1068 CE Quake(s)

Textual Evidence

Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Biographical Info	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes
Damage and Chronology Reports from Textual Sources	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna	Arabic	Biography	Hanbali Sunni Muslim with Shafi'ite tendencies (Makdisi, 1956:12).	1068 CE -~2-4 months after the earthquake(s)	Baghdad	Account al-Banna described an earthquake on 18 March 1068 CE which struck Aila, Medina, and the Hejaz and was felt in Baghdad. An unlocated tsunami is also mentioned. al-Banna also described another earthquake on 29 May 1068 CE which, according to al-Banna, destroyed Ramla, caused damage to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and created an unlocated tsunami. All the seismic effects attributed to the second 29 May 1068 CE earthquake are repeated from the earlier 18 March 1068 CE earthquake indicating that, at a minimum, some amalgamation is present in his accounts and, at a maximum, al-Banna repeated the same earthquake twice but gave it two different dates. Since al-Banna felt the 18 March 1068 CE earthquake in Baghdad, if this earthquake was repeated, the most likely date is the 18 March one. Although al-Banna is a contemporaneous source, he relied on reports from others which arrived ~2-4 months after the seismic event(s).
Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij	Arabic (Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia)	Biography	Coptic Christian	between 1088 and 1094 CE (Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia)	Alexandria	Account Two separate passages state that an earthquake overthrew ar-Ramlah and Tinnis and elsewhere, but it did not have any effect at Alexandria and that there was a tremendous earthquake at Ramla and its district where its walls were destroyed while adding that shocks reached as far as Jerusalem and Tinnis, Aylat completely collapsed, and one corner of the congregational mosque in Cairo moved. A tsunami is described which, based on its location in the text, may have struck Ayla. The earthquake was dated to Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE and in one passage struck during "daha" - a time which is defined as occurring between one hour after sunrise and up to about 10 a.m. - and in another passage is said to have struck at ~9 a.m.
Ibn al-Qalanisi	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	12th century CE	Damascus	Account States that there was a terrible earthquake in Palestine which destroyed most of the houses and walls at Ramla including a school with 200 children [which if true indicates that the earthquake struck during the day time]. Reports that most of the inhabitants of Ramla died in the earthquake and that water came out of the wells. Also reports that at Baniyas about a hundred people perished in the ruins; and the same thing happened at Jerusalem. Gave a date and day of the week that conflict which results in dates of Monday 17 March 1068 CE or Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE. The 18 March date seems more likely when one considers that this date was reported by a number of other authors.
Al-Azimi	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	12th century CE	Aleppo	Account Ambraseys (2009) reports that al-Azimi wrote about 100 years after the event and only mentions that the earthquake damaged houses in Palestine and al-Ramla and after the earthquake water rose in wells (al-Azimi, 358).
Ibn al-Jawzi	Arabic	Biography	Hanbali Sunni Muslim	2nd half of the 12th c. CE	Baghdad	Account Ibn al-Jawzi appears to have either used al-Banna as a source or shared a common source with al-Banna. States that the earth shook in Palestine and the the town of Ramla was destroyed. It completely collapsed, with the sole exception of two alleys and there were 15,000 victims. Also states that the merlons [of the minaret] of the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina collapsed. Also stated that the earthquake reached the villages of Wadi 's-Safra' and Khaybar, opened fissures, and was felt at Ruhba and Kufa. Dated the earthquake to between 8 March and 6 April 1068 CE.
Ibn Shaddad	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	Late 12th or early 13th century CE	Aleppo ?	Account Reports an earthquake in Ramla which destroyed houses and demolished the city walls, reducing it to rubble and caused water to overflow from wells. A large proportion of the inhabitants of Ramla made for Aylat, rebuilt it, and turned it into a town. Gil (1992:408 n. 60) interprets Aylat as Iliya - an Arabic name for Jerusalem - rather than Ayla, Elat, Aylat and suggests that resdents of Ramla fled to Jerusalem after the earthquake, but that they returned and rebuilt their city afterwards. Also reports that the rock of Jerusalem split open and then came together again. Dated the earthquake to 17 March 1068 CE.
Ibn al-Athir	Arabic	Biography	Sunni Muslim	~ 1200 - 1231 CE	Mosul	Account States that there was a very strong earthquake in Palestine and Egypt which destroyed Ramla where water in wells rose to the surface, and 25,000 inhabitants perished.. In Jerusalem, the rock [of the Mosque of Omar, or perhaps the mosque itself, which was known as the Mosque of the Rock], split open, but by the will of God closed up again. Also records an unlocated tsunami. Dated the earthquake to between 8 March and 6 April 1068 CE.
Ibn Zafir	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	before 1226 CE	Cairo	Background Info Ambraseys (2009) notes that in Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij a plague follows the earthquake - something that may have been a result of food scarcity which is documented by Ibn Muyassir (19) and Ibn Zafir (74-75) in Kitab al-Duwal al-munkati'a. Ambraseys et al (1994) states that neither Ibn Muyassir nor Ibn Zafir make reference to the earthquake.
Ibn Muyassir	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	before 1278 CE	Egypt	Background Info Ambraseys (2009) notes that in Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij a plague follows the earthquake - something that may have been a result of food scarcity which is documented by Ibn Muyassir (19) and Ibn Zafir (74-75) in Kitab al-Duwal al-munkati'a. Ambraseys et al (1994) states that neither Ibn Muyassir nor Ibn Zafir make reference to the earthquake.
Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi	Arabic	Biography	Hanbali Sunni Muslim - may have had Shi'a tendencies (Keany, 2013:83).	13th c. CE	Damascus	Account States that there was an earthquake in Palestine which lasted for two and a half hours which destroyed the Ramla area where 200 children died in a school collapse - all of whom weren't searched for because their parents were [also] dead. Describes an ambiguous report of damage to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and records an unlocated tsunami. Added that it also destroyed Aylat, killing all its inhabitants, with the exception of 12 men who had gone fishing at sea. Says that the earthquake affected coastal areas, Jerusalem, the Syrian territories, Medina, Tabuk and Tima, and the whole of the Hejaz and Al-Bilad al-Furatiyya [the Euphrates area]. The earthquake completely destroyed the eastern part of the Hejaz striking Wadi al-Safra', Yunbu', Badr, Khaybar, and Wadi al-Qura. In Medina, the two merlons [on the minaret] in the Mosque of the Prophet collapsed. When the earthquake reached the Euphrates waters overflowed the banks. Fissures are reported, a spring gushing forth, and three additional springs emerged at Tabuk. States that Baniyas was destroyed, and loud thunder-claps were heard in the sky, and violent sounds which caused people to faint. Was felt as far as Ruhba and Kufa. Dates the earthquake to Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE and says it all happened in a single night. This differs from other authors who largely report a daytime earthquake and is apparently contradicted by a passage which states that 200 children died at a school in Ramla as school is normally in session during the daytime. Perhaps the nighttime reference derives from reports of aftershocks.
al-Nuwairi	Arabic	Biography	Muslim ?	between 1312 and 1333 CE	Cairo	Ambraseys (2009) claims that al- Nuwairi (iv. 140, 141) more or less faithfully reproduces the accounts of Ibn al-Jawzi.
al-Dhahabi	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	Early 14th century CE	Damascus	Account Cited his sources as Ibn al-Athir, al-Qalansi, and al-Sabuni. States that there was a violent earthquake at Ramla which damaged it so badly that water overflowed from wells and 25,000 inhabitants perished. There were about 200 children in a school at Ramla when it collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for them because their families had perished as well.Baniyas was struck in the same way. Two merlons [on the minaret] in the Mosque of the Prophet in Medina collapsed. The earth split open and gold and silver treasures came forth, and a spring gushed forth. Aylat was destroyed with its inhabitants, and at Tabuk three springs all appeared at the same time. In Jerusalem the rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open and then came together again. Also records an unlocated tsunami where the sea receded from the shore and drowned people when it came back. Dates the earthquake to Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE.
Abu'l-Fida	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	1329 CE ?	Hama ?	Ambraseys (2009) notes that Ibn al-Athir's account of the earthquake is followed by Abu'l-Fida (iii. 186).
Ibn al-Dawadari	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	1331 - 1335 CE	Damascus	Account Ambraseys (2009) indicates that Ibn al-Dawadari (vi. 387) may have mentioned the plague in Egypt that followed the earthquake (see Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij) but it is unclear if al-Dawadari discussed the earthquake.
Ibn Kathir	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	Before 1373 CE	Damascus	Account Guidoboni and Comastri (2005) suggests that Ibn al-Jawzi's report was itself taken up later by the 14th century historian Ibn Kathir, in his Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya XII, p.99. Gil (1992:408-409 n. 60) notes that Ibn Kathir, Biddya, XII, 96 speaks of two earthquakes, like Ibn al-Jawzi, from whom he copied.
al-Maqrizi	Arabic	Biography	Sunni Muslim Shafi‘i (Rabbat, 2003:9)	before 1442 CE	Cairo or Damascus	Account Ambraseys (2009) notes that Al-Maqrizi mentions that Ramla was destroyed and not restored afterwards (al-Maqrizi, Khitat, i. 337, ii. 277). Gil (1992:409 n. 60) notes that Macrizi, Itti'az, II, 277, states the destruction of Ramla was final, for it was not rebuilt which Gil (1992:409 n. 60) does not find credible (JW: Fulcher of Chartres indicates that Ramla was inhabited around the time of the first crusade - ~1098/99 CE). It should be noted that Gil (1992:408) dates the earthquake at Ramla to 29 May 1068 CE rather than 18 March 1068 CE - choosing to beleive in the chronological accuracy of al-Banna's accounts and mistakenly states that all accounts of the earthquake were Muslim - neglecting to consider the Coptic Christian account in Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij. Gil (1992:409 n. 60) also notes that, according to al-Maqrizi, the Turks in al-Mustansir's [Fatimid] army invaded Ramla in Muharram AH 460, that is November AD 1067 [JW: Actually 11 Nov. - 10 Dec. 1067 CE]. This could suggest that Ramla was severely damaged around this time by human agency rather than an earthquake in 1068 CE and that there was one major earthquake in 1068 CE with an epicentral region in the Gulf of Aqaba/the Araba.
Ibn Tagri Birdi	Arabic	Biography	Muslim	15th c. CE	Cairo	Account Guidoboni and Comastri (2005) state that the account of Ibn Tagri-Birdi (al-Nujum alzahira, V, p. 80) followed that of Ibn al-Athir. Ambraseys (2009) states that late-fifteenth century Egyptian author, Ibn Taghribirdi (ii/2.239), has a less detailed version of this passage in the year 459 a.H., which is too early.
as-Suyuti	Arabic	Biography	Sufi Muslim	15th c. CE	Cairo	Account Reports an an earthquake in Palestine where Ramla was destroyed with only two houses remaining and 25,000 dead. States that it extended to the Hejaz reaching Wadi El-Szafr, Khaiber, Bedr, Yanba (Yanbu ?), Wadi-kora, Teima' and Tabuk. Adds that it extended as far a Kufa and that 'Aila was destroyed with all its inhabitants. The earthquake is also reported to have been felt in Jerusalem and Egypt where one corner of the principal mosque of Cairo gave way and was immediately succeeded by two other earthquakes. as-Suyuti also reports an unlocated tsunami. Dates the earthquake to Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE. A repeat of the same earthquake reported 2 years later by as-Suyuti has led to an erroneous date of 25 Feb. 1070 CE in a few modern catalogs.
Mujir al-Din	Arabic	Biography	Hanbali Sunni Muslim	ca. 1495 CE	Jerusalem	Account States that the territory of Palestine experienced an earthquake which ruined the land of Ramleh and overthrew two of the battlements of the Mosque of the Apostle of God. Also discussed some damage to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Dated the earthquake to between 8 March and 6 April 1068 CE.
Ibn al-Imad	Arabic	Biography	Hanbali Sunni Muslim	1670 CE	Damascus	Account Reports an earthquake in Palestine and elsewhere in A.H. 460 (11 November 1067 to 30 October 1068 CE) which killed 15,000 people in Ramla, damaged the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, and created earth fissures (presumably in the Hejaz). Reports damage to the rock under the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and an unlocated tsunami which drowned many people. Also states that the earthquake reached Al-Rahbah and Al-Kufa. Directly sourced his account from Ibn al-Athir and Ibn al-Jawzi.
Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Biographical Info	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes

Damage and Chronology Reports from Textual Sources

Seismic Effects

**Hejaz**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Damage to the Mosque of the prophet in Medina	al-Banna, Ibn al-Jawzi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi,al-Dhahabi, Ibn al-Imad
Earthquake struck Wadi al-Safra', Al-Marwa, Khaybar, Wadi al-Qura, Taima, and Tabuk	al-Banna, Ibn al-Jawzi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, as-Suyuti	Ibn al-Jawzi only mentions Wadi al-Safra' and Khaybar. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi does not mention al-Marwa but says the quake went throughout the Hejaz or the eastern part of the Hejaz. as-Suyuti does not mention al-Marwa and says it extended to the Hejaz
Earthquake struck Yanbu` and Badr	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, as-Suyuti
New springs appeared in Taima	al-Banna, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi does not locate this
New springs appeared in Tabuk	al-Banna, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi
Fissures in Taima - embellished account	al-Banna, Ibn al-Jawzi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, Ibn al-Imad	Ibn al-Jawzi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, and Ibn al-Imad do not locate the fissures.

**Ramla**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Ramla destroyed	al-Banna, Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, al-Qalanisi, al-Azmi, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Shaddad, bn al-Athir, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, al-Maqrizi, as-Suyuti, Mujir al-Din, Ibn al-Imad	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij was not so dramatic - says "there was a tremendous earthquake at Ramla and its district. The people fled, and its walls were destroyed". al-Azmi says it damaged houses.
15,000 dead in Ramla	al-Banna, al-Qalanisi, Ibn al-Jawzi, bn al-Athir, al-Dhahabi, as-Suyuti, Ibn al-Imad	al-Qalanisi says most died. Ibn al-Athir, al-Dhahabi, and as-Suyuti say it was 25,000
200 children died in Ramla	al-Qalanisi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi
Ramla's Walls damaged	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, al-Qalanisi, Ibn Shaddad
Ramla's Mosque damaged	al-Qalanisi
Wells overflowed	al-Qalanisi, al-Azmi, Ibn Shaddad, Ibn al-Athir, al-Dhahabi	Ibn Shaddad and al-Dhahabi locate this in Ramla. Wells overflowing is a liquefaction indicator.

**Other Places and Effects**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Collapses in Baniyas	al-Qalanisi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi
Jerusalem affected	al-Banna, Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, al-Qalanisi, Ibn Shaddad, as-Suyuti
The rock of the Dome of the Rock fractured (?) - embellished account	al-Banna, Ibn Shaddad, Ibn al-Athir, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mujir al-Din, Ibn al-Imad	Ibn al-Athir syas perhaps the Mosque itself split open and then came back. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi alludes to two reports - "The rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open, but then closed up again. Others say that it did not split open at all, but moved and then returned to its original position".
Palestine affected	al-Banna, al-Qalanisi, al-Azmi, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Athir, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, as-Suyuti, Mujir al-Din, Ibn al-Imad
Affected Syria and coastal areas	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi
overthrew two of the battlements of the Mosque of the Apostle of God	Mujir al-Din
Aftershocks	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, as-Suyuti	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij and as-Suyuti says there were two more shocks afterwards. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi says the earthquake lasted 2.5 hours.

**Tsunami**
Effect	Sources	Notes
unlocated tsunami	al-Banna, Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, Ibn al-Athir, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, as-Suyuti, Ibn al-Imad

**Ayla**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Ayla destroyed	al-Banna, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, as-Suyuti, Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij
Ayla destroyed but twelve people who went fishing survived	al-Banna, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

**Egypt**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Egypt affected	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, Ibn al-Athir, as-Suyuti
Shocks in Tinnis	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij
Damage to the Congregational Mosque in Cairo	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, as-Suyuti

**Mesopotamia**
Effect	Sources	Notes
Felt at Ruhba and Kufa	Ibn al-Jawzi, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Imad
Felt at Baghdad	al-Banna
Euphrates overflowed	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

Date

Date	Sources	Notes
18 March 1068 CE	Abu Ali ibn al-Banna, Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Dhahabi, as-Suyuti	1st earthquake of Al-Banna
17 March 1068 CE	Ibn al-Qalanisi, Ibn Shaddad	al-Qalanisi said it struck on a Tuesday which would have made the date 18 March 1068 CE
29 May 1068 CE	Abu Ali ibn al-Banna	2nd earthquake of Al-Banna
8 March - 6 April 1068	Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn al-Athir, Mujir al-Din	all specifying the month of Jumada I
11 November 1067 to 30 October 1068 CE (A.H. 460)	Ibn al-Imad
A.H. 459	Ibn Taghribirdi	Ambraseys (2009) states that late-fifteenth century Egyptian author, Ibn Taghri birdi (ii/2.239), has a less detailed version of this passage in the year 459 a.H., which is too early.
25 February 1070 CE	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij, as-Suyuti	as-Suyuti and Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij (who may have been one of as-Suyuti's sources) probably made an error where in their second account of the 1068 CE earthquake they specify the same date (11 Jumada I) but a different year (A.H. 462)

Notes

Ibn al-Jawzi and Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi specified one earthquake - not two

Time of Day

Time of Day	Source	Notes
daytime	Abu Ali ibn al-Banna	On this very same day ... we had in fact experienced a slight earthquake; it was this very same one indicates a daytime earthquake
~ early to mid morning	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij	Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij has two passages. The first specifies the time as daha (one hour after sunrise up to about 10 a.m.) and the second specifies the time as the 3rd hour (~9 am)
daytime	Ibn al-Qalanisi, al-Dhahabi quoting Ibn al-Qalanisi	a schoolteacher was in his classroom with about 200 children indicates a daytime earthquake
daytime	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi	there were two hundred children at school when it collapsed indicates a daytime earthquake
nighttime	Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi	it all happened in a single night

Personal Diary of Abu Ali ibn al-Banna

Aliases

Aliases	Arabic
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna
Abu 'Ali al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn al-Banna' al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali

Background and Biography

Excerpts

English translation of the 18 March 1068 CE Earthquake Report from Makdisi (1956b)

from Makdisi, G. (1956b). Autograph Diary of an Eleventh-Century Historian of Baghdād--II. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 18(2): 239-260" > al-Banna's diary by Makdisi (1956b:248-251)

11. The news⁵ has arrived that there was a terrible earthquake in the City of the Prophet (Madina)-God's blessing and peace be on him ! - on Tuesday, the 11th of Jumada I (18 March), which brought down two merlons from the minaret of the Prophet's Mosque-peace be on him! The people were greatly disturbed by the earthquake on account of this. They turned to God in penitence for their evil deeds, broke instruments of pleasure, and drained the intoxicants. The governor of the city, known as 'the perfumer of adulterous women ',¹ was banished. Very grave was that which happened to them. The earthquake then continued its course overrunning Wadi 's-Safa, al-Marwa, Khaibar, Wadi 'l-Qura, Taima', Tabuk, and Aila. As for Aila, its inhabitants all perished except for 12 persons who had gone out fishing on the sea, thus escaping death. As for Taima', it used to have one source of water; God then produced another source in it, the bottom of which fills each year with 2,000 dinars. And the earth was laid open disclosing a large place yielding pure gold and golden jewels. As for Tabuk, God produced near the lotus tree of the Prophet-God's blessings be on him !-(and) his spring of water, in a place known as al-Qur, three more springs of water improving their condition. The earthquake then ploughed through ar-Ramla; 15,000 persons perished, and nothing was left in it, according to reports, except two houses. The Sacred Rock in Jerusalem moved from its usual place, then returned. At this time, the earthquake subsided, after it had passed through Surair, of Hijaz, and most of Syria, until it had arrived at ar-Ramla. The sea (. . .) the distance of one day's march. The sea surged and caused great damage. It surged again, after people had gone into it gathering what they could find on its floor; none perished but those who were close to the shore. Such is what happened. I hope that God will place the Muslims in renewed security. On this very same day, in the month of Jumada I (began on 8 March 1068), we had in fact experienced a slight earthquake; it was this very same one.

