1293 CE Quake

AD 1293 Jan Palestine

The earthquake in Safar in 692 a.H. (1293) affected the region of al-Karak, destroying three towers of the citadel and many houses. Orders were given to assess the losses, and a team of builders was sent from Damascus to repair the damage. Amir Ala al-Din Aidughdi al-Shujai was put in charge of this expedition, accompanied by builders, engineers and stone-cutters (Ibn al-Furat viii. 154-155; al- Maqrizi:i/3.783), see al-Jaziri (fol. 177).

In al-Ramla, the earthquake was followed by a destructive flood and the minaret of the main mosque fissured and fell.

The earthquake affected places in coastal Palestine from Gaza in the south, where a minaret collapsed, to al-Ramla, Ludd and the castle of Qaqun in the north, where houses were damaged (Al-Jazari, fol. 176- 177/trans. Sauvaget p. 29; al Nuwairi, MS 1578 fol. 164ro; Ibn Kathir xiii. 333; al-Suyuti 50/36 (wrongly under 672 a.H.).

Al-Suyuti says that, during the following year 693 a.H. (1294), an earthquake that was felt throughout Egypt caused some pillars in the mosque of `Amr (in Fustat) to become partially detached, but this was less serious than what happened in the main mosque in Cairo (Al- Suyuti 50/36 and Husn ii. 210. See also Taher (1979, 171-172/238).

Al-Suyuti's source is Ibn al-Mutawwaj (died 730/1330), who was also extensively used by al-Maqrizi in his Khitat on the topography of Fustat, see Guest (1902, 116, 125). The earthquake in Cairo is not mentioned under either 692 or 693 by contemporary Egyptian historians. It is possible that there is a confusion with the earthquake of 698/1299; see below.

It is very likely that the same earthquake is involved. No earlier confirmation of the earthquake in Egypt has yet been found.

(144) 1293 January 11 - February 8 [Safar 692 H.] Al-Karak [Jordan]

• sources sources Ibn al-Furat, Ta'rikh, VIII, p.153; al-Magrizi, al-Suluk, I, p.783; BNFrance, ms. Ar. 6739, al-Jazari, Jawahir al-Suluk, fol.90v.-91r.; ms. Ar. 1578, al-Nuwayri, Nihayat al-arab, fol.164r.; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya, XIII, p.233
• literature Taher (1979); Klinger et al. (2000)
• catalogues d. Sieberg (1932a); Amiran et al. (1994)
• catalogues p. Poirier and Taher (1980); al-Hakeem (1988)

In the month of Safar in the year of the Hegira 692, which corresponds to the period 11 January - 8 February 1293, a strong earthquake struck Palestine, causing the most serious damage at Al-Karak, to the east of the Dead Sea (now Jordanian territory). Three towers in the citadel collapsed, as well as some other buildings. There was also comparable damage at the nearby town of At-Tafilah, where many building collapses are reported. In the coastal area (now part of Israel), there was serious damage at Ramla, where the earthquake followed a devastating flood, and caused the minaret of the congregational mosque to collapse. The earthquake also caused damage, not specified, at Gaza, Lydda (present-day Lod) and Qaqun.

The reports of this earthquake in Arabic sources are all very similar, except in the case of Ibn Kathir, who is the only historian to mention At-Tafilah amongst the places that suffered damage. The contemporary Damascene writer al-Jazari (1260-1338) reports:

In that year [692 H. = 1292-1293], there was a violent earthquake in the towns of Gaza, Ramla, Ludd [Lydda], Qaqun and Karak. The worst damage was at Karak, to the extent that three of the citadel's towers were destroyed, as were a number of buildings. The earthquake occurred during the month of Safar [692 H. = 11 January 1293 - 8 February 1293], and the news reached Damascus at the same time as the sultan's order, in the month of Rabi`I [692 H. = 9 February 1293 - 10 March 1293], to send Ala' al-Din al-Shuja`i, one of the emirs of Damascus, together with a group of artisans, engineers and stonecutters, with a large quantity of tools to rebuild those parts of the citadel at Karak which had been destroyed.

