Posidonius Quake

Background and Biography

Excerpts

Strabo (~ 64 BC – ~ 24 AD), in his book Geographicum, using Posidonius (~135 BC – ~ 51 BC) as his source, reports on an earthquake which destroyed two thirds of Sidon and was felt moderately over all of Syria. Chronology

This earthquake is not well dated. As noted by Ambraseys (2009) and others, Book I Chapter 3 by Strabo is not ordered chronologically. It is ordered thematically. However, because the account of an earthquake near Sidon is (mistakenly) conflated with earthquakes in the Cyclades, Euboea, and Chalcis along with a volcanic eruption in the Lelantine Plain, the dates of these alleged events might help estimate the date of the Posidonius Quake near Sidon. Ambraseys (2009) suggests that the earthquake in the Cyclades refers to an earthquake that caused damage in the nearby Dodecanese which he dates to the second century BCE based on several inscriptions reported by Roberts (1978).

Seismic Effects

• And in Phoenicia, says Poseidonius, on the occasion of an earthquake, a city situated above Sidon was swallowed up, and nearly two-thirds of Sidon itself was engulfed too, but not all at once, so that no considerable destruction of human life took place
• The same operation of nature extended also over the whole of Syria, but with rather moderate force

Locations

• Phoenicia
• Sidon
• Syria

Online Versions and Further Reading

Background and Biography

Excerpts Seismic Effects

• the same thing [ swallowed up ] happened to Sidon

Locations

• Sidon

Online Versions and Further Reading

Background and Biography

Excerpts Chronology

Chronological markers in this passage are inconsistent. See footnotes for excerpt above in English from Mariev (2008).

Seismic Effects

• a great earthquake happened in the East and a countless number of Syrians perished
• the city of Tyre on the coast was submerged into the sea and a comet shone for several days

Locations

• Tyre

Sources Online Versions and Further Reading Notes

The source for the 525 BCE entry in later catalogs is probably Sieberg (1932b) who describes earthquake damage in Sidon, a tsunami, and the quake being felt in the Cyclades and Euboea. Although Sieberg (1932b) never cited sources, his damage description indicates his source was Strabo quoting Posidonius, possibly Seneca and/or another source. Other catalogers (e.g. Ben-Menahem, 1979, Ben-Menahem, 1991, Antonopoulos, 1979, Plassard and Kojoj, 1981, and Sbeinati et. al., 2005) more or less repeat Sieberg's description for 525 BCE. Sbeinati et. al. (2005) list this same earthquake twice in 199 BCE and 525 BCE. Obviously, this double date is an error. How Sieberg (1932b) came up with a date of 525 BCE is currently a mystery. Migowski et al (2004) assigned a seismite at En Gedi to the 525 BCE date and Kagan et al (2011) assigned seismites at En Feshka to both 199 BCE and 525 BCE dates. Although their date ranges may be approximately correct for the seismites they encountered, due to the distance between Sidon and the Dead Sea Paleoseismic sites, their historical earthquake assignments are likely wrong for both dates (199 BCE and 525 BCE). Neither Ambraseys (2009) nor Guidoboni et. al. (1994) have an entry for a 525 BCE earthquake.

Altunel et al (1999) claim evidence for a ~80 BCE Apamea Earthquake in Event 2 from their trenches but only two useful radiocarbon dates were obtained in their paleoseismic study. The date constraints from these two samples are large (~1550 BCE - 1360 ± 50 CE) and their historical earthquake assignment is speculative - based on consulting earthquake catalogs during that time span.

The oldest event identified in the Ziyaret Trench dated to before 983 CE. A lower bound on age was not available due to insufficient radiocarbon dates.

Gomez et. al. (2003:15) may have seen evidence for an earthquake in the 1st or 2nd century BCE in Event B. Event B is estimated to have created ~ 2 meters of left lateral strike slip displacement which translates to an estimated Magnitude between 7.0 and 7.3 (7.0 and 7.2 according to Gomez et al, 2003:16-17). In terms of dating, an upper bound for Event B is 170 BCE - 20 CE while a lower bound for Events B and and the older Event C is from 1690 - 1400 BCE.