Footnotes

5 This report, dated Jumada I, and the previous one (see p. 248-9), dated the 24th of Rajab, may be found mentioned in several historical works, combined into one report dated the month of Jumada I, or without mention of any month. None which I have seen mentions the month of Rajab. The following sources, all subsequent in date to the Diary, are those which I have come across: al-'Azimi, ed. Cahen, in JA, ccxxx, 1938, 358; Ibn al-Jauzi, Muntazam, viii, 248, and Shudhur al-'uqud, two MSS in Dar al-Kutub, Cairo, Tarikh no. 994, 139-40 (anno 462 [sic]) and Tarikh no. 95 mfm, fol. 125a (anno 453 [sic]); Bundari, Zubdat an-nusra, ed. Houtsma (Recueil de Textes relatifs a l'Histoire des Seldjoukides, Vol. ii), 34; Ibn al-Athir, Kdmil, anno 460 (according to Muntazam); Sibt Ibn al-Jauzi, Mir'dt az-zaman, MS Ar. Paris 1506, photo-reproductions in Dar al-Kutub, Cairo, Tarikh 551, fol.111 a-b; Dhahabi, Duwal al-Isldm, i, 208 (according to Kdmil); Y&fi'i, Mir'at al-jandn, III, 84 (according to Kcmil) ; Ibn Kathir, Biddya, XII, 96 (according to Muntazam); 'Aini, 'Iqd al-jumdn, MS in Dar al-Kutub, Cairo, Tarikh 1584, 244-5 (according to Mir'dt az-zaman); Ibn al-'Imad al-Hanbali, Shadharat adh-Dhahab, in, 308 (anno 460, according to Muntazam), and 309 (anno 462 [sic], according to Shudhufr al-'uqid).

1 cf. parallel passages in Mir'at az-zamnn, fol. Illb: [Arabic text]. The word [Arabic text] would be better changed to [Arabic text] (the prostitutes), which would be more in conformity to the meaning of [Arabic text], in the text of Mir'at az-zamdn. The text of 'Iqd al-jumdn is also defective: [Arabic text].

English translation of the 29 May 1068 CE Earthquake Report from Makdisi (1956b)

from Makdisi, G. (1956b). Autograph Diary of an Eleventh-Century Historian of Baghdād--II. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 18(2): 239-260" > al-Banna's diary by Makdisi (1956b:248-251)

1. Sunday day (the 1st of) Shauwal (460/3 August 1068); according to the appearance (of the crescent) and in conformity to stellar calculation.

The month of Ramadan passed completely without dissension, its beginning and its end. Praise be to God ! We ask of Him, the Munificent, that it be accepted.

...

3. News reports⁵ arrived on Thursday (5 or 12 Shauwal/7 or 14 August) from the merchants to the residence of the Shaikh Ajall Ibn Jarada⁶ to the effect that there had occurred in Palestine and ar-Ramla, on the 24th of Rajab, this year (29 May 1068), a terrible earthquake, which made away with all its dwellings except two. Approximately 15,000 persons perished. The Rock in Jerusalem clave in two, then drew back together, by the will of God-exalted is He above all! The sea sank into the earth for a day and a night, and people entered it, gathering from it; but it turned back upon them and caused a number of them to perish.

Footnotes

5 See p. 250, n. 5.

6 Abi 'Abd All&h Muhammad b. Jarada (d. 476); biographical notice in Ibn al-Jauzi, al-Muntazam ft tarzkh al-muluk wa'l-umam, ix, 9-10; wealthy Hanbalite merchant, son-in-law of Abi Manuiir b. Yuisuf (see p. 254, n. 8), founder of Masjid Ibn Jarada (erroneously attributed to his son Abu Nasr in Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi't-tarikh, anno 494) and of a school for girls (No. 96, second note); typographical error in his name: ' Jarada ', in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'n-nihayaft't-tarikh, xII, 125, reproduced in Ibn al-Athir, Kdmil (Cairo ed.), viII, 124, n. 1. See also Nos. 19, 22, 25, 35, 63, 66, 67, 74, 76, 77, 80, 81, 83, 85, 88, 96, 103, 104, 106, 121, 139, 141, 152, and 175.

Chronology

al-Banna recorded these events in his diary on the 3rd and 11th of Shauwal of A.H. 460 which works out to the 3rd and 13th August of 1068 CE, roughly 2 - 4 months after the earthquakes struck. The repetition of seismic effects in the 29 May 1068 CE (Ramla) earthquake from the 18 March 1068 CE (Hejaz) earthquake makes one wonder if he wasn't really talking about just one earthquake which struck on 18 March 1068 CE and was felt by al-Banna in Baghdad.

**18 March 1068 CE earthquake which struck Ayla and the Hejaz**
Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS. 18 March 1068 CE falls on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS) in the Julian calendar which is also what was reported by al-Banna. al-Banna indicates that the date he provided was in conformance with stellar calculations and thus should agree with calculations made using CHRONOS.
18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	date provided by Makdisi (1956b:250).

**29 May 1068 CE earthquake which struck Palestine and Ramla**
Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Thursday 29 May 1068 CE	24th of Rajab of A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS. 29 May 1068 CE falls on a Thursday (calculated using CHRONOS) in the Julian calendar. al-Banna indicates that the date he provided was in conformance with stellar calculations and thus should agree with calculations made using CHRONOS.
29 May 1068 CE	24th of Rajab of A.H. 460	none	date provided by Makdisi (1956b:248).

Seismic Effects

18 March 1068 CE earthquake which struck Ayla and the Hejaz

brought down two merlons from the minaret of the Prophet's Mosque [in Medina]
The earthquake then continued its course overrunning Wadi 's-Safa, al-Marwa, Khaibar, Wadi 'l-Qura, Taima', Tabuk, and Aila
As for Aila, its inhabitants all perished except for 12 persons who had gone out fishing on the sea
As for Taima', it used to have one source of water; God then produced another source in it
the earth was laid open disclosing a large place yielding pure gold and golden jewels. [Taima]
As for Tabuk, God produced near the lotus tree of the Prophet-God's blessings be on him !-(and) his spring of water, in a place known as al-Qur, three more springs of water improving their condition.
The earthquake then ploughed through ar-Ramla; 15,000 persons perished, and nothing was left in it, according to reports, except two houses.
The Sacred Rock in Jerusalem moved from its usual place, then returned.
At this time, the earthquake subsided, after it had passed through Surair (Sudair ?), of Hijaz, and most of Syria, until it had arrived at ar-Ramla.
tsunami - The sea surged and caused great damage.
On this very same day, we had in fact experienced a slight earthquake [in Baghdad]; it was this very same one.

29 May 1068 CE earthquake which struck Palestine and Ramla

made away with all its [Ramla's] dwellings except two. Approximately 15,000 persons perished.
The Rock in Jerusalem clave in two.
tsunami - The sea sank into the earth for a day and a night, and people entered it, gathering from it; but it turned back upon them and caused a number of them to perish.

Locations

18 March 1068 CE earthquake which struck Ayla and the Hejaz

Medina
Wadi 's-Safa
al-Marwa
Khaibar
Wadi 'l-Qura
Taima'
Tabuk
Aila
ar-Ramla
Jerusalem
Surair (Sudair ?)
Hijaz
most of Syria
unlocated tsunami
Baghdad (felt - slight earthquake)

29 May 1068 CE earthquake which struck Palestine and Ramla

ar-Ramla
Jerusalem
unlocated tsunami

Sources

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Notes

Notes on al-Banna's Diary

Wikipedia, citing Makdisi (1956a) states the following about al-Banna's diary

Ibn al-Banna kept a diary, of which only part survives. The part that survives is part of the original manuscript itself, written in Ibn al-Banna's own messy handwriting.¹ The language used is a streamlined version of Arabic suitable for quickly taking notes. The diary is valuable as a primary source about 11th-century Baghdad, particularly for events involving the Hanbali community.

The diary's extant part covers a period of just over one year, from 3 August 1068 to 4 September 1069. When Ibn al-Banna began keeping a diary is not known, but he most likely kept writing in it until his death in 1079. The part that survives today eventually ended up in the possession of Diya ad-Din al-Maqdisi, a hadith scholar who had studied under Ibn al-Jawzi. Al-Maqdisi is known to have travelled to Baghdad shortly before Ibn al-Jawzi's death in 1201, and it may have been during this trip that he obtained the present fragment of Ibn al-Banna's diary. In any case, al-Maqdisi later endowed the diary fragment as waqf property for the library of the Diya'iya madrasa he founded in Damascus – a note written in the margin of the first page identifies it as property of the madrasa.

At least two later writers used the diary as a source: Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Rajab. Ibn al-Jawzi appears to have had access to parts of the diary that are now lost, but not the current fragment, so it seems that the diary had become separated into multiple parts by then. On the other hand, Ibn Rajab had access to the currently-known part of the diary, but not any others, so the part that survives today was probably in its present state by his time (i.e. none of it has been lost since then).

Ibn al-Banna's diary was meant for his own personal use and was never meant to be published. As evidence of its private nature, it documents the internal dissension within the Hanbali community that he would not have wanted to reveal to the general public (particularly the controversial case surrounding Ibn Aqil), and it also contains unflattering information about Sharif Abu Ja'far, who Ibn al-Banna held in extremely high regard. Most likely, Ibn al-Banna used the diary as a personal notebook for writing down anything he thought was important or interesting, and then later selectively draw upon those notes for material he did intend to publish. Its private nature makes the diary a more reliable source for the events it covers and also "reveals the temperament of the author, his personality, his prejudices, more vividly and more accurately than the stereotyped accounts given in the biographical devoted to him."

Footnotes

1 George Makdisi, who translated the diary into English, described the handwriting this way: "There is a minimum of diacritical marks. The letters themselves are not always clearly traced out; they often appear attached to each other where they should not be, and in many cases, they do not even appear. I spent a great amount of time merely on the deciphering of the text."

Notes on Chronology from Makdisi (1956a)

Wikipedia, citing Makdisi (1956a:23) states the following about al-Banna's diary

Date. - The problem of dating the Diary is a simple one. The beginning of each lunar month, almost without exception, is established by the author as being such and such a day, even though he did not have anything to report for that particular first day of the month. The result is that, along with other dates given with precision in the text of the Diary, almost every entry which it contains may be likewise dated with precision. Thus the present fragment of the Diary begins on Sunday the first day of the year 461, which corresponds to 3 Aug 1068 of the Christian Era. The last entry is dated the 14th of Dhu'l-Qa'da, 461, corresponding to 4 September 1069.

There are some mistakes in the dates as set down by the author; some he corrected, and others apparently escaped his attention. The dated entries, indicating the date on which the event took place, do not necessarily indicate the date on which the entry was recorded; the author rarely declares having written the report of a given event on the same day of it's occurrence. The month with the lowest amount of entries is Shauwal, 461, where there are only a few lines; while Rabi II, of the same year, is the most documented one. The most frequent and persistent documentation occurs with regard to the case of Ibn 'Aqil.

Continuation of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria by Mawhub ibn Mansur Mufarrij

Background and Biography

Excerpts

English translation of the 1st passage

from an unknown translation of Part 7 of History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria

---277---

a village called Dimul, one of the villages of Abwan, and the picture of the Mistress and the picture of the Angel Michael in the church of Thunah. Macarius the monk, a disciple of the saintly Bessus of the Monastery of Abba Kame⁴ renowned for his sanctity and beautiful manner of life, informed me about this.

The habitations of Egypt (Misr) were smitten with exceedingly great and hard punishments. The first of these was the occurrence of a great earthquake in the forenoon⁵ of Tuesday, the second (day after) Easter, such that it overthrew a number of places at ar-Ramlah and Tinnis and elsewhere, but it did not have any effect at Alexandria. There was after it, much plague, so that there did not remain in Tinnis of the thousands who were in it, except some hundred people. There was a house in it, and all who were found in it were lying on their mattresses, and their money and everything which they possessed (was) in it. Then there were carried out from their houses the bedsteads, the domed canopies, the benches, mattresses and money, and ar-Ramlah became deserted, and no one remained in it. Then affairs became serious, until (at length) war was waged by the Easterns and the Turks who were masters of Cairo (Misr), against Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan, and they applauded the Sultan that he had caused to be brought out a red tent which was pitched outside the gate of the Castle at the place known as the Golden Gate, and (that) he had manifested his anger against the Bani Hamdan and those who (were) with them. There was among them in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) a party of Kurds, some five thousand men. On that day a crier cried among them and among

Footnotes

4 i. e. one of the monasteries of the Wadi'n-Natrun.

5 Daha is the period in the morning, one hour after sunrise up to about 10 a.m.

English translation of the 1st passage from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake at dawn on Tuesday, the second day of Easter [18 March 1068], such that various places were destroyed at Ramla, Tinnis and elsewhere, and at Alexandria. A subsequent epidemic was so severe that only about one hundred inhabitants survived, of the thousands who lived at Tinnis..

English translation of the 2nd passage from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

Amongst the events of that year [462 H.], at the third hour on Tuesday 11 Jumada I, corresponding to 18 Adar in the Syriac calendar [= 18 March 1070], there was a tremendous earthquake at Ramla and its district. The people fled, and its walls were destroyed. The shocks reached as far as Jerusalem and Tinnis [Tannis?]; Aylat completely collapsed. The sea receded so far during the earthquake that its bed was revealed and people could walk on the bottom until the sea returned to its normal level. One corner of the congregational mosque in Cairo moved. The earthquake was followed by two more shocks within the same period.

Chronology

**1st passage in History of the Patriarchs**
Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
one hour after sunrise up to about 10 a.m. on Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	the forenoon of Tuesday, the second (day after) Easter	none	The second day after Easter equates to 22 of Paremhat in A.Mytr. 748 which equates to 18 March 1068 CE (calculated using CHRONOS) 18 March 1068 CE falls on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS) forenoon or "daha" is defined as the period in the morning, one hour after sunrise up to about 10 a.m.

**2nd passage in History of the Patriarchs**
Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
~9 am Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	third hour on Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	year changed from A.H. 462 to A.H. 460	Calculated with CHRONOS 18 March 1068 CE falls on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS) Although a note by the editor specifies the year as A.H. 462, 11 Jumada I in A.H. 462 corresponds to 25 February 1070 CE and falls on a Thursday.
18 March	18 Adar in the Syriac calendar	none	Adar equates exactly to March in the Syriac calendar

Seismic Effects

1st passage in History of the Patriarchs

overthrew a number of places at ar-Ramlah and Tinnis and elsewhere
did not have any effect at Alexandria

2nd passage in History of the Patriarchs

there was a tremendous earthquake at Ramla and its district. The people fled, and its walls were destroyed
The shocks reached as far as Jerusalem and Tinnis
Aylat completely collapsed
tsunami - The sea receded so far during the earthquake that its bed was revealed and people could walk on the bottom until the sea returned to its normal level
One corner of the congregational mosque in Cairo moved
The earthquake was followed by two more shocks within the same period.

Locations

1st passage in History of the Patriarchs

ar-Ramlah
Tinnis
elsewhere
did not have any effect at Alexandria

2nd passage in History of the Patriarchs

Ramla and its district
Jerusalem
Tinnis
Aylat
unlocated tsunami is mentioned immediately after describing damage to Aylat and, thus, may locate the tsunami in Aylat
Cairo

Sources

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn al-Qalanisi	ابو يعل
Abu Ya‘la	ابو يعل
Abu Ya‘la Hamzah ibn Asad ibn al-Qalanisi	ابو يعلى حمزة ابن الاسد ابن القلانسي

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Monday 17 March 1068 CE or Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 10th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated with CHRONOS The 10th of Jumada I in A.H. 460 equates to 17 March 1068 CE which fell on a Monday - not a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS). When one considers the 18 March 1068 CE date provided by other authors, it seems more likely that al-Qalanisi erred on the date rather than the day of the week.