Al-Nuwayri (1279-1332) provides a briefer report:

In this year, during the month of Safar [692 H. = 11 January 1293 - 8 February 1293], there was a violent earthquake at the towns of Gaza, Ramla, Ludd [Lydda], and Karak. Karak was particularly affected, for three towers of its citadel were destroyed, and the Emir 'Ala' al-Dine of Damascus was sent with some artisans to rebuild what had been destroyed there.

As already mentioned, the evidence provided by Ibn Kathir (1300-1373) is important, because it also tells of damage at Tafila:

In the month of Safar [692 H. = 11 January 1293 - 8 February 1293], it was very cold in Syria, and in that year there was an earthquake at Karak and many buildings were destroyed at Tafila.

Finally, al-Maqrizi (1364-1442) records:

In the month of Safar [692 H. = 11 January - 8 February 1293], the towns of Ghaza, Ramla, Ludd and especially Al-Karak, were struck by a violent earthquake. Of the towers at Al-Karak, three were destroyed. A message from al-Ghars ibn Shawr, governor of Ramla, told that there had been incessant rain, causing destruction in fields and houses. The flood knocked down bridges and mills on the river 'Awja'. The bodies of eleven drowned lions were found in the flood waters. Immediately after the flood, a tremendous earthquake struck the coastal towns. The earthquake caused destruction in many places; and the minaret of the congregational mosque at Ramla was so badly cracked that it collapsed. The governor was ordered to assess the damage, and the Emir 'Ala' al-Din Aydgudi al-Shuja`i was sent with labourers and skilled workers to rebuild what had collapsed at Al-Karak.

Fig. 2.13 1293 January, Dead Sea. (Ambraseys et al, 1994)

1293 January Safar 692 Dead Sea

A strong earthquake occurred in the region of Ghazza (Gaza), affecting al-Ramla, Ludd, Qaqun and al-Karak - particularly the latter, where three towers of the citadel were destroyed and many houses (see Figure 2.13).¹ In al-Ramla, the earthquake followed a destructive flood. The earthquake ruined many places in coastal Palestine and the minaret of the main mosque at al-Ramla fissured and fell; the minaret at Gaza also collapsed. Orders were given to assess the damage in both places, and a team was sent from Damascus to repair the damage to al-Karak.²

Al-Suyuti says that the following year, 693/1294, an earthquake that affected all Egypt caused some pillars in the mosque of 'Amr (in Fustat) to became partially detached, but this was less serious than what happened in the main mosque in Cairo.³ It is very likely that the same earthquake is involved. No earlier confirmation of the earthquake in Egypt has yet been found.⁴

English

* from 12 JAN. - 11 FEB. 1293 AD, SAFAR 692 A.H

- SAFAR 692 A.H. (1293 A.D.), Ramla (VIII) Karak (VIII) (PTAH).

- Same dates and remarks as above,... The cities of Gaza, Ramla, Lod and Karak were affected by a violent earthquake, the maximum intensity is located in Karak where three towers of the citadel were destroyed,... In a letter from the Governor of Ramla we find,..., "the rain has not ceased falling day and night, causing the destruction of houses and bridges, as well as flooding; this was followed by a violent earthquake, which particularly affected the areas coastal; the minaret of the mosque of Ramla cracked and it fell,..., The emir in Damascus has wrote to the governor of Ramla, asking him for an assessment of the damage,..., this emir sent masons to repair the destruction that occurred in KARAK. (TAHA)

NAJA: this earthquake therefore affected both Karak and Ramla and its region, localities east and west of the transform (Dead Sea area).

French

* J = Dans l'intervalle (12 JAN. 1293, 11 Fév. 1293), SAFAR 692 apr. H

- SAFAR 692 apr. H, (1293 apr. J.C,), Ramla (VIII) Karak (VIII) Karak (VIII) (PTAH). - Mêmes dates et remarques que ci-dessus,... Les villes de Gaza, Ramla, Lod et Karak ont été affectées par un séisme violent, dont l'intensité maximale est située à Karak où trois tours de la citadelle ont été détruites,... Dans une lettre du Gouverneur de Ramla on trouve,..., "la pluie n'a cessé de tomber jour et nuit, causant la destruction des maisons et de ponts, ainsi que des inondations; cela a été suivi par un tremblement de terre' violent, qui a touché particulièrement les zones côtières; le minaret de la mosquée de Ramla s'est fissuré et il est tombé,..., L'émir à Damas a écrit au gouverneur de Ramla, en lui demandant une évaluation des dégâts,..., cet émir a envoyé des maçons pour réparer les destructions survenues à KARAK. (TAHA)

NAJA : ce séisme a donc affecté aussi bien Karak que Ramla et sa région, soient des localités à l'Est et à l'ouest de la transformante (zone de la Mer Morte).