Elias et al (2007) examined uplifted benches on the Lebanese coast between Sarafand and Tripolis; some in the vicinity of Tabarja (~20 km. NE of Beirut). They identified four uplifts from 3 or more [sizeable M_w = ~7.5] earthquakes in the past ca. 6-7 ka. They attributed the latest uplift (B1) to the 551 CE Beirut Quake while the earlier events (B2, B3, and B4) were no more precisely dated than between ~5000 BCE and 551 CE. Bench uplift on the earlier events (B2, B3, and B4) would likely have been due to uplift on the Mount Lebanon Thrust system - as was surmised for Event B1 and the 551 CE Beirut Quake.

Nemer and Meghraoui (2006) date Event Y to between 2920-2879 BCE and 84-239 CE

Kanari, M. (2008) examined rockfalls in Qiryat-Shemona which were attributed to earthquakes. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was performed on soil samples beneath the fallen rocks. Kanari et al (2019) assigned Sample ID QS-6 to an earthquake in 199 BCE but the wide spread in ages indicate that this event could have occurred between ~400 BCE and ~200 CE.

Wechsler at al. (2014) records event CH4-E6 with a modeled age of 392 BCE – 91 CE.

Reches and Hoexter (1981) report that Event A was dated from 200 BCE - 200 CE and exhibited 3.5 m of vertical displacement. Although the total vertical displacement could have been created by more than one seismic event, there were no broken layers between Event A the next Event (B) which was dated to between 700 and 900 CE. Further, they interpreted Event A created a fault scarp on the site. Kagan, E., et al. (2011) noted that the dip slip could have been magnified by local variations in the strike of the fault.

Enzel et. al. (2000) identified a 20 cm. thick seismite in coarse grained lithology in Deformed Unit 8 in Stratigraphic Unit 10 which dated to 450-50 BCE (2400-2000 yrs BP).

Kagan et al (2011) identified several seismites from around 199 BCE.

Depth (cm.)	Thickness (cm.)	Seismite Type	Modeled Age (± 1σ)	Modeled Age (± 2σ)	Quake Assignment (Kagan)	Quake Assignment (Williams)
402	l.5	4	151 BCE ± 21	150 BCE ± 55	mid 2nd century BCE	possibly ~150 BCE southern Dead Fish and Soldiers Quake
425	2	4	223 BCE ± 21	236 BCE ± 53	199 BCE	~250 BCE Fortress at Arad Quake ?
428	2	1	232 BCE ± 20	247 BCE ± 55	not assigned	~250 BCE Fortress at Arad Quake ?
438	2	4	263 BCE ± 23	279 BCE ± 57	not assigned	~250 BCE Fortress at Arad Quake ?

Migowski et. al. (2004) did not date any seismites to around 199 BCE.

At site ZA-2, Kagan et al (2011) observed a 8 cm. thick Type 4 intraclast breccia seismite at a depth of 552 cm. with modeled ages of 225 BCE ± 35 (1σ) and 225 BCE ± 75 (2σ). Although they assigned it a 199 BCE date, the ~250 BCE Fortress at Arad Quake is a more likely candidate.

• from Gatier (2011:260-262)

Abandoning the slow movements of subsidence, and returning to the short and immediately perceptible catastrophes that constitute earthquakes and tsunamis, let us note that two traditions reinforce the image of the instability of Tyre, but by evoking earthquakes. First is Justin, the abbreviator of the Philippic Histories of Trogus-Pompey written in the 1st century AD, who reports a legend of the founding of the city from a tradition that I consider favorable to Sidon and therefore hostile to Tyre. He states that the Tyrians are descended from the Phoenicians who were forced to abandon their first homeland due to an earthquake. Without going into detail, we must see here an allusion to traditions – also known by other ancient authors – which make Tylos/Tyros (current island of Bahrain in the Arabian-Persian Gulf) the starting point of the migration of the oldest Phoenicians towards the Mediterranean and the original cradle of Tyre¹⁴. This theme of the pre-founding earthquake is also found in Quintus Curtius, at the end of his account of the siege of Tyre by Alexander. The Latin historian takes it up again in seeking to explain the reasons for the creation of the Tyrian colonial foundations, including Thebes, Carthage and Gades. After having mentioned various causes, he adds: "or again, the number of earthquakes - this according to another tradition - tired the natives, thus obliged to seek by arms foreign dwellings"¹⁵. Without going into too much detail, it will not be difficult, by bringing together several of these legends, to mirror the wandering and the fixation, the earthquakes that repeatedly drive the Tyrians towards new Tyres and the act of foundation that roots the lands and stabilizes men.