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Azimi
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Tanūkhī	(?) أبوعبدالله العظيمي

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn al-Jawzi	ابن الجوزي
al-Jauzi	ابن ال
Jamaladdin Abul-Faraj 'Abdarrahman ibn abil-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jauzi al-Qurashi at-Taymi al-Bakri
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Abu 'l-Faras̲h̲ b. al-Jawzī

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
8 March - 6 April 1068 CE	Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS.

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn Shaddad
Baha’ al-Din Abu’l-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Rafi‘ ibn Tamim

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
17 March 1068 CE	10th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	calculated using CHRONOS The 10th of Jumada I in A.H. 460 equates to 17 March 1068 CE which fell on a Monday (calculated using CHRONOS)

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn al-Athir
Ali 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari	علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري
Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ash-Shaybani

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
8 March - 6 April 1068 CE	Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS.

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn Zafir
Djamal al-Din Abu 'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abi Mansur Zafir ibn al-Husayn al-Azdi

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn Muyassar
Ibn Muyassir
Ibn Maysar
Muḥammad b. 'Alī b. Yūsuf b. Jalab Ibn Muyassar

Mirror of time in histories of the notables by Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

مرآة الزمان في تواريخ الأعيان by سبط ابن الجوزي

Aliases

Aliases	Arabic
Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzi	سبط ابن الجوزي
Shams al-din Abu al-Muzaffar Yusuf ibn Kizoghlu

Background and Biography

Excerpts

English from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

On Tuesday 11 Jumada I [460 H. = 18 March 1068], there was an earthquake in Palestine which lasted for two and a half hours and destroyed the Ramla area. It was felt as far as Ruhba and Kufa, and only two of the main gates at Ramla were undamaged, and 15,000 townspeople were killed. In Ramla, there were two hundred children at school when it collapsed on top of them, and no-one went in search of them because their parents were dead. The rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open, but then closed up again. Others say that it did not split open at all, but moved and then returned to its original position; and the sea receded [to a distance equal to] a day['s walk] and people went down to the sea bed to pick things up, but the sea came back at them and a large number were killed. Baniyas was destroyed, and loud thunder-claps were heard in the sky, and violent sounds which caused people to faint. The earthquake reached the Euphrates, whose waters overflowed its banks. An Alawite at Hejaz [Arabia], has said that in the period in question an earthquake caused the collapse [in Medina] of two merlons [on the minaret] in the Mosque of the Prophet may the prayer of God and peace be with him and the towns people were disturbed and thought it an ill omen: so they did penance, practised abstinence, poured away their wines and exiled adulterous women from the town. And the earthquake struck Wadi al-Safra', Yun.bu`, Badr, Khaybar, and Wadi al-Qura and spread throughout the Hejaz; and the earth split open and treasures were revealed, and gold, silver and jewels were found. The dinar was equivalent to one mithqal and a half by weight and a spring gushed forth [sufficiently violently] to be worth 2,000 dinars a year. At Tabuk, three more springs appeared than had been there before. The earthquake completely destroyed the eastern part of the Hejaz, and it also destroyed Aylat, killing all its inhabitants, with the exception of 12 men who had gone fishing at sea. And a letter from some merchants in the month of Rajab [460 H. = 6 May 4 June 1068] reported that when they arrived at Damascus, they found neither sultan nor market, and the people had taken over the city, and it was impossible to enter or leave. The commander of the army defeated the governor of Damascus, forcing him to withdrawn to `Usqalan, and the people destroyed the palace where he usually dwelt; and the same thing had happened throughout the Syrian territories and the nearby coastal area. And what is amazing is that we have seen that the earthquake affected coastal areas, Jerusalem, the Syrian territories, Medina, Tabuk and Tima, and the whole of the Hejaz and Al- Bilad al-Furatiyya [the Euphrates area]; and it all happened in a single night half way through Jumada I [460 H. = 22 March 1068].

Chronology

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated with CHRONOS 18 March 1068 CE fell on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS)
nighttime earthquake	it all happened in a single night	none	Differs from other authors who largely report a daytime earthquake Apparently contradicted by a passage which states that 200 children died at a school in Ramla as school is normally in session during the daytime.

Seismic Effects

there was an earthquake in Palestine which lasted for two and a half hours
destroyed the Ramla area
In Ramla, there were two hundred children at school when it collapsed on top of them, and no-one went in search of them because their parents were dead.
The rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open, but then closed up again. Others say that it did not split open at all, but moved and then returned to its original position
unlocated tsunami - the sea receded [to a distance equal to] a day['s walk] and the sea came back. a large number were killed
Baniyas was destroyed, and loud thunder-claps were heard in the sky, and violent sounds which caused people to faint.
The earthquake reached the Euphrates, whose waters overflowed its banks
caused the collapse [in Medina] of two merlons [on the minaret] in the Mosque of the Prophet
the earthquake struck Wadi al-Safra', Yunbu', Badr, Khaybar, and Wadi al-Qura and spread throughout the Hejaz
the earth split open and treasures were revealed [fissures]
a spring gushed forth
At Tabuk, three more springs appeared than had been there before
The earthquake completely destroyed the eastern part of the Hejaz
it also destroyed Aylat, killing all its inhabitants, with the exception of 12 men who had gone fishing at sea
the earthquake affected coastal areas, Jerusalem, the Syrian territories, Medina, Tabuk and Tima, and the whole of the Hejaz and Al-Bilad al-Furatiyya [the Euphrates area]
felt as far as Ruhba and Kufa

Locations

Palestine
the whole of the Hejaz
Coastal areas
the Syrian territories
Al-Bilad al-Furatiyya [the Euphrates area]
reached the Euphrates
Ramla
Jerusalem
unlocated tsunami
Baniyas
Medina
Wadi al-Safra'
Yunbu'
Badr
Khaybar
Wadi al-Qura
Tabuk
Aylat
Tima
Ruhba
Kufa

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Notes

Ibn al-Jawzi vs. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Nuwayrī	شهاب ال
Shihāb al-Dīn Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Wahhāb al-Nuwayri	شهاب الدين أحمد بن عبد الوهاب النويري

Great History of Islam by al-Dhahabi

تاريخ الإسلام by الذهبي

Aliases

Aliases	Arabic
Shams ad-Dīn adh-Dhahabī	شمس الدين الذهبي
Shams ad-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Qāymāẓ	سهامس ادءدين ابو عابديللاه موحامماد يبن احماد يبن عوتهمان يبن قايماظ يبن عابديللاه اتءتوركوماني الءفاريقي ادءديماسهقي (?)
ʿAbdillāh at-Turkumānī al-Fāriqī ad-Dimashqī	عابديللاه اتءتوركوماني الءفاريقي ادءديماسهقي (?)

Background and Biography

Excerpts

English from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

from Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

In this year [460 H. = 1067-1068], there was a violent earthquake at Ramla which damaged it so badly that water overflowed from wells and, according to Ibn al-Athir, 25,000 inhabitants perished. Abu Yalu ben Qalanisi records that there were about 200 children in a school at Ramla when it collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for them because their families had perished as well, and Baniyas was struck in the same way. Ibn al-Sabuni has said:

An Alawite who happened to be in the Hejaz, has told how there was an earthquake in the period mentioned, that is to say on Tuesday 11 Jumada / [460 H. = 18 March 1068], and how it caused two merlons [on the minaret] to collapse at the Mosque of the Prophet [at Medina] may the prayer of God and peace be with him and how the earth split open and gold and silver treasures came forth, and a spring gushed forth, and Aylat was destroyed with its inhabitants, and at Tabuk three springs all appeared at the same time.

As for Ibn al-Athir, he has said that the rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open and then came together again thanks to the will of God; and the sea receded from the shore for a distance equal to a day[s walk]; people went down along the sea bed to see what they could find, but the water came back over them and they perished.

Original Document

not bookmarked

Chronology

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated with CHRONOS 18 March 1068 CE falls on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS)

Seismic Effects

Description in al-Dhahabi	al-Dhahabi's Source	Description in al-Dhahabi's Source	Notes
25,000 inhabitants perished in Ramla	Ibn al-Athir	destroyed Ramla where 25,000 inhabitants perished.
there was a violent earthquake at Ramla which damaged it so badly that water overflowed from wells	Ibn al-Athir	destroyed Ramla where water in wells rose to the surface,	not specifically attributed to Ibn al-Athir but is so similar that this seems to be the case.
the rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open and then came together again	Ibn al-Athir	In Jerusalem, the rock [of the Mosque of Omar, or perhaps the mosque itself, which was known as the Mosque of the Rock], split open, but by the will of God closed up again
unlocated tsunami - the sea receded from the shore for a distance equal to a day[s walk]; people went down along the sea bed to see what they could find, but the water came back over them and they perished.	Ibn al-Athir	The sea receded from the coast for a distance equal to a day's journey, and when it came back it struck those who had approached the shore, killing a great many people.
there were about 200 children in a school at Ramla when it collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for them because their families had perished as well	al-Qalanisi	It was said that a schoolteacher was in his classroom with about 200 children, and the classroom roof collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for [their bodies] because their families had perished as well.
Baniyas was struck in the same way as Ramla	al-Qalanisi	At Baniyas about a hundred people perished in the ruins
An Alawite stated that the earthquake caused two merlons [on the minaret] to collapse at the Mosque of the Prophet [at Medina]	Ibn al-Sabuni		perhaps the same personage as 12th century CE Nur al-Din al-Sabuni ?
the earth split open and gold and silver treasures came forth and a spring gushed forth	Ibn al-Sabuni
Aylat was destroyed with its inhabitants	Ibn al-Sabuni
at Tabuk three springs all appeared at the same time.	Ibn al-Sabuni

Locations

Ramla
Jerusalem
unlocated tsunami
Medina
Aylat
Tabuk

Sources

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Aliases	Arabic
Abu'l-Fida	أبو الفداء
Abū al-Fidāʾ	أبو الفداء
Abulfeda	Latinized
Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān	إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn al-Dawādārī
Sayf al-Din Abū Bakr ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn Aybak al-Dawādārī

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn Kathīr	ابن كثير
Abu al-Fiḍā ‘Imād Ad-Din Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī Al-Damishqī	إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير القرشي الدمشقي أبو الفداء عماد
Abū l-Fidāʾ Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar ibn Kaṯīr	أبو الفداء إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير
Imād ad-Dīn	عماد الدين

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Maqrīzī	المقريزي
Maḳrīzī
Taqī al-Dīn Abū al-'Abbās Aḥmad ibn 'Alī ibn 'Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥammad al-Maqrīzī	تقي الدين أحمد بن علي بن عبد القادر بن محمد المقريزي

Aliases	Arabic
Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi	جمال الدين يوسف بن الأمير سيف الدين تغري بردي (?)
Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf ibn Taghrī-Birdī	ابو الءماحاسين يوسوف يبن تاعهريءبيردي (?)
Abū l'-Maḥāsin Djamal al_Din Yūsuf ibn TaghrīBirdī	ابو الءماحاسين يوسوف يبن تاعهريءبيردي (?)

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Suyuti
As-Suyuti
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Abu 'l-Fadl 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad Djalal al_Din al-Khudayri

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
Tuesday 18 March 1068 CE	Tuesday 11th of Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated with CHRONOS 18 March 1068 CE falls on a Tuesday (calculated using CHRONOS) As-Suyuti recorded the same date - 11th of Jumada I for an A.H. 462 event but The 11th of Jumada I in A.H. 462 corresponds to 25 February 1070 CE and fell on a Thursday - not a Tuesday which adds further support that the A.H. 462 account is a repeat of the A.H. 460 event. The 25 Feb. 1070 CE date shows up in the catalog of Ben-Menahem (1979:259), and, according to Guidoboni and Comastri (2005), in one section of the catalog of Taher (1979:41). However, it does not show up in the catalog of Poirier and Taher (1980b) indicating that if Taher made a mistake, it was soon corrected.

Aliases	Arabic
Mujir al-Din al-’Ulaimi	مجير الدين العليمي (?)
al-’Ulaimi	العليمي (?)
'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-'Ulaymi	مجير الدين عبدالرحمن الحنبلي العليمي الشهير بأبن قطينه (?)
Ibn Quttainah	يبن قوتتايناه (?)

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
8 March - 6 April 1068 CE	Jumada I A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS.

Aliases	Arabic
Ibn al-ʿImād	إبن العماد
ʿAbd al-Ḥayy bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad ibn al-ʿImād al-ʿAkarī al-Ḥanbalī Abū al-Falāḥ	عبد الحي بن أحمد بن محمد ابن العماد العكري الحنبلي أبو الفلاح

Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
11 November 1067 to 30 October 1068 CE	A.H. 460	none	Calculated using CHRONOS.

