Jewish War Quake

Background and Biography

• σειομένης (seismos) is translated as shaking, earthquake, or storm here. Thus, there is doubt whether Josephus intended to describe shaking from a storm as if in an earthquake or shaking due to an actual earthquake.

• The historical backdrop for this excerpt is the Zealot Temple Siege in Jerusalem which took place in the midst of the First Jewish War against Rome (~66-~73 CE). As Josephus was an eyewitness to many of the events of this time, the date for this event is well fixed at 68 CE. However, the text seems to suggest that Josephus was describing rumblings from a violent storm and/or describing a portent of future disaster.

• there broke out a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that was in an earthquake.

• Jerusalem

Kagan et. al. (2011) identified a 1 cm. thick Type 4 seismite at a depth of 338 cm. with modeled ages of 63 CE ± 38 (1σ) and 61 CE ± 81 (2σ) which they assigned to the Jerusalem Quake - a more likely candidate.

Migowski et. al. (2004) assigned a 0.4 cm. thick Type 4 seismite at a depth of 268.2 cm. (2.682 m) to a date of 76 CE. If Williams et. al. (2012) analysis of the uncertainty in Migowski's date assignments can be extended to this 76 CE date assignment, Migowski et al (2004) identified a seismite formed in 76 CE ± 9 - i.e. between 67 CE and 85 CE.

At site ZA-2, Kagan et al (2011) assigned a 4 cm. thick Type 4 seismite at a depth of 470 cm. (Modeled Ages 1σ - 52 CE ± 40 and 2σ - 56 CE ± 76) to a date of 33 CE which in this case is shorthand for the Jerusalem Quake - a more likely candidate. At site ZA-1, Ken-Tor et al. (2001a) and Williams (2004) dated a ~4 cm. thick Type 4 seismite at a depth of 470 cm to 12-91 AD (1σ) and associated it with the Jerusalem Quake (31 AD ± 5). This seismite was labeled as Event C at site ZA-1.

LeFevre et al. (2018) tentatively identified a poorly expressed seismic event (E5) in the Taybeh trench which they modeled between 80 BCE and 141 CE. Although they identified the 31 BCE Josephus Quake as the most likely candidate, the ~31 CE Jerusalem Quake may be a more likely candidate. LeFevre et al. (2018) noted that the poor expression of Event E5 (vertical cracks in the trench) meant that the cracks could have been caused by a later Event (E4) which they associated with the early 2nd century CE Incense Road Earthquake.

Klinger et. al. (2015) identified a seismic event (E6) in a trench near Qatar, Jordan in the Araba which they modeled between 9 BCE and 492 CE. The large spread in age caused them to consider two possible earthquakes as the cause; the early 2nd century CE Incense Road Quake and the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. They preferred the Cyril Quake of 363 CE based on weighing other evidence not related to their paleoseismic study and noted that further investigation was required.

It is possible that in the (2?) years prior to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem, a famine struck Judea and Samaria. In his book the Jewish War, Josephus frequently mentions famines during this perilous time however further research is required to ascertain whether these famines were due to climatic conditions, destruction of agriculture during the War, a deliberate starvation strategy of the Romans as they sieged the cities, or some combination of the above. Two excerpts which may allude to a natural famine are listed below.

Jewish War Book 4 Chapter 1 Paragraph 9

But of the people of Gamala, those that were of the bolder sort fled away and hid themselves, while the more infirm perished by famine; but the men of war sustained the siege till the two and twentieth day of the month Hyperberetmus, [Tisri] when three soldiers of the fifteenth legion, about the morning watch, got under a high tower that was near them, and undermined it, without making any noise; nor when they either came to it, which was in the night time, nor when they were under it, did those that guarded it perceive them. These soldiers then upon their coming avoided making a noise, and when they had rolled away five of its strongest stones, they went away hastily; whereupon the tower fell down on a sudden, with a very great noise, and its guard fell headlong with it; so that those that kept guard at other places were under such disturbance, that they ran away; the Romans also slew many of those that ventured to oppose them, among whom was Joseph, who was slain by a dart, as he was running away over that part of the wall that was broken down: but as those that were in the city were greatly aftrighted at the noise, they ran hither and thither, and a great consternation fell upon them, as though all the enemy had fallen in at once upon them. Then it was that Chares, who was ill, and under the physician's hands, gave up the ghost, the fear he was in greatly contributing to make his distemper fatal to him. But the Romans so well remembered their former ill success, that they did not enter the city till the three and twentieth day of the forementioned month.

Now the Roman garrisons, which guarded the cities, partly out of their uneasiness to take such trouble upon them, and partly out of the hatred they bare to the Jewish nation, did little or nothing towards relieving the miserable, till the captains of these troops of robbers, being satiated with rapines in the country, got all together from all parts, and became a band of wickedness, and all together crept into Jerusalem, which was now become a city without a governor, and, as the ancient custom was, received without distinction all that belonged to their nation; and these they then received, because all men supposed that those who came so fast into the city came out of kindness, and for their assistance, although these very men, besides the seditions they raised, were otherwise the direct cause of the city's destruction also; for as they were an unprofitable and a useless multitude, they spent those provisions beforehand which might otherwise have been sufficient for the fighting men. Moreover, besides the bringing on of the war, they were the occasions of sedition and famine therein.