Michael the Syrian reports that in October 1138 CE, there was an earthquake and towers were destroyed in Bizaʿah and Aleppo. Three sentences later, he describes an episode that may or may not be related to seismic activity: In the desert near Callinice (Raqqa), forty men were traveling; the earth opened and swallowed them all. Only one survived—he had turned aside to urinate. The voice of the groans of these men and their mounts was heard for a long time. In the following passage, Michael states that Atharib(?) was again overthrown in this earthquake; the church of Harim also collapsed. He adds that Azrab, a village situated on the confines of the mountain of Quros, opened up in the middle, and when the inhabitants had come out, it collapsed entirely. Michael also reports that on 29 October 1140 CE there was an earthquake at an unspecified location. However, since he notes that on the 10th day of the same month there was a lunar eclipse, it is possible that the earthquake occurred on or around 29 October 1139 CE. A total lunar eclipse was visible in the Near East on 9 October 1139 CE in the Julian calendar, corresponding to 10 October in the Seleucid Era calendar used by Michael.