Archaeoseismic Evidence

Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes
Jerusalem - Introduction	n/a	n/a	n/a
Jerusalem's City Walls	possible		Weksler-Bdolah in Galor and Avni (2011:421-423) presented historical evidence and limited archaeological evidence which indicates that Jerusalem's city walls were reconstructed in the late 10th - early 11th century CE - possibly partly in response to seismic damage.
Tiberias - Introduction	n/a	n/a	n/a
Tiberias - Mount Berineke	possible		Archaeoseismic Evidence from the church on top of Mount Berineke is undated ( Ferrario et al, 2014)
Tiberias - Basilica	possible	≥ 8	End of Phase II earthquake - 11th century CE - Hirschfeld and Meir (2004) noted that Stratum I was built above the collapse [of Stratum II] caused by an earthquake. Stratum I was dated to the 11th century CE while stratum II was dated to the 9th-10th centuries CE.
Tiberias - House of the Bronzes	possible		End of Stratum II Earthquake - 11th-12th century CE - Hirschfeld Gutfeld (2008) proposed that debris on top of Stratum II indicates that Stratum II was terminated by an earthquake. Stratum II was dated from the 10th - 11th centuries CE. Overlying Stratum I was dated from the 12th-14th centuries CE.
Tiberias - Gane Hammat	possible	≥ 8	End of Phase IIb destruction layer - ~11th century CE - Onn and Weksler-Bdolah (2016) wrote the following about the end of Phase IIb All of the buildings were destroyed at the end of Phase IIb, probably by the strong earthquake that struck the region in 1033/4 [i.e., the 11th century CE Palestine Quakes]; both historical sources and the remains in other cities attest to this event. Following the earthquake, some of the buildings were left in ruins, but others were rebuilt. The buildings in Area A, for example, was never restored: the columns that had collapsed in the earthquake were discovered toppled on the floors of the courtyards belonging to the Phase IIb building.
Umm el-Qanatir	possible	≥ 8	2nd Earthquake - undated - Wechsler et al (2008) report a collapse layer in a makeshift house that was built inside an abandoned synagogue that was likely seismically damaged from one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes (the Holy Desert Quake). The collapse layer from the makeshift house is not dated.
Kedesh	possible	≥ 8	The Roman Temple at Kedesh exhibits archaeoseismic effects and appears to have been abandoned in the 4th century CE; possibly due to the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. Archaeoseismic evidence at the site could be due to 363 CE and/or other earthquakes in the ensuing ~1600 years. See Fischer et al (1984) and Schweppe et al (2017)
Jericho - Introduction	n/a	n/a	n/a
Jericho - Hisham's Palace	probable	≥ 8 9-10	Later Earthquake - Alfonsi et al (2013) dated the causitive earthquake for the major seismic destruction at Hisham's Palace to the earthquake of 1033 CE unlike previous researchers who dated it to one of the Sabbatical Year earthquakes. Their discussion is reproduced below: The archaeological data testify to an uninterrupted occupancy from eighth century until 1000 A.D. of the Hisham palace (Whitcomb, 1988). Therefore, if earthquakes occurred in this time period, the effects should not have implied a total destruction with consequent occupancy contraction or abandonment. Toppled walls and columns in the central court cover debris containing 750-850 A.D. old ceramic shards (Whitcomb, 1988). Recently unearthed collapses north of the court confirm a widespread destruction after the eighth century (Jericho Mafjar Project - The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago). These elements support the action of a destructive shaking event at the site later than the 749 A.D. earthquake. The two well-constrained, major historical earthquakes recognized in the southern Jordan Valley are the 749 and 1033 A.D. (Table 1; Marco et al (2003); Guidoboni and Comastri, 2005). We assign an IX—X intensity degree to the here-recorded Hisham damage, whereas a VII degree has been attributed to the 749 A.D. earthquake at the site (Marco et al, 2003). Furthermore, Whitcomb (1988) defines an increment of occupation of the palace between 900 and 1000 A.D. followed by a successive occupation in the 1200-1400 A.D. time span. On the basis of the above, and because no pottery remains are instead associated with the 1000-1200 A.D. period at Hisham palace (Whitcomb, 1988), we suggest a temporary, significant contraction or abandonment of the site as consequence of a severe destruction in the eleventh century.
Lod/Ramla	possible	≥ 8	Rosen-Ayalon (2006:72) suggested that renovations to the White Mosque at Ramla in the third building phase occurred after the structure was damaged in the earthquake of 1033 CE.
Mishmar David	possible	≥ 8	End of Stratum V Earthquake - 11th century CE - Yannai (2014) noted that an immense building in Stratum V of Area B was damaged, possibly in another earthquake, either that of 1033 or of 1068 CE. Yannai (2014) noted that Stratum V buildings [in Sub-Area C1] were destroyed by a second earthquake, either the one that struck in 1033 or that of 1068 CE.
Ramat Rahel	possible	≥ 8	10th-11th century CE collapse - In The Tel Aviv - Heidelberg Joint Project - The 2006 and 2007 seasons at Ramat Rahel mention is made of a 10th-11th century collapse in Area D1 A massive stone collapse had covered the floors of the different architectural units. The many broken pottery vessels date the collapse of the building to the Abbasid period or to the beginning of the Fatimid period (10th–11th century CE)
Amman Citadel	possible		needs investigation
Beit-Ras/Capitolias	possible		Later Earthquakes - Al-Tawalbeh et. al. (2020:14) discussed archaeoseismic evidence for later post abandonment earthquakes We believe that filling up the cavea and orchestra of the theater happened parallel with the construction of the enclosing wall that essentially put all of the remaining building underground. Underground facilities are significantly less vulnerable to seismic excitation than that above-ground buildings (Hashash et aL, 2001). Understandably, when each wall and arch are supported by embedding sediment (dump in Beit-Ras), the observed deformations of the excavated theater mostly cannot develop unless unsupported. Therefore, evidence of damage due to any subsequent events, such as A.D. 551, 634, 659, and 749, cannot be observed, because the possibility of collapse of buried structures is not plausible. However, potential collapse of other above-ground structures within the site of Beit-Ras cannot be ignored, such as the upper elements of the theater's structures, which were still exposed after the filling of the theater with debris. Several observations indicated that many collapsed elements of the upper parts of the theater were mixed with the debris, as documented in excavation reports by Al-Shami (2003, 2004). Another example suggesting the effect of the later events, such as that of A.D. 749. Mlynarczyk (2017) attributed the collapse of some sections of the city wall of Beit-Ras to this event, based on the concentration of collapsed ashlars and the age of collected pottery from two trenches excavated to the west of the theater structure. Al-Tawalbeh et. al. (2020:6) also noted the following about the eastern orchestra gate: The basalt masonry in the upper left suggests a later local collapse and repair phase, where the basalt courses are overlaying the marly-chalky limestone to the left of the walled arched eastern gate.
Petra - Introduction	n/a	n/a	n/a
Petra - Jabal Harun	possible	≥ 8	Phase 12 destruction event - not well dated - Mikkola et al (2008) noted that in this destruction event all remaining roof structures collapsed and there was a layer of stone tumble. Hard-packed, clayey soil directly under the lowermost deposits of stone tumble [...] contained relatively few finds apparently making it difficult to date. Also found in the stone tumble were the remains of two fallen arches, a row of voussoirs, some drums fallen from a column, and many other architectural elements found throughout the complex.
Petra - Petra Church	possible	≥ 8	Fiema et al (2001) characterized structural destruction of the church in Phase X as likely caused by an earthquake with a date that is not easy to determine. A very general terminus post quem of the early 7th century CE was provided. Destruction due to a second earthquake was identified in Phase XIIA which was dated from late Umayyad to early Ottoman. Taken together this suggests that the first earthquake struck in the 7th or 8th century CE and the second struck between the 8th and 16th or 17th century CE.
Petra - Blue Chapel and the Ridge Church	possible		Later undated earthquake(s)- Perry in Bikai et al (2020:70) noted that from the 8th c. A.D. on, the abandoned structures suffered extensive damage from repeated earthquakes.
Aqaba - Introduction	n/a	n/a	n/a
Aqaba - Ayla	possible to probable	≥ 8	Second Earthquake - 1068 CE - The second earthquake was revealed in structures restored and/or built during the Fatimid period (1050-1116 A.D.) ( al-Tarazi and Khorjenkov, 2007) thus providing a terminus post quem of 1050-1116 AD. A number of authors report that Ayla was damaged during the 1068 CE Quake(s). Abu Ali ibn al-Banna and Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi reports that in Ayla all but 12 people who had gone fishing survived. al-Tarazi and Khorjenkov (2007) note that Donald Whitcomb discovered a destruction layer associated with this earthquake which he presumes led to abandonment of the village due to its destruction.
Shivta	possible	≥ 8	Post Abandonment Earthquake(s) - 8th - 15th centuries CE - On the western perimeter of Shivta in Building 121, Erickson-Gini (2013) found evidence of earthquake induced collapse of the ceilings and parts of the walls which she dated to possibly in the Middle Islamic period after the site was abandoned at the end of the Early Islamic period. Collapsed arches were also found. The arches appear to be in a crescent pattern. Erickson-Gini (2013) discussed dating of the structure is as follows: The excavation revealed that the structure was built and occupied in the Late Byzantine period (fifth–seventh centuries CE) and continued to be occupied as late as the Early Islamic period (eighth century CE). The structure appears to have collapsed sometime after its abandonment, possibly in the Middle Islamic period. Dateable artifacts in Room 2 came from the Late Byzantine period and the Early Islamic period (eighth century CE). The terminus ante quem for this earthquake is not well established. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999a) report that a site effect is not likely at this location.
Reṣafa	possible		Al Khabour (2016) notes that the Basilica of St. Sergius (Basilica A) suffered earthquake destructions but did not supply dates. The apse displays fractures that appear to be a result of earthquakes or differential subsidence Fig. 2 Rusafa: the huge church containing the remains of St. Sergio. Al Khabour (2016) . Sack et al (2010:307) reported that from the building of the church [Basilica A first built in the 5th century CE] up to the abandonment of the city in the 13th century, earthquakes and the building ground weakened by underground dolines [aka sinkholes] have caused considerable damage.
Palmyra	unlikely to possible		11th century CE earthquake - Kowalski (1994:59) suggests that the House rebuilt from the Praetorium on top of the Temple of Allat was destroyed by an earthquake in the 11th century CE. The house was abandoned, maybe just like most of that area in the ninth century (Gawlikowski 1992: 68). The main entrance was walled up. The house remained unoccupied until it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1042 AD (Ambraseys 1969-1971:95)²⁰. The ruin was buried in the earth. Footnote 20 This earthquake is dated to the tenth century A.D. by M.A.R. Colledge (Colledge 1976: 22). It is also mentioned by Ibn Taghri birdi in his chronicle An-Nugum az-Zahira V, p. 35 and dated to the 434th year of the Hegira, i.e. A.D. 1042. Ambraseys (2009)'s entry for an earthquake in 1042 CE is as follows: AD 1042 Tadmur An earthquake caused great loss of life in Tadmur in Syria. It is said that Baalbek was also shaken. This information is given by a single source, which does not comment on the effects on Baalbek, or specify whether Baalbek was shaken by a different earthquake. It is likely that the Tadmur earthquake was felt only at Baalbek. Al-Suyuti (writing in the sixteenth century) records this event as happening in the same year as an earthquake in Tabriz. He does not comment on the effects on Baalbek, but, since the two cities are 250 km apart, if Baalbek was not shaken by a different earthquake, it is likely that the Tadmur earthquake was felt there only. Note ‘. . . in the year 434 [21 August 1042 to 9 August 1043], . . . an earthquake occurred at Tadmur and at Ba’albek: most of the population of Tadmur died under the ruins.’ (al-Suyuti Kashf 56/18). Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)'s entry for this earthquake is very similar.
el-Lejjun	possible	≥ 8	4th Earthquake - ~600 CE - 1918 CE - Groot et al (2006:183) report discovery of a nearly complete Umayyad Lamp in Square 4 of Area B (Barracks - B.6.038) in the Post Stratum Gap - above and later than the 3rd earthquake layer. Above the Ummayyad lamp was a 0.7 m thick layer of tumble containing some roof beams and many wall blocks (Groot et al, 2006:183). They note that the basalt roof beams found embedded in the lowest tumble level (B.6.032) suggests initial massive destruction rather than gradual decay over time. The wall blocks, found in the upper layer of tumble, contained one late Islamic (1174-1918 CE) and one Ayyubid/Mamluk (1174-1516 CE) sherd indicating a significant amount of time may have passed between the possibly seismically induced roof collapse and the wall collapse which was not characterized as necessarily having a seismic origin. This opens up the possibility that one of the mid 8th century CE earthquakes or a later earthquake may have also caused damage at el-Lejjun. deVries et al (2006:196) suggests that Umayyad abandonment of the northwest tower was probably triggered by further major collapse. In the North Gate, deVries et al (2006:207) found evidence of full scale destruction in layers above 3rd earthquake debris and post-earthquake occupation layers which contained Late Byzantine/Umayyad and Umayyad sherds. Subsoil/tumble was found in C.9.008 (north room), C.9.009 (south room) and C.9.005 (stairwell) bear ample witness to the destruction of the rooms, perhaps in the Umayyad period. Although Late Byzantine sherds were found in Post Stratum layers in the North Gate, if one assumes that the 3rd earthquake was the Inscription at Aeropolis Quake which struck before 597 CE - probably within a decade of 597 CE, one can establish an approximate and fairly conservative terminus post quem for this earthquake of ~600 CE. While the terminus ante quem is the end of the post stratum III gap (1918 CE), it is probable that that the earthquake struck much earlier.
Castellum of Qasr Bshir	possible	≥ 8	Later Earthquake(s) - Above what was presumed to be a Late Umayyad collapse layer Clark (1987:490) found another collapse layer in H.2 A period of abandonment followed [the Late Umayyad collapse], punctuated by a squatter occupation of the room, during which a fire was lit in the corner. There followed a major collapse of masonry, after which no further occupation of the room took place.
Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes

Tsunamogenic Evidence

¹ PGA to Intensity conversions use Wald et al (1999).
Location (with hotlink)	Status	Minimum PGA (g)	Likely PGA (g)	Likely Intensity¹	Comments
Gulf Of Aqaba	probable				Turbidites in all R/V Thuwal Cores except Core 11 - ~1050-~1150 CE (1σ) Bektaş et al. (2024:12) report that a turbidite that was present in and correlated across all 18 R/V Thuwal cores except for core 11. Based on Probability Density Functions (PDFs) presented in Fig. 8 of their paper, these turbidites should have been deposited between ~1050 and ~1150 CE (1σ). Temporal discrepancies between some cores was explained as most probably related to the difficulties of the inter-core chemostratigraphical correlations due to intense bioturbation in the sediments of the Gulf of Aqaba that can lead to small time shifts when it comes to estimate exact age of specific core sections. Bektaş et al. (2024:12) suggested that these 17 turbidites formed due to the 1068 CE earthquake(s). Because turbidites were present in 17 of the 18 R/V Thuwal cores, Bektaş et al. (2024:12) further suggested that the causitive earthquake ruptured the Eilat, Aragonese, Arnona and probably Tiran faults together. They added that the southern part of the Araba fault likely also ruptured in this event if one considers paleoseismic data from the Elat Sabhka Trenches, the Shehoret And Roded Alluvial Fan Trenches, and the Qatar Trench. Bektaş et al. (2024:12) concluded that the total rupture length of this earthquake could have been at least ~200 km. Event C in R/V Mediterranean Explorer core P27 - ~883 CE 7 cm. thick Mass Transport Deposit Event C was identified in R/V Mediterranean Explorer Canyon Core P27 by Kanari et al (2015) and Ash-Mor et al. (2017). Ash-Mor et al. (2017) provided an unmodeled ¹⁴C date of ~883 CE (1067 ± 42 cal years BP) for the mass transport deposit which Kanari et al (2015) associated with the 1068 CE Earthquake although an 8th, 9th, or 10th century CE event seems a better fit - e.g. it may related to Events E4 or E5 which were both dated to between 671 and 845 CE (modeled ages) by Klinger et al. (2015) in the Qatar Trench ~37 km. to the NNE along the Araba Fault. Kanari et al (2015) based association with the 1068 CE Earthquake at least partly on their work in the nearby Elat Sabhka Trenches where Kanari et al. (2020) dated Event E1 in Trench T3 to between 897 and 992 CE and listed the 1068 CE Earthquake as a plausible candidate. Kanari et al. (2020) also identified a dewatering structure (aka liquefaction fluid escape structure) in Elat Sabhka Trench T1 which they dated to before 1269-1389 CE and associated with the 1068 CE or 1212 CE earthquakes.
Location (with hotlink)	Status	Minimum PGA (g)	Likely PGA (g)	Likely Intensity¹	Comments

Paleoseismic Evidence

Location (with hotlink)

Status

Intensity

Notes

Qiryat-Shemona Rockfalls

possible

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-4 to the 11th century CE Palestine Quakes which struck in ~1033 CE however there is a large spread in ages.

Jordan Valley - Tell Saidiyeh and Ghor Kabed Trenches

possible

≥ 7

Ferry et al (2011) detected 12 surface rupturing seismic events in 4 trenches (T1-T4) in Tell Saidiyeh and Ghor Kabed; 10 of which were prehistoric. The tightest chronology came from the Ghor Kabed trenches (T1 and T2) where Events Y and Z were constrained to between 560 and 1800 CE.

Dead Sea - Seismite Types

n/a

Dead Sea - En Feshka

possible

7.9 - 8.8 (66 cm.)

5.6 - 7.0 (70 cm.)

7.9 - 8.8 (74 cm.)

7.9 - 8.8 (80 cm.)

Kagan et. al. (2011) identified several seismites from around this time.

Depth (cm.)	Thickness (cm.)	Seismite Type	Modeled Age (± 1σ)	Modeled Age (± 2σ)	Quake Assignment (Kagan)	Quake Assignment (Williams)
66	1	4	1064 CE ± 20	1061 CE ± 44	1068 CE Quake(s)	not assigned
70	1	Questionable	1048 CE ± 20	1045 CE ± 43	1063 CE - JW: doubtful due to distance (epicenter likely between Syrian littoral and Cyprus according to Ambraseys, 2009:269-270)	not assigned
74	1.5	4	1032 CE ± 19	1029 CE ± 43	11th century CE Palestine Quakes which struck in ~1033 CE	not assigned
80	1.5	4	1009 CE ± 18	1004 CE ± 42	991 CE Damascus Quake	not assigned

Dead Sea - En Gedi

possible

5.6 - 7.0

Migowski et. al. (2004) assigned a 1068 CE date to a 0.4 cm. thick Type 1 seismite at a depth of 132 cm. (1.32 m).

Dead Sea - Nahal Ze 'elim

unlikely

At site ZA-2, Kagan et. al. (2011) did not find any seismites whose time window encompassed ~1068 CE.

Araba - Introduction

n/a

Araba - Qasr Tilah

possible

≥ 7

Haynes et al. (2006) dated Events II and III to between the 7th and 12th centuries CE.

Araba - Taybeh Trench

unlikely

LeFevre et al. (2018) did not assign any seismic events to an earthquake in 1068 CE.

Araba - Qatar Trench

possible to probable

≥ 7

Klinger et. al. (2015) identified two seismic events which fit.

Event	Mean Date	Age Range	Quake Assignment (Klinger)	Quake Assignment (Williams)
E3	1071 CE ± 68	1003-1138 CE	1068 CE Quake(s)	not assigned
E_supp1	925 CE ± 119	806-1044 CE	11th century CE Palestine Quakes - ~1033 CE	not assigned

Araba - Taba Sabhka Trench

possible to probable

≥ 7

Allison (2013) assigned a 1068 CE date to a seismic event which they dated to between 1045 and 1661 CE and Allison (2013) assigned a 1212 CE date to a seismic event which they dated to between the mid 11th century CE and the 16-17th centuries CE.

Araba - Shehoret, Roded, and Avrona Alluvial Fan Trenches

possible to probable

≥ 7

Events 7, 8, and 9 in Trench T-18 have a wide spread of ages however, taken together, the evidence suggests the 1212 CE, 1068 CE, and one earlier earthquake, perhaps between ~500 CE and 1000 CE, struck the area. Zilberman et al (2005) also discovered an early Islamic ranch in the western part of Avrona playa. The ranch was dated to the 11th century CE and was abandoned during the same century - an abandonment which Zilberman et al (2005) attributed to the effects of the 1068 CE earthquake. They measured 1 m of displacement of a Qanat (a covered water canal) on the ranch which they also attributed to the 1068 CE earthquake although it is possible that the displacement was caused by an earthquake which struck the area in 1212 CE.

Araba - Elat Sabhka Trenches

possible to probable

≥ 7 for Event E1

Kanari et al (2020) assigned Event E1, dated to between 897 and 992 CE, to the 1068 CE Earthquake. They suggested that the Magnitude of the causitive earthquake was between 6.6 and 7.1.

Kanari et al (2020) suggested that a dewatering structure (aka a liquefaction fluid escape structure) found in Trench T1 and dated to before 1269-1389 CE was caused by the 1068 CE Quake(s) or the 1212 CE Quake.

Araba - Trenches in Aqaba

possible

≥ 7

Niemi (2011:153) noted that the most recent scarp-forming event fault [in Trench AQ-1] occurred after A.D. 1045-1278 based on a corrected, calibrated radiocarbon age from charcoal collected from a buried campfire at the base of the scarp in Trench T-1. This likely represents fault motion in one of the historical earthquakes affecting southern Jordan (e.g. 1068, 1212, 1458, or 1588).

Location (with hotlink)

Status

Intensity

Notes

Abou Karaki

Abou Karaki, N., et al. (2022)

25.2.4.2 The "Ramla" Earthquake of 11 Jumada I, 460 AH, March 18, 1068 AD

We briefly show results of our revision processes and analysis as applied on the case of the Tuesday, 11 Jumada Al-Awla 460 AH 18 March 1068 AD well documented earthquake. This historical earthquake is reported in primary sources of Arabic documents and manuscripts, to have destroyed Ramla in Palestine (causing 15,000 to 25,000 causalities, mostly at Ramla as a result of a tsunami following the earthquake), and to have destroyed Ayla (modern Elat and Aqaba with the death of all but 12 of its inhabitants, Banyas to the North in southwestern Syria, suffered 100 casualties), and to have affected parts of Egypt, northwestern Arabia and Iraq. However the earthquake is referred to in most Arab manuscripts and primary sources as the earthquake of Ramla.

Our Analysis of some modern works revisiting the March, 18 1068 AD earthquake show important problems in interpreting the earthquake effects with some degree of information manipulation freely practiced on the historical data in other contributions as well. Some of the historical seismicity information has clearly been misinterpreted. We detected in a number of otherwise, usually "Authorative" historical seismicity works (Ambraseys et al., 1994; Ambraseys & Melville, 1989), a clear tendency and efforts to maximize the destructive effects of this earthquake in Arabia and to minimize these effects in Ramla and elsewhere. This led to shifting of the earthquake's epicenter hundreds of kilometers from the southern part of the JDST to northwestern Arabia near Tabuk about 250 km far away from the nearest recognized "axis" of the plate boundary. However, the simple plate tectonics and seismogenic sources basic principles are also certainly not in favor of the new location. The Ambraseys approach in dealing with historical texts was further criticized by a specialist "The Translations of Ambraseys were not complete, he altered the description of events in a way incompatible with the way ancient historical text should be treated" Al-Ghunaim (2002) p. 27. This led to very serious location and timing problems for this major earthquake that we examine hereafter.