With Strabo, a contemporary of Augustus, and Seneca, already mentioned, we leave the legends for the memory of earthquakes chronologically closer to these authors, although their sources must be found in the now largely lost works of Hellenistic historians, foremost among whom is Poseidonius of Apamea. Strabo writes of Tyre: "the houses there are said to have many floors, even more than those of Rome, which is why earthquakes have almost destroyed it from top to bottom"¹⁶. As for Seneca, in a passage on the collapse of cities as a consequence of earthquakes, he adds: "Tyre was once only too famous for its ruins"¹⁷. Overall, we must retain the possibility that earthquakes occurred at undetermined dates in the Hellenistic period.

Moreover, we find in the Guidoboni catalogue 1 (n° 039, p. 145), according to a fragment of Poseidonius of Apamea transmitted by Strabo, an earthquake which had serious consequences in Sidon in 199/198 BC [JW: The exact date is uncertain]: "In Phoenicia, if we are to believe Poseidonius, an earthquake engulfed a city located above Sidon and caused about two thirds of the city of Sidon itself to collapse"¹⁸. The text presents three difficulties. First, the preposition ὑπέρ, “above,” can mean “inland,” in relation to a city located on the coast, but also “next to” based on a series of neighboring sites classified in a given direction, generally – but not exclusively – South/North. Second, the verb that is translated “to swallow,” καταπίνω, seems to refer to a tsunami – as in the evocation of seismic disasters affecting coastal cities, Helike in Polybius or Pisaurum (modern Pesaro) in Plutarch¹⁹ –, but a more general or metaphorical meaning, “to swallow” or “to drink completely,” applying for example to rivers disappearing into the earth, cannot be excluded. Third, the noun πόλις can be translated as “city” rather than “town,” which broadens the scope of the sites concerned, since the only two cities, in the ancient sense, that could be considered in this context would be Tyre, to the south of Sidon, and Berytus, to the north. As for Tyre, if it had indeed been the victim of this possible tsunami, one may wonder whether its fame would not have forced Poseidonius or Strabo to give its name. Perhaps it would be more appropriate here to consider that the submersion affected a less famous site, such as Berytus, whose reputation had remained discreet in the Hellenistic period, or a medium-sized conurbation that did not have the rank of city, which was nevertheless designated as a “city” and which was located near Sidon, for example Porphyreon-Jiye or another site of this type. In any case, and given that the earthquakes that are attested in Sidon are also attested in Tyre²⁰, we can assume that the latter was also affected by the catastrophe of 199/198 BC, without it being possible to assess the damage.

A specific earthquake is well attested for Tyre a little later in the Hellenistic period, in a little-known, late and delicately used source. Indeed, around the middle of the 7th century AD, John of Antioch wrote, based on the historians whose works he had at his disposal, a universal chronicle of which only fragments remain. Among these fragments, one mentions an event from the reign of the Seleucid Antiochus IX Cyzicenus (114/113-95 BC): "during his reign, because a great earthquake had taken place in the East, enormous numbers of Syrians perished, and Tyre on the coast was submerged by the sea, and also a comet - which shone for several days - announced his death"²¹. The association of the king's death with two extraordinary phenomena, the earthquake and the comet, manifests divine disfavor towards the sovereign and functions as the union of negative signs that announce this death²². It seems to me therefore possible to place the earthquake at a date close to the death of Antiochus, in 95 BC or shortly before. This first earthquake, certainly Tyrian and dated approximately ²³, is very clearly associated with a tsunami. It does not appear in the lists of Guidoboni. Until the 4th century AD, it has no known successor. References

Gatier, Pierre-Louis (2011). Tyr l’instable : pour un catalogue des séismes et tsunamis de l’Antiquité et du Moyen Âge, in SourceS de l ’hiStoire de Tyr textes de l ’Antiquité et du Moyen Âge, Beirut, Lebanon, Presses de l’Université Saint-Joseph et Presses de l’Ifpo. pp. 255-265