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.

5. THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1293

a. Sources

This was a destructive earthquake. Ibn al-Furat writes (Ta'rikh, Beirut, 1939, vol. VII, p. 154):

In the month of Safar (12th January - 9th February) a vigorous earthquake occurred in the area of Ghaza, Ramleh, Lydda and Kerak. It was most heavily felt in Kerak where three towers of the for less were ruined ... It was particularly destructive along the coast. It ruined many places. The minaret of the Friday mosque.of Ramleh cracked and collapsed ... as well as the minaret of Ghaza.

b. Estimated Seismic Intensities and Epicenter

Highest seismic intensity - VIII (MMS) - was possibly attained in the destruction of the three fortress towers in Kerak. Seismic intensities at Ramleh and Ghaza were probably VII - suggested by cracking of the minarets (which are generally delicate structures), and by the absence of other reported damages. Effects are summed up in Table 5 and plotted in Figure 4.

Table 5: The 1293 Earthquake

Site	Damage	Estimated Max I (MMS)
Kerak	Three fortress towers destroyed	VIII
Ramleh	Mosque's minaret cracked	VII
Lydda	No damage reported	VI
Ghaza	Mosque's minaret cracked	VII

The epicenter was probably in the Dead Sea Rift Valley near Kerak. However, it is difficult to explain the absence of reported damages from other cities (e.g. Nablus, Jerusalem, Hebron, etc) which generally suffer from such earthquakes.

Maximal seismic intensity at the NP-1 site could not exceed the intensities attained at the affected sites nearer the epicenter (Ramleh, Lydda). Thus it could not exceed VII.

References

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


Figure 4

1293 AD: Based on evidence at an archeological site built on the Arava segment of the DST, the northern Arava did not rupture during this event [ Haynes et al., 2006]. We consider the 12 km-long Amatzyahu fault (Figure 3.1.1) as the source for this event. This rupture length is consistent with a 6.2-6.7 magnitude earthquake. The maximum intensity recorded for this event was recorded at Karak (eastern Dead Sea), 45 km from the Amatzaya fault [ Ambraseys et al., 1994, Guidoboni and Comastri, 2005] consistent with a magnitude of 6.7 according to the Ambraseys and Jackson equation (eq. 1). Taking into account poor construction and site effects this intensity could be achieved at a somewhat lower magnitude.

Additional Note by JW: The Qasr Tilah site ( Haynes et al., 2006) may not have ruptured during more than one Araba earthquake. It is possible that ruptures in the Araba during the 1293 AD event occurred to the west of Qasr Telah on other sub parallel faults or the Amatzyahu fault mentioned by Kagan (2011). Masson et al (2015) suggests that relative motions between tectonic plates in the Northern Araba/ Southern Dead Sea is taken up by multiple faults to the east and west. In some ways the 1293 CE Quake may be a more energetic version (i.e., bigger fault break) of the Jerusalem Quake.

References

Kagan, E. J. (2011). Multi Site Quaternary Paleoseismology Along the Dead Sea Rift: Independent Recording by Lake and Cave Sediments, PhD. Diss. Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Masson, F., et al. (2015). "Variable behavior of the Dead Sea Fault along the southern Arava segment from GPS measurements." Comptes Rendus Geoscience(0).

• from Taher (1996)

692/1292-1293: in the month of Safar (December January), the earth shakes¹⁴⁰ in Ghaza , Ramla, Lud and in the Sâhil killing a large number of people; the minarets of the Ghaza and Ramla mosques collapse. A decree from the sultan designates the emir ` Alâ ' al-Dîn Aydghudi al-Shuja`î as the sultan's delegate to Damascus and sent him with workers to carry out repairs in Karak.