Location Problems of the Earthquake of Ramla 18 March 1068 AD

Table 25.2 gives a synoptic summary allowing at this stage to compare between what we consider as the more realistic accounts concerning the Ramla earthquake affects and locations (Ambraseys, 1962) and the somewhat artificial radical evolution of ideas concerning this earthquake's description and location as revisited in (Ambraseys & Melville, 1989; Ambraseys et al., 1994).

**Table 25.2 Showing the extent in the location evolution of the 1068 AD earthquake**
Description after Ambraseys (1962) (Ambraseys & Melville, 1989)	Description after Ambraseys et al. (1994)
An earthquake in Palestine. Ramla was destroyed; it extended to the Hejaz. It reached also Wadi-el-Szafrh (Safra), Khaibar, Bedr (Badr), Yanbah (Yanb'u), Wadi Kora, Teima and Tabuk, and it extended as far as Kufa, only two houses remained and 25,000 persons perished	A major Earthquake in the Hejaz and northern Arabia ... killed in all about 20,000 people. Aila was completely destroyed with all but 12 of its inhabitants. In Tabuk, three springs of water appeared and in Taima the ground was "split open." Near here a spring of water gushed out. The earthquake was felt at Khaibar, Medina (where the shock brought down two decorative crestings of the mosque of the prophet), Wadi al-Safra, Wadi al-Qura, Badr, and Yanbu'... the earthquake was strong enough in Palestine to damage al-Ramla and ruin many houses with loss of life. Damage was reported from Baniyas, where about 100 people were killed

In conclusion, it is clear from the comparison of the 2 texts (the bold parts in particular) that there was a shift of ideas implicating a serious shift of emphasis which led to a transfer of this earthquake's probable location from the DSF to a none probable one somewhere in Hejaz and northern Arabia. It should be mentioned that first hints implicating a new location of this earthquake to be in Arabia were suggested by (Ambraseys & Melville, 1989)

This evolution is unjustified when closely examined after the original Arabic primary sources

A possible hint and clue towards an explanation of the inherent cause of this transfer of location to Arabia may be in the following "It is a shame, in a sense, that there are not more earthquakes to record in Saudi Arabia itself, and that the focus of our attention has thus strayed inevitably to the surrounding regions." Ambraseys et al. (1994) page xix. Who also admitted the lake of robustness of the earthquake's location in Arabia later elsewhere "A major event in 1068 in the Hejaz in north- western Arabia is unusual not only because of its location but also because of the evidence admittedly slight, suggesting a surface rupture. The location of which must be sought in the region of Tabuk". Ambraseys and Jackson (1998) p. 399 point 9. It should be stressed that the reported "surface rupture" is not at all credible, the primary source this was based upon put it this way "Al Djawzi reports that at Khaibar, the ground opened up and treasures were revealed" (Poirrier & Taher, 1980) p. 2199. An extensive compilation of the Arabic sources of the earthquake of Tuesday 11 Jumada I 460 AH = 18 March 1068 AD is found in Al-Ghunaim (2002) pp.117-120.

Timing Problems and False Twins Related to 1068 AD Ramla Earthquake

After the application of Abou Karaki's algorithm for the detection of errors in the historical seismicity catalogs (Abou Karaki, 1987, 1992, 1995a), the following dates in various catalogs of the region must be regarded as very probably twins of false historical seismicity earthquakes 160 AH, 11 Jumada I 462 AH, 20 April 1067 AD, 20 April 1068 AD, 1069 AD, 2 Feb. 1070 AD, 25 Feb. 1070 AD, 26 Feb. 1070 AD.

These are all related to the Ramla 18 March 1068 AD earthquake, resulting from various possible errors populating a number of lists, references and catalogs, one or more of these or similar errors are still found and possibly propagating in the following works (Abou Karaki, 1987; Ambraseys, 1962, 2009; Ambraseys et al., 1994; Ambraseys & Melville, 1989; Amiran et al., 1994; Ben Menahem, 1979, 1991; Khair et al., 2000; Poirrier & Taher, 1980; Seiberg, 1932; Taher, 1979; Vered & Striem, 1977; Willis, 1928, 1933) a non-exhaustive list.

In conclusion, historical seismicity data was reassessed and subjected to an algorithm for the detection of errors in the historical seismicity catalogs (Abou Karaki, 1987, 1992, 1995a). Tens of false earthquakes were purged from the lists. The critical revision of the historical seismicity catalogs resulted in the following revised slim list Table 25.3.

References

Abou Karaki, N., et al. (2022). Seismological and Remote Sensing Studies in the Dead Sea Zone, Jordan 1987–2021. Applications of Space Techniques on the Natural Hazards in the MENA Region. M. M. Al Saud. Cham, Springer International Publishing: 589-621.

Abou Karaki (1987) Earthquake Catalog

Summary

18 March 1068 AD (11 Jumada I AH 460)

M = 7
Lat = 31 degrees 5 minutes North
Long = 35 degrees 5 minutes East
affected - Ramla

AND

M = 6.5
Lat = 30 degrees North
Long = 35 degrees East
affected - Ayla, Jerusalem, Tabouk, Cairo, Egypt, Arabia, Khaybar, Tayma, Wadi As Safra, Sharm Yanbu

Detailed Discussion

Note by JW: AMBR1 and AMBR2 refer to earlier articles from Ambraseys in 1962. After Najib Abou Karaki wrote this catalog, Ambraseys updated his work correcting earlier errors and adding new information. Hence one is advised to consult Ambraseys (2009) which was completed a few years before Ambraseys died.

English

* 18 MARCH 1068 A.D., Tuesday 11 Jumada I 460 A.H

This earthquake perfectly illustrates the effects of an error Type II.

On Tuesday (10 Jumada I), a violent earthquake took place in Palestine and Egypt. The city of Ramla was destroyed, water flowed from the mouths of wells, there were 25,000 victims, the mosque of Jerusalem split but returned thanks to God above. The sea drew back one day's walk from the coast and came back ... there were many victims (TAHF, TAHA)

Naja: in translating TAHF, regarding the number victims, it says 25, the three zeros did not appear because of a typographic error. The Arabic text allowed us to correct this.

Another testimony ... "the city of Ramla collapsed except two streets, 15,000 victims, effects were felt in Wadi As Safra, Khaybar (in Arabia !), Al Rahba, and Al Kufa (in Iraq), but after this the earth cracked and there appeared treasures!

Tuesday 11 Jamada I, March 18 at the third hour an earthquake struck. Ramla and (the surrounding area ?) was completely destroyed ... The tremor spread to Jerusalem and Tinis (in Egypt - not confused with Tunis! (AMBR1)). Elat was completely destroyed ... the sea retreated ... and resumed its original height. The corner of the main mosque of Cairo was deformed. This earthquake was followed almost immediately by two others.

mentioned as two independent earthquakes in (AMBRI). . 11 Jumada I 460 AH (18 MARCH 1068) same description as above, adding Tayma, Tabouk (in Arabia) (AMBR1). . 11 Jumada I 462 AH (25 FEB. 1070), Ramla, Jerusalem, Egypt (AMBR1).

French

* 18 MARS 1068 apr. J.C., le mardi 11 JUMI. 460 apr. H

Ce seisme illustre parfaitement les effets d'une erreur du type II.

- "Le mardi (10 Jumada I), un tremblement de terre tres violent a eu lieu en Palestine et en Egypte ; la ville de Ramla fut detruite, l'eau jaillit de la bouche des puits, it y eut 25.000 victimes, la mosquee de Jerusalem fut lezardee, puis se ressouda grace a Dieu le Tres Haut ; la mer recula a un jour de marche du littoral et elle revint,..., it y eut beaucoup de victimes."(TAHF, TAHA).

(Naja : dans la traduction de TAHF, a propos du nombre de victimes, on lit 25, les trois zeros ne figurent pas a cause d'une erreur d'impression ,Le texte Arabe nous a permis de rectifier).

. Un autre temoignage ..."la ville de Ramla s'est effondree a l'exception de 2 ruelles, 15.000 victimes, ses effets se firent sentir jusqu'au Wadi As Safra, Khay- bar, (en Arabie !) Al Rahba, et Al Kufa, (en Irak), mais d'apres ce temoignage la terre se fendit et des tresors apparurent !,"

. 462 apr. H, 1070 apr. J.C., (erreur du type II) Le mardi 11 jamada I, le 18 MARS a la troisieme heure un tremblement de terre a Ramla, et sa circonscription qui fut entierement detruite ... La secousse se propagea a Jerusalem, a Tinis (en Egypte, a ne pas confondre avec Tunis! (AMBR1)) Elat fut completement detruite ... la mer se retira ... puis reprit sa position primitive, l'angle de la mosquee principale du Caire fut fausse. Ce seisme fut suivi de deux autres presque tout de suite.

- mentionne come etant deux seismes independants dans (AMBRI).

. 11 jumada I 460 apr. H (18 MARS 1068) meme description que ci-dessus, en y ajoutant, Tayma, Tabouk (en Arabie) (AMBR1).

. 11 jumada I 462 apr. H. (25 FEV. 1070), Ramla, Jerusalem, 1'Egypte (AMBR1).

References

Abou-Karaki, N. (1987). Synthèse et carte sismotectonique des pays de la bordure Orientale de la Méditerranée: sismicité du système de foilles du Jourdain – Mer Morte, University of Strasbourg, France. Ph.D. Diss.

Powerpoint Presentation of Abou Karaki

Ambraseys (2009)

AD 1068 Mar 18 Gulf of Aqaba

A large earthquake in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Hejaz in northwest Arabia occurred during the morning of Tuesday 18 March 1068. It is said that Aila (Eilat), at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, was completely destroyed with all but 12 of its inhabitants. In Tabuk, three new springs of water appeared at a place called al-Qur, and in Taima the ground was split open. Near here a permanent and productive spring of water gushed out.

The earthquake was felt at Wadi al-Qura, Khaibar, al-Marwa, Medina, where the shock brought down two decorative crestings of the mosque of the Prophet, and Wadi al-Safra, Badr and Yanbu', to the southwest of Medina. In Sinai, the earthquake was strong enough to cause alarm at the monastery of St Catherine. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest earthquake damage at the citadel of Amman in Jordan, possi- bly from this event.

The shock was also experienced in Egypt, where Tinnis apparently suffered some damaged, but not in Alexandria. In Cairo, the only damage reported was to one corner of the mosque of `Amr in Fustat. Water rose in wells in Egypt and Palestine, and the retreat and return of the sea on the Mediterranean coast of Palestine drowned a large number of people.

The earthquake was felt as far as al-Rahba and al- Kufa on the Euphrates in Iraq, the water of which was reported to have overtopped its banks; it was also felt in Baghdad. Two more shocks followed within an hour. The epicentral area of this event must be sought in the Gulf of Aqaba.

This Aqaba-Hejaz earthquake of 18 March 1068 is generally reported together with a separate, locally destructive shock that affected Palestine two months later on 29 May 1068 and the two events are amalgamated into a single very large earthquake, the destructive effects of which extended from Aqaba to Baniyas, a distance of 400 km.

Because of the complexity of the source material the two earthquakes will be discussed together here. Abu Ali ibn al-Banna, a contemporary diarist, provides the earliest description of the earthquake of May, from Damascus. He records the arrival of news early in August 1068 (Shawwal 460 a.H.) of an earthquake in Palestine on 29 May 1068 (24 Rajab 460 a.H.) which destroyed al-Ramla with the exception of two houses and killed 15 000 people. In Jerusalem the Rock split in two and then closed up again, and the sea 'sank' for a day and night, and people who entered it were drowned when it rose again. However, he does not say that the shock was felt in Damascus. Further down his diary Ibn al-Banna records the arrival of news that there was another earthquake in Medina in Arabia, on Tuesday 18 March 1068 (11 Jumada 460 a.H.), which brought down two men Ions from the minaret of the Prophet's Mosque, causing some concern. The earthquake extended to Wadi al- Safa, al-Marwa, Khaibar, Wadi al-Qura, Taima, Tabuk and Aila. In Aila only 12 people who had gone out fishing survived. At Taima, the earthquake caused the ground to open up, disclosing 'treasures', and a second spring of copious flow of water appeared, while at Tabuk more springs burst forth. Later, members of a caravan, who had experienced it personally, confirmed the facts he was given about this event. Wadi al-Safa must be equated with Al-Safra near Medina; and al-Marwa refers to Dhu al- Marwa in Wadi al-Qura. He adds that he himself in Damascus experienced a slight earthquake in March 1068. Ibn al-Banna goes on to repeat the information he had already attributed to the earthquake of 29 May and then contradicts himself by saying that the effects of the earthquake of 18 March subsided, beyond Surair of Hijaz (a Wadi near Medina; Yaqut iii. 88), in most of Syria up to al-Ramla (al-Maqd. 1956, 248, 250-251, 256; Gil 1992, 408).

Ibn al-Qalanisi, a mid-twelfth-century author, provides a description of the earthquake of March 1068 in Palestine, but he says nothing about the earthquake in Arabia (Ibn al-Qalanisi, 94). According to his account, a great earthquake affected Palestine on Tuesday 10 (sic.) Jumada I, 460 a.H. (Monday 17 March 1068), destroying most of the houses and walls in al-Ramla, and damaging its mosque. Most of the population perished beneath the wreckage. It is also related that a teacher was in his school with about 200 boys when the school fell on them. No one asked for news of them, because their families had all perished. Also, water rose up from the mouth of the wells from the violence of the earthquake. About 100 people were killed in Baniyas and likewise in Jerusalem. The essence of this account was used by later authors. It should be noted, however, that other sources give the date of 11 Jumada I, which was correctly a Tuesday.

Azimi, another author writing about 100 years after the event, also mentions only the earthquake that damaged houses in Palestine and al-Ramla and the fact that after the earthquake the water rose in wells (al- Azimi, 358),

A later account by Imad al-Din (in al-Bundari, 34), merely mentions an earthquake in Palestine in Jumada I, 460 a.H., which destroyed districts and demolished buildings. Then, Ibn al-Jauzi (viii, 248), a late-twelfthcentury author writing in Baghdad, amalgamates the effects of the two earthquakes. In addition to the destruction of Ramla, he mentions that the shock brought down two decorative crestings of the mosque of the Prophet in Medina, and reached as far as Wadi al-Safra and Khaibar, where the ground split to reveal 'its buried treasures' . The shock was felt as far away as al-Rahba and Kula, on the Euphrates. This author then quotes a letter, which came to Baghdad from some merchants. The earthquake, according to this letter, caused the whole of Ramla, with the exception of two streets, to be swallowed up and 15 000 people to perish. The dome of the Rock in Jerusalem opened up and then closed again. The sea receded a distance equivalent to a day's journey and then came back over the dry land 'and destroyed the whole world'. The people went down onto the seabed to pick around; the sea rushed back over them and drowned a large number of them, a description identical to that used for other earthquakes to describe seismic sea waves and probably suspect. There is no indication of where this happened.

However, in a different account Ibn al-Jauzi (viii, 256) seems to separate the two earthquakes by giving a different date and account of the event, with some additional information, under the year 462 a.H., dating the earthquake to the third hour of Tuesday 11 Jumada I a.H. 462 (Thursday 25 February 1070). This earthquake, he says, affected al-Ramla and its districts, destroying most of it and demolishing its walls. The shock was general in Jerusalem and Tinnis (sic.). Aila was completely destroyed. The author then briefly mentions again the withdrawal and return of the sea, which may indicate that this happened in the Gulf of Aqaba, and concludes with the statement that the corner of the mosque of `Amr in al- Fustat was spoiled. Two other shocks followed the earthquake almost immediately.

Certain elements of Ibn al-Jauzi's account clearly date back to the contemporary author, Ibn al-Sabi, who is specifically quoted, together with Ibn al-Athir, by the fourteenth-century Syrian author, al Dhahabi (fol. 4b). al Dhahabi claims that he was informed by an Alawi, who was in the Hejaz, that the earthquake occurred there at the same time, which was Tuesday 11 Jumada I, and threw down two crestings from the Mosque of the Prophet; the ground was split open at Taima to reveal gold and a spring of water gushed there. He states also that Aila was destroyed with those who were in it, and in Tabuk three springs appeared. He says this all happened at the same time.

These earliest reports contain all the essential details about the earthquake, later authors such as Ibn al-Athir (x. 57) merely confirming that it affected both Palestine and Egypt, and repeating the details about the water rising in the wells and the retreat and return of the sea. This author also refers to the fissuring of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, and gives the number of casualties in Ramla as 25 000 (sic.). His account is followed by Abu'l-Fida (iii. 186).

Another independent, but not very -detailed, mid-thirteenth-century account, by the continuators of Sawirus (227, Arabic text f. 182), dates the earthquake early on a Tuesday morning, on the second day of Easter week. This fits for 1068, and the time of the day agrees with the statement that the earthquake occurred at about the third hour (Ibn al-Jauzi, viii. 256). Sawirus says that many places were overthrown in al-Ramla, Tinnis and elsewhere, but that the shock had little effect in Alexandria. The date finds further confirmation in the fact that Sawirus mentions that the earthquake was followed by an epidemic in Egypt, which is not widely mentioned in other sources (Ibn al-Dawadari, vi. 387), but may have been the result of the food scarcity that is fully documented (Ibn Muyassir. 19; Ibn Zafir, 74-75). Tinnis was depopulated, and Ramla became deserted as a result of the epidemic. Al-Maqrizi also mentions that Ramla was destroyed and not restored afterwards (al-Maqrizi, Khitat, i. 337, ii. 277).

