporary seismic quiescence: SE Turkey." Geophysical Journal International 96(2): 311-331.

Ambraseys, N. N., Jackson, J.A. (1998). "Faulting associated with historical and recent earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region." Geophysical Journal International 133(2): 390-406.

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2019). The 13th-August-1822 Aleppo Earthquake: Implications for the Seismic Hazard Assessment at the Antakia Triple Junction, Cham , Springer International Publishing.

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2019b). The 13 August 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New Historical Documents on the Seismic Destruction. The 34th annual conference for the History of Arabic Science At: Institute for the History of Arabic Science, Aleppo University, Syria, 23-25 April 2019 - in Arabic

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2019c). The 13th-August-1822 Aleppo Earthquake: Implications for the Seismic Hazard Assessment at the Antakia Triple Junction: Trends and Applications in Science and Engineering. On Significant Applications of Geophysical Methods. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation, Springer: 179-181.

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2022). "The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New Historical Sources and Strong Ground Motion Simulation." Geofísica Internacional 61: 201-228. - in English, lots of sources and analysis, open access

Knost, S. (2011). Chapter 9 Shaping the City Aleppo's Foreigner Community and the Earthquake of 1822. Historical Disasters in Context Science, Religion, and Politics G. S. Andrea JANKU, and Franz Mauelshagen. New York, Routledge: 21.