Additional evidence of the severity of the earthquake in al-Ramla is given by Ibn Shaddad, who says that the city was a great centre to which merchants flocked until the earthquake of 10 (sic.) Jumada I 460 a.H., which erased all traces of it. The inhabitants, he says, moved to Jerusalem, which suggests that Jerusalem itself was not badly damaged by the earthquake (Ibn Shaddad, 182). The late-fifteenth century Egyptian author, Ibn Taghribirdi (ii/2.239), has a less detailed version of this passage in the year 459 a.H., which is too early. These authors also refer to the scarcity of food in Egypt, which continued till 461 a.H., or even later (al- Maqrizi, Khitat, i. 337, ii. 277). Much of Ibn al-Sabi's history is preserved verbatim in Sibt ibn al-Jauzi's Mirat al zaman.

Many later fourteenth-century sources follow Ibn al-Jauzi's reference to the earthquake under both 460 and 462 a.H., with more or less faithful reproductions (al- Nuwairi, iv. 140, 141; Ibn Kathir, xii. 96, 99; Ibn al-Imad, iii. 308, 309).

A much later, late-fifteenth-century source, Al- Suyuti, who also quotes directly from Ibn al-Jauzi, adds Badr, Yanbu, Wadi al Qura, Taima and Tabuk to the list of places mentioned in Arabia (al-Suyuti, kashf 34-35). There is room to suggest that an independent, but problematic, account from the Monastery of St Catherine in Sinai refers to this earthquake. An anonymous author mentions that late in the eleventh century earthquakes strong enough to cause the Egyptian army to abandon the area they had just captured were felt in the monastery (Anon. 1817, 125; Eckenstein 1921, 144-145). This allows the possibility that this earthquake occurred in 1068, but, even if this is not the case, it is unlikely that the earthquake referred to in this section was not also experienced in St Catherine's.

Numerous later authors merely have a brief account of the shock in al-Ramla, of the water rising in the wells and of the sea flooding a coast that is not named A description of Jerusalem mentions the fall of a great lantern with 500 lights in it, from the roof of the Dome of the Rock, in 452 a.H. (AD 1060; Jamal al-Din sub ann.). Le Strange notes that no earthquake is mentioned for this (Le Strange 1890, 130). Either the lantern fell through some other cause or the source makes a dating error. It does not refer to the earthquake of 460 a.H. (1068), which caused the Dome of the Rock to open and close. A much later writer, al-Ulaimi, copies Jamal al- Din's account of the fall of the lantern in 452 a.H., and then mentions the earthquake in 460 a.H., following the standard account of Ibn al Athir, implying two separate events, but he is too late a source for this to be conclusive (al-Ulaimi, al-Uns, i. 270). There is no evidence to suggest that the Dome of the Rock was in fact damaged by the 469/ 1068 earthquake (Creswell 1932; 1940, 172-176). The earliest source, Ibn al-Banna, clearly suggests two earthquakes, the first of which occurred in Palestine, the effects of which became known immediately, and a second earthquake, which occurred two months earlier in the far-off regions of the Gulf of Aqaba and Hijaz, news of which arrived in Palestine after the occurrence of the first event.

If it is assumed that this is the case, then the first earthquake occurred in March 1068 and originated in the Gulf of Aqaba. A second earthquake, two months later, namely in May 1068, originated in Palestine. Minor errors in dating (e.g. 10 or 11 Jumada I; 459 instead of 460 a.H.) are of little consequence. What is significant is that a single earthquake in the region of the Dead Sea fault zone is unlikely to produce damage effects such as those portrayed in the historical sources.

The first earthquake was felt over a very large area, from Medina in the south to Cairo in the west, Rahba and Kufa in the east and at least as far north as Damascus, within a radius of about 600 km, clearly a large-magnitude event. In the very sparsely inhabited, almost desert region along the southernmost part of the Dead Sea fault zone and its extension offshore, where the available evidence situates its epicentral region, information about the few inhabited villages, even had they been destroyed, would not have attracted much attention. The destruction of Aila and the reported ground deformations in the region of Tabuk, which are of unknown origin, but significant enough to be reported, suggest that the epicentral region was in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Aila was occupied from about the middle of the seventh century to about the early part of the twelfth century. Archaeological data suggest earthquake damage, possibly due to the 1068 earthquake, but the evidence is very tenuous (Whitcomb 1997).

Palaeoseismic data suggest that the Aqaba strike-slip fault emerges from the Gulf and appears to cross the seventh-twelfth-century-AD Islamic walled city of Aila, terminating under the city, indicating repeat movement with the last scarp forming sometime between 1045 and 1278 (Niemi and Mansoor 2002).

An alternative interpretation would be that these ground deformations occurred near the main pilgrim route to Mecca, hence the survival of information, but not near an important urban area. Unfortunately this region lacks urban centres, whose destruction would have attracted attention, but the evidence supports the hypoth- esis of an epicentral location to the south, along the southern terminus of the Dead Sea fault through the Aila region or to the east of it (Ambraseys and Melville 1989, 1279). This area is not only more centrally located within the total area where the earthquake was reported as being felt but also could be associated with known active tectonics.

More recently, on the evidence of existing data but without any better justification, the epicentre of the 1068 earthquake has been placed on the Dead Sea fault, at 29.8° N and 35.0° E (Klinger et al. 2000). In the second earthquake damage was concentrated on al-Ramla, and the reports of casualties in Jerusalem and Baniyas indicate that the epicentral region must have been in Palestine, affecting a very small area, which in turn implies an event of relatively small magnitude.

It is primarily the consideration of the damage reported, rather than the dates given, that raises the problem of the location of the earthquake(s). Heavy damage to Ramla seems unambiguous in the Arabic sources, and lesser damage to houses, sufficient to kill about 100 people, occurred in Jerusalem and Baniyas, which would suggest an epicentral region in this area. The occurrence of the seismic sea wave, which can be assumed to have been in the Mediterranean Sea, does not necessarily indicate the epicentral region, but rather the region where there were vulnerable submarine slopes that could produce a flow slide as occurred in the on-land 1202 earthquake (Ambraseys and Melville 1988), and thus does not seem to confirm this.

Several objections arise, however, with regard to seeking the epicentral area of a shallow-depth earthquake of magnitude large enough to be associated with a radius of perceptibility of 600 km in the vicinity of al- Ramla.

In the first place, more reports should have been available from the region to the north, beyond Baniyas, which was Byzantine territory. None of the contemporary and near-contemporary Byzantine historians, however, writing between 1070 and 1120, such as Psellos, Xiphilinos, Manesses, Scylitzes, Attaliates, Glycas and Zonaras, mentions the earthquake (Psellos; Manesses CSHB 127, 219-472; Scylitzes I. CSHB 641-744; Attaliates M. CSHB 1853; Glycas M. CSHB 1836; Zonaras J. PG 134-135).

Furthermore, Syrian and Armenian writers, such as Matthew, Samuel and Michael the Syrian, writing during the same period, who describe in some detail the situation in south-eastern Anatolia and northern Syria during this period, make no reference to an earthquake there in the 1060s.

Secondly, there is some indication that the damage in al-Ramla has been grossly exaggerated, particularly the loss of life, which is estimated in various sources to range from 15 000 to as many as 25 000, since correspondence between leaders of the Jewish communities in Ramla and Jerusalem appears to include no references to a major calamity in the 1060s (Mann 1920, i. 162-163). It is possible that the seemingly exaggerated description of the earthquake in al-Ramla in Muslim sources echoes the earlier destruction of 1033, and refers to the later effects of famine and epidemic, which also affected Egypt (see Ibn al-Muyassir. 35; Ibn Zafir 74-75, who make no reference to the earthquake). The disparity in reported damage between al- Ramla and Jerusalem, only two days march or 38 km apart, even if broadly accurate, cannot be explained by invoking the occurrence of a relatively small, locally damaging earthquake in this part of Palestine. This would be incompatible with the evidence of the effects of the earthquake, which reached as far south as Medina and only as far north as Baniyas, 950 and 100 km from al-Ramla, respectively.

The absence of information from Damascus and Aleppo to the north and the silence of contemporary Byzantine historians argue against the 18 March 1068 earthquake having had an epicentre near al-Ramla. It would seem therefore, that the account of the destruction of al-Ramla, which is well attested by several reliable Arab chroniclers, must either be considered as an exaggeration, bringing it simply within the area of minor damage by a large earthquake to the south, which is not feasible, or accepted at face value, which would require a separate, locally damaging shock of a very much smaller magnitude than that of the March 1068 earthquake in its immediate vicinity. There is little doubt, therefore, that the May 1068 earthquake was a local event of relatively small magnitude in Palestine.

AD 1068 May 29 Ramla

This was a locally destructive earthquake in the region of al-Ramla. It is alleged that the earthquake was destructive at al-Ramla in Palestine, causing the ruin of many houses with loss of life. One account speaks of 15 000 casualties (sic.), including 200 boys at a single school. There is no other evidence of damage in Jerusalem, 40 km from al-Ramla, though it is reported that the roof of the Dome of the Rock was displaced and then returned to its former position. The assertion that the inhabitants of al-Ramla migrated to Jerusalem after the earthquake also suggests that damage there was slight.

However, it is difficult to accept that the same earthquake caused serious damage to Baniyas, 160 km to the north of al-Ramla, where it is said that about 100 people were killed. The absence of information from urban centres between the two towns suggests that damage in Baniyas is grossly exaggerated, as is the loss of 15 000 men reported for al-Ramla. The date of the earthquake is often misreported in earthquake catalogues, under 20 April 1067, 11 November 1067 and 2 February 1070 (for discussion see the previous entry).

Guidoboni and Comastri (2005)

(33) 1068 March 18 - Aila Israel
fissures, formation of new springs

(34) 1068 May 29 - Ramla
tsunami, changes in well capacity, Euphrates overflowed.

source 1
sources 2 Ibn al-Banna, in Makdisi (1956), pp.239, 240-1, English translation pp.250-1 Ibn al-Qalanisi, Dhayl, p.94; Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Muntazam, VIII, pp.248, 256; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil-, X, p.39; Brit. Mus., Ms. Or. 50, al-Dhahabi, Ta'rikh al-Islam, fol. 4v.; BNFrance, Ms. Ar. 1506, Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, Mir'at al-zaman., fols. 111v.-112r.; Ibn Taghribirdi, al-Nujum, V, p.80; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, XII, p.99; Ibn Shaddad, p.182; Sawirus, Hist., 11/2, p.182; al-Suyuti, Kashf, pp.34-5
literature Taher (1979); Zilberman et al. (1998); Klinger et al. (2000)
catalogues d. von Hoff (1840); Perrey (1850); Ben-Menahem (1979; 1991); Ambraseys et al. (1994);Amiran et al. (1994)
catalogues p. Poirier and Taher (1980); al-Hakeem (1988)
catalogues Ts Soloviev et al. (2000)

These two separate earthquakes have been taken to be a single event in the literature. Ambraseys et al. (1994) suggest that the effects described in the sources may have been caused by two separate events, but on their map they do not indicate the two areas of effects and the two epicentres.

In actual fact, the analysis of the sources has highlighted the occurrence of two earthquakes: one occurred on 18 March 1068 and the other on 29 May of the same year, the effects of which are not, however, altogether separable, in the sense that some locations may have felt both earthquakes.

Numerous Arabic sources between the 11th and 15th centuries report that on the morning of 18 March 1068 (11 Jumada I 460 H.) there was a destructive earthquake in north-west Arabia, and especially in the region of Hejaz, bordering the Red Sea. These texts record that there was also very serious destruction in Palestine, and especially at Ramla. There is a passage in a work by Ibn al-Banna, a contemporary writer who lived at Baghdad, in which he first brings together a description of earthquake effects in both Arabia and Palestine, dating them all to 18 March; but in a later passage effects in Palestine are dated to 29 May 1068 (24 Rajab 460 H.), on the basis of news brought by merchants in August 1068. This latter date suggests that there may have been two separate earthquakes with little more than two months between them. Later sources probably interpreted the two events as a single earthquake. Although we are convinced that the seismic activity recorded by the sources did indeed consist of two separate events, we have nevertheless chosen to gather the descriptions of effects into a single entry, indicating the different affected areas on the map. In the case of some outlying localities those in Egypt, for example it is difficult to establish whether they were struck by the first or the second be other areas which overlap and so cannot be clearly distinguished.

1068 March 18 Effects of the earthquake

All the buildings in Aila, the present-day town of Elat on the Gulf of Aqaba, were destroyed in the earthquake, and all its inhabitants killed, with the exception of 12 fishermen who were at sea when the earthquake occurred. In the Arabian peninsula, there was slight damage at Medina, where two merlons fell from the Mosque of the Prophet. The earthquake also struck Wadi al-Safra' (Al-Safra'), Al-Marwa, Khaybar, Wadi al-Qura, Taima, Tabuk, Yanbu` al Bahr and Badr, but we do not know exactly what effects there were at these places except for environmental effects at Taima and Tabuk. There was also serious damage in other unspecified places in the eastern part of the Arabian peninsula. In Egypt, there was damage at Tinnis and Alexandria, and we are also told that one corner of the congregational mosque in Cairo was damaged. In the Euphrates region, the earthquake was felt at Ruhba (Rawah), Baghdad and Kufa (Al-Kufah).

Environmental effects: at a place called Al-Qur, at Tabuk in the Arabian peninsula, three new springs appeared; at Taima the earth opened up, revealing hidden treasure, and a new spring appeared. According to Ambraseys et al. (1994), the earthquake's epicentral area is to be located in the sparsely inhabited region between Aila and Taima.

Effects of the earthquake in Palestine

All the houses in Ramla collapsed, only two buildings and part of the town walls escaping. The mosque was badly damaged. According to the sources, there were 15,000 victims, including about 200 children who perished in the ruins of a school. Of the available sources for this earthquake, only one, namely the 12th-13th century Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, gives a figure of 25,000 victims at Ramla.

At Baniyas, a Syrian town on the frontiers of present-day Israel., Lebanon and Syria, there were many collapses, and about a hundred victims. The same was true of Jerusalem, according to Ibn al-Qalanisi, a reliable 12th century Arab historian from Damascus, whereas the other available contemporary and later sources simply tell us that in Jerusalem, the rock on which stood the Mosque of the Rock (or Mosque of Omar) was displaced and then returned to its previous position. Environmental effects: the sea withdrew from the Mediterranean coast of Palestine, and then flowed back, engulfing many people. At Ramla, water overflowed from wells. The waters of the Euphrates overflowed its banks

Historical sources

The earthquake is recorded in reliable contemporary and later Arab sources and, for Egypt, in the work of the 14th century Coptic historian Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa`. The information provided by the Arab historian Ibn al-Banna is of primary importance, and he personally experienced the earthquake at Baghdad, where there was no damage. Ibn al-Banna gathered reliable information for the whole damage zone (except Egypt):

News has arrived that there was a terrible earthquake in the city of the Prophet (Medina) God's blessing and peace be on him! on Tuesday, 11 Juniada I (18 March), which brought down two merlons, from the minaret of the Mosque of the Prophet peace be on him! The people were greatly disturbed by the earthquake on account of this. They turned to God in penitence for their evil deeds, broke instruments of pleasure, and poured away intoxicants. The governor of the city, known as the perfumer of adulterous women' was banished. Death itself is what they encountered. The earthquake then continued its course, overwhelming Wadi al-Safra', Al- Marwa, Khaybar, Wadi al-Qura, Taima, Tabuk and Aila. As for Aila, its inhabitants all perished except for 12 persons who had gone fishing at sea, thus escaping death. As for Taima, it used to have one source of water, God then produced another source in it, the bottom of which fills each year 2,000 dinars. And the earth was laid open disclosing a larger place yielding pure gold and golden jewels. As for Tabuk, God produced near the lotus tree of the Prophet God's blessing be on him! (and) his springs of water, in a place known as Al-Qur, three more springs of water, improving their condition. The earthquake then ploughed through ar-Ramla, 15,000 persons perished and nothing was left in it according to reports, except two houses. The Sacred Rock of Jerusalem moved from its usual place, then returned. At this time, the earthquake subsided, after it had passed through Surair, in the Hejaz, and most of the Syrian territories until it arrived at ar-Ramla. The sea [...] the distance of one day's march. The sea surged and caused great damage. It surged again, after people had gone into it gathering what they could find on its floor; none perished except those who were close to the shore. That is what happened. I hope that God will place the Muslims in renewed security. On this very same day, in the month of Jumada I, we had in fact experienced a slight earthquake; it was this very same one". (translation by G.Makdisi).

Further on in the same work Ibn al-Banna also reports what he learned from some merchants:

News reports from merchants arrived on Thursday (5 or 12 Shawwal, 7 or 14 August) at the residence of the Shaikh Ajall Ibn Jarada to the effect that there have occurred in Palestine and ar-Ramla, on the 24th of Rajab this year (29 May 1068) a terrible earthquake, which destroyed all the dwellings except two. Approximately 15,000 persons perished. The Rock of Jerusalem clove in two, then drew back together, by the will of God exalted is He above all! The sea sank into the earth for a day and a night, and people entered it, gathering from it, but it turned back upon them and caused a number of them to perish" (translation by G.Makdisi).

The report provided by the 12th century Arab historian Ibn al-Jawzi (248) is more concise. He was from Baghdad like his predecessor Ibn al-Banna, from whom he took his information about the earthquake (Ibn al-Jawzi's report was itself taken up later by the 14th century historian Ibn Kathir, in his al-Bidaya wa 'l-nihaya fi 'l-ta'rikh XII, p.99):

In the month of Jumada I [8 March 6 April 1068] the earth shook in Palestine. The town of Ramla was destroyed; the merlons [of the minaret] of the Mosque of the Prophet God bless him and give him peace [at Medina] also collapsed. The earthquake reached the villages of Wadi al-Safra' and Khaybar. The earth split open and treasures came forth. Its effects were also felt at Ruhba and Kufa. Some merchants described the earthquake in a letter, in which they said that the town of Ramla had completely collapsed, with the sole exception of two alleys. There were 15,000 victims [according to the letter]

Information about the earthquake provided by the 12th century historian Ibn al- Qalanisi, who came from Damascus, is limited to Palestine and Syria:

On Tuesday 10 of the month of Jumada I in that year [460 H.] there was a terrible earthquake in Palestine, which destroyed most of the houses and walls at Ramla, and badly damaged its congregational mosque. Most inhabitants perished in the ruins. It was said that a schoolteacher was in his classroom with about 200 children, and the classroom roof collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for [their bodies] because their families had perished as well. It was also said that because of the intensity of the earthquake, water came out of the wells. At Baniyas about a hundred people perished in the ruins; and the same thing happened at Jerusalem".

Ibn al-Athir, an Arab historian from Mosul who was active in the late 12th and early 13th century, recorded information about earthquake effects in Palestine which were subsequently taken up by the 15th century historian Ibn Taghribirdi (al-Nujum alzahira, V, p. 80). The former also mentions Egypt as an area where the earthquake was "very strong"

In the month of Jumada I there was a very strong earthquake in Palestine and Egypt, which destroyed Ramla. The water in wells rose to the surface, and 25,000 inhabitants perished. In Jerusalem, the rock [of the Mosque of Vmar, or perhaps the mosque itself, which was known as the Mosque of the Rock], split open, but by the will of God closed up again. The sea receded from the coast for a distance equal to a day's journey, and when it came back it struck those who had approached the shore, killing a great many people.

There is a very detailed account of the earthquake in Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi, a famous historian who lived in the late 12th and early 13th century and was the son of Ibn al- Jawzi.

On Tuesday 11 Jumada I [460 H. = 18 March 1068], there was an earthquake in Palestine which lasted for two and a half hours and destroyed the Ramla area. It was felt as far as Ruhba and Kufa, and only two of the main gates at Ramla were undamaged, and 15,000 townspeople were killed. In Ramla, there were two hundred children at school when it collapsed on top of them, and no-one went in search of them because their parents were dead. The rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open, but then closed up again. Others say that it did not split open at all, but moved and then returned to its original position; and the sea receded [to a distance equal to] a day['s walk] and people went down to the sea bed to pick things up, but the sea came back at them and a large number were killed. Baniyas was destroyed, and loud thunder-claps were heard in the sky, and violent sounds which caused people to faint. The earthquake reached the Euphrates, whose waters overflowed its banks. An Alawite at Hejaz [Arabia], has said that in the period in question an earthquake caused the collapse [in Medina] of two merlons [on the minaret] in the Mosque of the Prophet may the prayer of God and peace be with him and the towns people were disturbed and thought it an ill omen: so they did penance, practised abstinence, poured away their wines and exiled adulterous women from the town. And the earthquake struck Wadi al-Safra', Yun.bu`, Badr, Khaybar, and Wadi al-Qura and spread throughout the Hejaz; and the earth split open and treasures were revealed, and gold, silver and jewels were found. The dinar was equivalent to one mithqal and a half by weight and a spring gushed forth [sufficiently violently] to be worth 2,000 dinars a year. At Tabuk, three more springs appeared than had been there before. The earthquake completely destroyed the eastern part of the Hejaz, and it also destroyed Aylat, killing all its inhabitants, with the exception of 12 men who had gone fishing at sea. And a letter from some merchants in the month of Rajab [460 H. = 6 May 4 June 1068] reported that when they arrived at Damascus, they found neither sultan nor market, and the people had taken over the city, and it was impossible to enter or leave. The commander of the army defeated the governor of Damascus, forcing him to withdrawn to `Usqalan, and the people destroyed the palace where he usually dwelt; and the same thing had happened throughout the Syrian territories and the nearby coastal area. And what is amazing is that we have seen that the earthquake affected coastal areas, Jerusalem, the Syrian territories, Medina, Tabuk and Tima, and the whole of the Hejaz and Al- Bilad al-Furatiyya [the Euphrates area]; and it all happened in a single night half way through Jumada I [460 H. = 22 March 1068].

Ibn Shadd-ad, an Arab historian from Syria (active in the 14th century) paid particular attention to what happened at Ramla.

After becoming a city, Ramla was famous for its trade and as a work place; travellers went there and traders settled there, until the day when an earthquake struck, on 10 Jumada I in 460 [H. = 17 March 1068]. It destroyed houses and demolished the city walls, reducing it to rubble, and water overflowed from wells. The rock of Jerusalem split open and then came together again. A large proportion of the inhabitants of Ramla made for Aylat, rebuilt it, and turned it into a town.

Al-Dhahabi (1247-1348), a historian and theologian from Damascus, gathered information about the earthquake from the chronicles of Ibn al-Athir, Abu Yala ben Qalanisi and Ibn al-Sabuni. He records that.

In this year [460 H. = 1067-1068], there was a violent earthquake at Ramla which damaged it so badly that water overflowed from wells and, according to Ibn al-Athir, 25,000 inhabitants perished. Abu Yalu ben Qalanisi records that there were about 200 children in a school at Ramla when it collapsed on top of them, but no-one went to look for them because their families had perished as well, and Baniyas was struck in the same way. Ibn al-Sabuni has said: 'An Alawite who happened to be in the Hejaz, has told how there was an earthquake in the period mentioned, that is to say on Tuesday 11 Jumada / [460 H. = 18 March 1068], and how it caused two merlons [on the minaret] to collapse at the Mosque of the Prophet [at Medina] may the prayer of God and peace be with him and how the earth split open and gold and silver treasures came forth, and a spring gushed forth, and Aylat was destroyed with its inhabitants, and at Tabuk three springs all appeared at the same time. As for Ibn al-Athir, he has said that the rock of [the mosque of] Jerusalem split open and then came together again thanks to the will of God; and the sea receded from the shore for a distance equal to a day[s walk]; people went down along the sea bed to see what they could find, but the water came back over them and they perished.

While the effects of the earthquake in Egypt are recorded only in a sporadic and summary way in Arab sources, the report by the Coptic historian Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa` is in that sense more detailed.

Suddenly there was a violent earthquake at dawn on Tuesday, the second day of Easter [18 March 1068], such that various places were destroyed at Ramla, Tinnis and elsewhere, and at Alexandria. A subsequent epidemic was so severe that only about one hundred inhabitants survived, of the thousands who lived at Tinnis.

There is another passage (256) in the work of Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa` where he records an earthquake as having occurred on 18 March in the year 1070, but since the information he provides is exactly the same as that given by Arab sources for the earthquake of 18 March 1068, it is almost certain that he has made a mistake over the date, and that what follows must refer to the 1068 earthquake:

Amongst the events of that year [462 H.], at the third hour on Tuesday 11 Jumada I, corresponding to 18 Adar in the Syriac calendar [= 18 March 1070], there was a tremendous earthquake at Ramla and its district. The people fled, and its walls were destroyed. The shocks reached as far as Jerusalem and Tinnis [Tannis?]; Aylat completely collapsed. The sea receded so far during the earthquake that its bed was revealed and people could walk on the bottom until the sea returned to its normal level. One corner of the congregational mosque in Cairo moved. The earthquake was followed by two more shocks within the same period.

In the seismological literature and catalogues, the discrepancies between the sources as to the number of victims and the date of the earthquake have given rise to some mistakes.

Taher (1979, p.40) quotes Ibn al-Athir inaccurately, recording 25 victims at Ramla (whereas the Arab historian actually wrote "25,000" a figure which itself clashes with that of 15,000, as generally accepted in Arab historiography). As for dating problems, Ben-Menahem (1979) speaks of an earthquake on 25 February 1070 at Ramla and Cairo; Taher (1979, p.41) does the same for an earthquake at Cairo and Damietta, taking the Muslim date of Tuesday 11 Jumada I (18 Adar/March) 460 H. as being in the year 1070 on p.41, but in 1169 on p.306. In connection with this earthquake, Taher also suggests (p.41; 128) that "the date corresponds to the year 460", i.e. to the earthquake which he dates to 18 March 1168. This doublet seems to have arisen from an insufficient analysis of the sources. Similarly, al-Hakeem (1988, p.21) gives two separate earthquakes , one in 1068 and the other in 1170 (in fact it was a different event; see below).

Ambraseys et al (1994)

Fig. 2.8 1068 March 18, Northern Hejaz. (Ambraseys et al, 1994)

1068 March 18 Tuesday 11 Jumada I, 460 Northern Hejaz

A major earthquake in the Hejaz and northwest Arabia occurred during the morning and was reported to have killed in all about 20000 people. Aila at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba was completely destroyed with all but twelve of its inhabitants. In Tabuk, three new springs of water appeared at a place called al-Qur, and in Taima the ground was split open to reveal buried treasures of gold and golden jewellery. Near here a permanent and productive spring of water gushed out. The earthquake was felt at Wadi al-Qura, Khaibar, al-Marwa, Medina (where the shock brought down two decorative crestings of the mosque of the Prophet), and Wadi al-Safra, Badr and Yanbu', to the southwest of Medina (see Figure 2.8).¹

In Sinai, the earthquake was strong enough to cause alarm at the monastery of St Catherine.² The shock was also experienced in Egypt, where Tinnis was apparently damaged, but not in Alexandria.³ In Cairo, the only damage reported was to one corner of the mosque of 'Amr in Fustat.⁴ Water rose in wells in Egypt and Palestine, and the retreat and return of the sea on the Mediterranean coast of Palestine drowned a large number of people (see below). The earthquake was felt as far as al-Rahba and al-Kufa on the Euphrates, the water of which was reported to have overtopped its banks;⁵ it was also felt in Baghdad.⁶ Two more shocks followed within an hour.⁷

The epicentral area of this event must be sought in the sparsely inhabited region between Aila and Taima, where the available evidence points to faulting but where information about the few inhabited villages, even if destroyed, would not attract much attention.⁸

It is generally reported that the earthquake was also destructive at al-Ramla (Ramallah) in Palestine, causing the ruin of many houses with loss of life. One account speaks of 15 000 casualties, including 200 lads at one school. Damage extended to Baniyas, where about 100 people were killed, and the same in Jerusalem.⁹ There is no other evidence of damage in Jerusalem, though it is reported that the roof of the Dome of the Rock was displaced and then returned to its former position.¹⁰ The assertion that the inhabitants of al-Ramla migrated to Jerusalem after the earthquake also suggests damage there was slight.¹¹ There is some archaeological evidence to suggest earthquake damage at the citadel of Amman in Jordan, possibly from this event.¹² The absence of information from Damascus and Aleppo to the north, and the silence of contemporary Byzantine historians, all argues against the 18 March 1068 earthquake having an epicentre near al-Ramla, which is 500 km from the region between Tabuk and Taima. In fact, a separate, locally destructive shock affected Palestine on 24 Rajab/29 May, two months after the earthquake in northwest Arabia,¹³ and the two events have been amalgamated by later authors. The tsunami and effect on wells in Palestine possibly occurred during this earthquake, rather than in March.

The date of this earthquake is often misreported in earthquake catalogues, under 1067 April 20,1067 November 11, and 1070 February 2.¹⁴

Footnotes

1 Ibn al-Banna, in Makdisi (1956), pp. 250-1, 256. He says it reached from Surair in Hejaz (a wadi near Medina, see Yaqut, III, 88-9) to al-Ramla and most of Syria. Ibn al-Banna's Wadi al-Safa must be equated with al-Safra near Medina; and al-Marwa refers to (Dhu) al-Marwa in Wadi al-Qura. See also Sibt b. al-Jauzi, Paris Ms. fol. IIIvo-III2ro, who says that all the places involved were shaken 'the same night', though he also records that the shock occurred at 'two and a half hours' of the morning (c. 8.30); al-Dhahabi, Ms. Or.50, fol. 4V0; al-Suyuti, pp. 34-5/20-1.

2 Anon. (1817), p. 125, under 1091 (see below); Eckenstein (1921), pp. 144-5, allows the possibility that the events in question occurred in 1068/9, but even if this is not the case, it is unlikely that the earthquake was not experienced in St Catherine's.

3 Sawirus b. al-Muqaffa', II/2, 182/trans. p. 277.

4 Ibn al-Jauzi, VIII, 256. He gives additional information about the effects of the earthquake in a second account, in which he dates the shock Tuesday 11 Jumada I, 462/25 February 1070. This misleads later authors and many modern cataloguers (see below). The date should clearly be 460 H, for Ibn al-Jauzi gives an alternative date of 18 Adhar (18 March in the Syriac calendar).

5 Sibt b. al-Jauzi, l.c.

6 Ibn al-Banna, p. 251.

7 Ibn al-Jauzi, p. 256; al-Suyuti, l.c.

8 Melville (1984a); Ambraseys and Melville (1989).

9 Ibn al-Qalanisi, p. 94, gives Tuesday 10 (sic.) Jumada I; Ibn al-Banna, followed by Ibn al-Jauzi, VIII, 248, has 15 000 casualties; later authors have 25 000!

10 Ibn al-Banna, l.c.. Sibt b. al-Jauzi notes that other accounts say the Dome was cracked, cf. Ibn al-Athir, X, 20, and al-'Ulaimi, p. 270/trans. p. 69. The latter previously refers to the fall of a great lantern in the Dome, in 452/1060, which is mentioned by earlier authors who do not refer to the earthquake, see Le Strange (1887), pp. 286-7, 304: there may be some connection.

11 Ibn Shaddad, A'laq, p. 182.

12 A. Northedge, pers. comm. (1990). The chronological evidence is not very conclusive.

13 The contemporary Baghdad diarist, Ibn al-Banna, records the arrival of news early in Shawwal/August of an earthquake in Palestine in Rajab/May, Makdisi, p. 248. See also Gil (1992), p. 408. Unfortunately, Ibn al-Banna himself then repeats much of this information in his report of the Jumada I/March earthquake, misleading later writers, such as Ibn al-Jauzi. Contemporary correspondence between leaders of the Jewish communities in Jerusalem and al-Ramla appears to include no reference to the total destruction of the latter, under either date. It is possible that the seemingly exaggerated description of the earthquake in al-Ramla in Muslim sources echoes the earlier devastation of 1033, and refers to the later effects of famine and epidemic, which also affected Egypt, see Ibn al-Muyassir, p. 35, and Ibn Zafir, pp. 74-5, who make no reference to the earthquake. Sawirus, l.c., describes the depopulation of Tinnis and al-Ramla by an epidemic. Note also that Sawirus's account of the 1033 event (see above) could equally well apply to the 1068 earthquake and confusion between the two is clearly possible.

14 See Sieberg (1932a), p. 802, (1932b), p. 193; Kallner-Amiran (1951), p. 227; Ben-Menahem (1979), pp. 259, 287 (where the event is located offshore Yavne, a misidentification of Yanbu'). The date 1067 April 20 arises because Sieberg's late fifteenth-century source incorrectly gives the year 459 H; I11 November 1067 is the first day of the year 460 H, 25 February 1070 refers to the year 462 H, see above, note 4.

References mentioned

Anonymous (1817) Description of the Holy Mount Sina. N. Glyka, Venice (in Greek).

Eckenstein, L. (1921) History of Sinai. London

Gil (1992)

Gil (1992:408-409 n. 60) discussed the earthquake accounts

The first to mention this earthquake was Abu al-Hasan b. Abmad al-Banna'; see al-Banna', 239 (and the translation and editor's comment, ibid., 248). He was a contemporary and told this on the basis of merchants' letters which, he says, reached Baghdad on 1 Shawwal 460, 3 August 1068; ibid., 240, he tells of another earthquake, prior to that of Ramla, which occurred in Hejaz (Medina and elsewhere), and destroyed Eilat as well, on 11 Jumada I of that year, 18 March AD 1068. Starting with Ibn al-Jawzi, this account was copied by many. Apart from Ibn al-Jawzi, who gave the information on the quake in Hejaz separately (but erroneously ascribed it to the year 462), all the others combined the accounts and made of them a story of one earthquake, and those who took the trouble to give the date, gave it as Jumada I. See: Ibn al Jawzi, Munta34m, V, 248, 256; the fact that he mistakenly recorded the year as AH 462 is proven by the Christian date he himself gives as parallel to 11 Jumada I: 18 Adhar (March), and this was correct only in AH 460. See further: al-`Azimi, in Cahen, JA, 230 (1938), 358; Ibn al-Athir, Kama, X, 57 (who increased the number of killed to 25,000); Dhahabi, 'Ibar, III, 246; idem, Duwal, 208; Ibn Shaddad (MS), 119b; (printed), 182; he is the only one who has the strange addition: `most of the inhabitants of Ramla afterwards passed to Jerusalem (Iliya) and built it and fortified it'; it seems that the version is distorted and it was probably written there (approximately) that the inhabitants of Ramla fled to Jerusalem after the earthquake, but that they returned and rebuilt their city afterwards. Ibn Kattfir, Biddya, XII, 96 (who also speaks of two earthquakes, like Ibn al-Jawzi, from whom he copied); Ibn Taghri Bardi, V, 80; `Ijlaymi, 270; Macirizi, itti`az, II, 277, who adds: the destruction of Ramla was final, for it was not rebuilt (it seems that what the aforementioned account of Ibn Shaddid intended to contradict is that latter opinion, which does not sound credible at all); Ibn al-Daw5clari, 387; see more references in the editor's note to al-Banna': Maqdisi, BSOAS, 18(1956), 250, n. 5.

Arieh (1977)

Arieh, E. (1977). An Evaluation of Six Significant Historical Earthquakes, Jerusalem, Israel: Report for the Seismological Section of the Geologic Survey of Israel.

2. THE EARTHQUAKE OF MARCH 17 (or 18th) 1068

a. Sources

This earthquake "destroyed most of the buildings of Ramleh as well as its wall. In Bs:11as one hundred people died under the debris, and Jerusalem suffered similarly" (4l-Qalanisi, Dhayal p. 94).

Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi writes that according to a witness 15,000 people died (in Ramlah); the Holy Rock in Jerusalem was cleft and miraculously rejoined (probably meaning the Dome of the Rock, which is a relatively light structure. The rock is unfissured so far, E.A.). "The sea retreated for a distance of one day's march and when it returned it destroyed the world" (probably meaning "everything") (p. 248). Ibn Taghri Birdi (Nujum, vol. V, p. 80), who described this earthquake, added that "the city of Ayla (Eilat) was completely ruined and all its inhabitants perished".

b. Estimate of Intensities

The arabic sources mention only the damage in Ramleh, Banias, Jerusalem and Ayla (Eilat). It seems that, had such an offshore earthquake ruined Ramleh, Ayla and caused grave damage to Banias (about 400 km from Ayla), it should also have had devastating effects on other ports and cities near Ramleh such as Ghaza, Jaffa, Lydda, Caesarea etc. However, no source, arabic or otherwise, mentions such effects. It is therefore presumed that the description of Ramleh's destruction was greatly exaggerated. The evidence is evaluated as follows:

Table 2: The 1068 Earthquake

The intensity data are plotted on Figure 2 which is similar to the previously prepared map (Arieh, Fig. 2.5.2.-3). The data are too scanty for determining reasonable isoseismal contours. The earthquake could have had its origin somewhere offshore, if credit is given to the tsunami-like phenomenon, described by Ibn al-Jawzi and others.

The destruction of Ayla (Eilat) must probably be connected with an earthquake, originating in the Dead Sea-Arava rift system. Otherwise it cannot be explained how such a tremendous offshore earthquake, which destroyed Ramleh and Eilat, did not have any devastating effects on some other villages between them, specially near the coast.

The assumption of an inland epicenter (probably at the Dead Sea-Jordan Valley Rift) may explain the high seismic intensities attained at localities near the Rift (Ayla, Jerusalem, Banias), but it does not explain the absence of reports on devastating effects on Nablus and other nearby localities. Such an assumption should be based also on a reasonable proof that the described destruction of Ramleh was grossly exaggerated which can hardly be accomplished on the basis of the available sources. Therefore, the epicenter location is still unknown.

Concerning the seismic intensity at NP-1 site, it should be noticed that no damage was reported from neighboring cities (Ghaza, Ascalon, Jaffa, etc.). Assuming therefore that seismic intensity at NP-1 was lower than in Ramleh and similar to undamaged Ascalon, it could not exceed VIII (MMS).

Taher (1996)

from Taher (1996)

460/1068 : Tuesday 10 djumâdâ I (March 18) prodigious earthquake in Palestine at Ramla, Jerusalem; destruction of houses; numerous victims; tsunami. The earthquake is felt in Egypt and Ibn al-Djawzî adds Wâdî al-Safrâ and Khaybar where the earth splits and treasures appear; he still notes Rahba and Kûfa⁹³.

Footnotes

93 B. al-Qalânisî , Dhayl , 94; B. al-Athîr , al-Kâmil , 10/57; B. al-Djawzî , al-Muntazam , 8/248.

Taher (1979)

425 A.H./1033-1034 AD

Ibn Al-Athlr⁵ bears a testimony:

This year a very violent earthquake devastated Syria and Egypt. Its maximum force was located at Ramla. The inhabitants left their homes for a few days and a third almost all the houses collapsed, killing many people under the rubble.

Yahya ibn Sacid Al Antaky⁶ says for his part:

That year, Caliph Az-Zahir undertook to build the walls of Jerusalem the noble city, after having fortified Ar-Ramla. Builders began to destroy many churches outside the city taking the stones to rebuild Jerusalem's walls. Then came this prodigious earthquake the like of which had not been seen nor heard of until then, ending on the morning of Thursday 10 çafar. In terms of its damage, many walls were destroyed and there were a considerable number of victims. The city of Arriha fell on its inhabitants, as well as Nablus and neighboring villages. Part of the mosque of Jerusalem collapsed along with many houses and churches, within the circumsciption [?]. In Acre too, houses collapsed on their inhabitants and there were large numbers of victims. The sea receded and then returned in a tidal wave.

'Azra Hadad comments on the earthquake that occurred during Benyamin's journey (561-569)^1a (It is the earthquake of 565). Here are his words:

This district is very famous due to the frequency of earthquakes which affected it at different times. Among the old manuscripts of the Jews, we find an article on Ramla which contains a magnificent description of the earthquake that occurred in Syria and Palestine on 12 Tabith (Thursday) 425. There is therefore in this text, a description that we translate from Hebrew.
Dinab, II,232

People evacuated their homes to take refuge in the streets, the walls fell, the ceilings cracked at the top of the walls, well-built houses collapsed, new buildings collapsed, and people were buried under the rubble, without having found their salvation here or there... People evacuated their houses without thinking about the belongings they left behind. They abandoned their possessions, which were destroyed, seeking their salvation only in themselves. Whichever direction they took, they knew they would find a miracle from God they also ran — they headed down, then dispersed. The buildings that remained standing were nevertheless cracked and had lost their stability. Faced with such horrors that the eyes saw and the ears heard, the brain came out of its head... These events occurred at sunset. They suddenly returned to Ramla and throughout Palestine. The citadels and the countryside were leveled (brought back to the same level) of the sea to Banyas, from the south of the mountain to Jerusalem and the regions neighboring the sea up to Nablus and its villages. In Tiberias and its district, we saw the mountains moving like sheep, the rocks exploded and in the forests, and the trees bent. The wells overflowed. The tongue tires to recount this catastrophe ..

Ibn al-Jawzy^1b reports:

In Ramla, an earthquake occurred. The inhabitants evacuated the city with their children, their wives, and their slaves and spent eight days outside. The earthquake destroyed a third of the city, cut the great mosque, and killed a good part of the population. It then spread towards Nablus where it destroyed houses and killed 300. It overthrew a neighboring village which was swallowed up in the earth with its people and their flocks. Other villages suffered the same fate. Part of the walls of the Jerusalem mosque collapsed, as well as the synagogue of David, in large part, part of the mosque of Abraham was destroyed but the room was saved. The minaret of the Great Mosque of Ashkelon collapsed. The top of the Ghaza minaret suffered the same fate. At this same time, a plague occurred in Baghded.

We are in the presence of three sources. The Christian historian compares the earthquake to the destruction and looting of churches. The Jewish manuscript as well as the testimony by Ibn al Djawzy report the very significant damage that occurred in Palestine.

Footnotes

5 Al Kamil, 9/438.

6 Tarikh, 2/272.

1a Voyage, p.p. 88-89, Note N.3

1b Muntazim, 8/77; Ibn Chakir, 'Uyon MS., 145, 13/113.

References

Taher, M.A. (1979): Corpus des texts arabes relatifs aux tremblements de terre et autres catastrophes naturelles, de la conquete arabe au XII H/XVIII JC, Ph.D. Thesis (Univ. Paris), 337 pp.

439 A.H./1047 AD - Another earthquake in Ramla

According to Al Fariqi², the earth shook in ar-Ramla and the people evacuated the city.

Footnotes

2 Tarikh, p.161.

460 A.H./18 March 1068 AD

On Tuesday 10 Djumada I, a prodigious earthquake occurred in Palestine³. It demolished most of the houses of Ar-Ramla, its walls, and it damaged the mosque and caused the death of many inhabitants under the rubble.

The following story is told: a teacher had with him in his school, about 200 boys. The school collapsed on them, and no one asked about them because all the parents were dead.

The wells overflowed due to the earthquake.

In Banyas, 100 victims died under the rubble, as well as in Jerusalem. That year we heard a terrible clap of thunder and never heard it so far. It was a frightful outburst. Many men, women and children lost consciousness.

After this thunderclap, enormous clouds rose, some fell, and there was an intense hailstorm which destroyed many trees. A formidable thunderstorm brought [the hailstones] and carried away everything in its path: trees and stones.

Ibn al-Athir² reports that in Jumada I, a very violent earthquake occurred in Palestine and Egypt. The city of Ramla was destroyed, water gushed from the mouth of the wells, and there were 25 victims.

The mosque of Jerusalem was cracked and then repaired thanks to the most high God.

The sea receded a day's walk from the coast and returned to drown the people busy collecting things on the shore. There were many deaths.

Ibn al-Djawzy³

In Djumada I, a prodigious earthquake occurred in Palestine, which affected Palestine and the city of Ramla, destroying two battlements of the Prophet's mosque. Its effects were felt as far as Wàdi Aç-çafrai, Khaybar, the earth split and treasures appeared. Its effects were felt as far as Ar-Rahba and al-Kufa. Testimonies were reported by merchants, according to which the entire city of Ramla had collapsed, with the exception of two alleys. The number of victims rose to 15,000 people,

Footnotes

1 Ibn al Qalanisi, Dhayl, 94.

2 Al Kamil, 10/57.

3 Al Muntazim, 8/248.

462 A.H./1070 AD

On Tuesday 11 Djumada I at the third hour, (18 'Adhar)¹, an earthquake occurred in Ramla and its surrounding, which was completely destroyed. The walls were demolished; shaking spread to Jerusalem and Tinis, Aylat was completely destroyed. The sea receded, revealing the land. People marched on the strike and the sea returned to its original position. The corner of the 'Amr mosque was distorted. This earthquake was followed by two other tremors almost immediately.

Footnotes

1 The date corresponds to the year 460;.cf. Ibn al Djawzi, al Muntazam, 8/256.

Paleoclimate - Droughts

References

Scientific Literature

Abou-Karaki, N. (1987). SynthÃ¨se et carte sismotectonique des pays de la bordure Orientale de la Mediterranee: sismicite du systeme de foilles du Jourdain a Mer Morte, University of Strasbourg, France. Ph.D.

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

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

Amit, R., et al. (2002). "Paleoseismic evidence for time dependency of seismic response on a fault system in the southern Arava Valley, Dead Sea rift, Israel." Geological Society of America Bulletin 114(2): 192-206.

ANTONOPOULOS, J. (1980). "Data from investigation on seismic Sea-waves events in the Eastern Mediterranean from 1000 to 1500 A.D." Annals of Geophysics.

Arieh, E. (1977). An Evaluation of Six Significant Historical Earthquakes, Jerusalem, Israel: Report for the Seismological Sectionof the Geologic Survey of Israel.

Karcz, I., et al. (1977). "Archaeological evidence for Subrecent seismic activity along the Dead Sea-Jordan Rift." Nature 269(5625): 234-235.

Klinger, Y., Avouac, J. P., Abu Karaki, N., Dobrath, L., Bourles, D., Reyss, J. L. (2000), 'Shp rate on the Dead Sea transform fault in northern Araba valley (Jordan)', GJI,142, 755-768.

Niemi and Mansoor, (2002). Nearly a millennium of seismic quiescence in Aqaba, Jordan along the southern Dead Sea transform. Abstracts with Programs. Geological Society of America, Geological Society of America.

Niemi, T. M. (2014). Chapter 2. The Regional Environment: in The Roman Aqaba Project Final Report volume 1: The Regional Environment and the Regional Survey Archaeological Reports 19. S. T. a. S. Parker, A.M., III (eds). Boston, MA, American School of Oriental Research. 1: 33-80.

Salamon, A., et al. (2011). "A critical evaluation of tsunami records reported for the Levant Coast from the second millennium bce to the present." Isr. J. Earth Sci. 58: 327-354.

Zilberman, E., et al. (2005). "Surface ruptures induced by the devastating 1068 AD earthquake in the southern Arava valley, Dead Sea Rift, Israel." Tectonophysics 408(14): 79-99.

Ancient Texts

Anonymous (1817), Perigraphi tou hagiou orous Sina, Venice: N. Glycas.

Ibn al-Athir Izz al-Din ( 1851-76, 1872). (Kitab) al-Kamil fil-tarikh (The Complete History). (C) RHC Hist.Orient. C. J. Tornberg. Leiden, Paris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_ibn_al-Athir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Complete_History

Dahab. Tarikh: al-Dahabii, Tarikh al-Islam, MS BL Or. 49 and 50; Paris MS Ar. 1581; Kitab al-'ibar fi khabar man ghabara, 5 volumes, ed. S. Munajjid, Kuwait, 1960-66; Kitab duwa al-Islam al-kabir, MS BM Or. 48-50, with Dhail ed. al-Sakhawi, Hyderabad, 1919; trans. A. Negre, Damascus 1979, p. 13.

Dahab. Tarikh: al-Dahabii, Tarikh al-Islam, MS BL Or. 49 and 50; Paris MS Ar. 1581; Kitab al-'ibar fi khabar man ghabara, 5 volumes, ed. S. Munajjid, Kuwait, 1960-66;
Kitab duwa al-Islam al-kabir, MS BM Or. 48-50, with Dhail ed. al-Sakhawi, Hyderabad, 1919; trans. A. Negre, Damascus 1979, p. 13.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Dhahabi
http://ar.wikisource.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85

al-Jawzi, S. i. Mirâat al-zaman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibt_ibn_al-Jawzi

Le Strange, G. (1890). "Palestine under the Moslems A description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500."

http://books.google.com/books?id=4HCPLpB3C8UC
https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lest

(Sawirus), M. I. a.-M. (1943). History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church. A. a.-M. and and Burmester. Cairo.

http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/severus_hermopolis_hist_alex_patr_00_eintro.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Patriarchs_of_Alexandria
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severus_ibn_al-Mukaffa
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/severus_hermopolis_hist_alex_patr_00_intro.htm

al-Suyuti, J. a.-D. K. (1971). Kashf al-salsala 'an wasf al-zalzala. A. a.-L. Sa'adan. Fez.

http://makashfa.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/works-books-of-imam-jalaluddin-suyuti/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Suyuti

Most of Al-Maqrizi's works, exceeding 200,[7] are concerned with Egypt. The most important is the Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), translated into French by Urbain Bouriant as Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte (Paris, 1895â1900; compare A. R. Guest, "A List of Writers, Books and other Authorities mentioned by El Maqrizi in his Khitat," in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1902, pp. 103â125).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Maqrizi
arabic page which google translates to English

al-'Ulaimi (1866 (A.H. 1283)). al-Uns al-jalil bi-tarikh al-Quds. wa'l-Khalil. Cairo.

Yahia R: Yahia b. (1883). Said al-Antaki. Imperator Vasilij Bolgarobojca, izvlechenja iz letopisi Jahi Antiohijskogo. Rosen. St Petersburg.
Yahia R: Yahia b. Said al-Antaki, in Rosen's Imperator Vasilij Bolgarobojca, izvlechenja iz letopisi Jahi Antiohijskogo, St Petersburg, 1883.
Yahya b. Said: Yahia b. Said al-Antaki, Dhail tarikh Sa'id b. Bitriq, ed. Cheikho et al., CSCOScript.Arab series 3, vol. 7, Paris, 1909;
Also ed. and trans. I. Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, in PO vol. 18, pp. 705-833, vol. 23, pp. 349-520, Paris.
Yahia b. Said: Yahia b. Said al-Antaki, ed. L. Cheikho in CSO, Scripy Arabici, series 3, vol. 7, Paris, 1909.

al-Azimi, Tarikh al-muktasar, Chronicle, ed. C. Cahen, J. Asiat., 230,358,1938.

Ibn al-`Irrad al-Hanbali, Shadharat al-dhahab, 8 volumes, ed. Cairo, 1931-32.

al-Imadi = Ibn al-Hanbali.

Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wal-nihaya fi 'l-tarikh, 13 volumes, ed. Cairo, 1932-39 (1300-1373).

Jamal al-Din, Ittiyaz al huntafa, ed. Jamal al Din al Shayyal.

Makdisi, G. (1956), `Autograph diary of an eleventh-century historian of Baghdad, part BSOAS, 18, 239-260.

**Imad al-Din, Nusrat al-Titra, abridged by al-Bundari, Histoire des Seldjoucides de l'Iraq: Receuil de textes relatif l'histoire des Seldjoucides, vol. 2, ed. T. Houtsma, Leiden, 1889, p. 34.

Imad al-Din al-Isfahani, al-Raud al Nadir, f. 146v; also in Abu Shama.

Ibn al-Qalanisi (Dh), Dhail tarikh Dimishq, Continuation of the history of Hilal al-Sabi, ed. H. F. Amdroz, Leiden, 1908.

Ibn al-Qalanisi, History of Damascus 363-555 a.H, from the Bodleian MS Hunt 125.

Ibn al-Qalanisi, The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, abbrev. trans. H. Gibb, London: Luzac, 1932.

Ibn Shaddad, al-Nawadir al-sultaniyya wa'l-nahasin al-Yusufiyya, Cairo, 1928.

Ibn Shaddad, Alaq al-khatira fi dhikr umara al-Sham wa 'l-Jazira, ed. S. Dahhan, Topographie historique de Ibn Saddad, Liban, Jordanie, Palestine, Damascus: Institute Francais de Damas, 1963.

Ibn Taghribirdi, Abu'l Mahasin, Hawadith al-duhur fi mmada `l-ayyamm wa 7-shuhur, ed. W. Popper, in Semitic Philology, vol. 8, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1930-42; partly trans. W. Popper, New Haven, 1967.

Ibn Taghribirdi, Abu'l Mahasin, Al-nujurn az-zahira fi'muluk Misr Wal-Qahira, ed. F. M. Shlatut, Cairo, 1929-72, 16 volumes; also ed. and partly trans. in W. Popper, The History of Egypt 1382-1469 AD, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1915-60 [P].

al-Nuwairi, Muhammad b Qasim, Kitab al-ilman, vol. iv, ed. A. S. Atiya, Hyderabad, 1390/1970.

al-Nuwairi, Muhammad b. Qasim, Nuhayat, MS Leiden Or. 2-0.

Ibn al-Qalanisi (Dh), Dhail tarikh Dimishq, Continuation of the history of Hilal al-Sabi, ed. H. F. AmÃ©droz, Leiden, 1908.

1068 CE Quake(s)

18 March 1068 CE and ?

by Jefferson Williams

Introduction & Summary

Textual Evidence

Archaeoseismic Evidence

Landslide Evidence

Tsunamogenic Evidence

Paleoseismic Evidence

Notes

Summary

Detailed Discussion

Paleoclimate - Droughts

References