1354 CE Quakes

Textual Evidence

Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes
al-Athar al-Jallya fl'l-Hawadith al-Ardiya by Yasin al-'Umari	Arabic	Muslim	1795/6 CE (Sayyar, 1983:55).	Mosul	Yasin al-'Umari reports that on 28 Oct. 1354 CE, an earthquake struck Hama, Hims, and Baalbek where it killed 22 people. Although he was writing ~441 years after the earthquake, the specificity of the people reported to have died (e.g., 7 women and 3 men and boys died in Hama) suggests he had access to an earlier source.
Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes

Archaeoseismic Evidence

Landslide Evidence

Tsunamogenic Evidence

Paleoseismic Evidence

Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes
Kazzab Trench	possible	≥ 7	Daeron et al (2007) dated Event S1 to between 926 and 1381 CE (2σ) and assigned it to the 1202 CE earthquake. Daëron et al (2005:529-530) presented surface faulting evidence that suggested younger less weathered fault scarplets on the Rachaıya-Serghaya faults and fresh mole-tracks on the Rachaıya fault were associated with one of the 1759 CE fault breaks while older more weathered faults scarplets on the Yammouneh fault were associated with one of the the 1202 CE earthquakes.
Jarmaq Trench	possible	≥ 7	Nemer and Meghraoui (2006) date Event Z to after 84-239 CE. They suggested the Safed Earthquake of 1837 CE as the most likely candidate.
Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes

Kazzab Trench

Daeron et al (2007) dated Event S1 to between 926 and 1381 CE (2σ) and assigned it to the 1202 CE earthquake. Daëron et al (2005:529-530) presented surface faulting evidence that suggested younger less weathered fault scarplets on the Rachaıya-Serghaya faults and fresh mole-tracks on the Rachaıya fault were associated with one of the 1759 CE fault breaks while older more weathered faults scarplets on the Yammouneh fault were associated with one of the the 1202 CE earthquakes.

Notes

Ambraseys (2009)

AD 1354 Oct 28 Hims, Baalbek

The towns of Hims, Hamah and Ba’albek were shaken by an earthquake, which brought a number of walls down. They are located on the Dead Sea fault zone, Hamah and Baalbek being 130 km apart.

The worst casualties were in Hamah, where seven women and three men and boys died; eight people died in Hims, and four in Ba’albek.

This event is recorded only by al-’Umari (died 1811), but the detail of the information on casualties suggests that it was derived from early and fairly accurate sources.

Note

In one day, 10th Shawwal 755 [28 October 1353], the towns of Hims, Hamah and Ba’albek were shaken by an earthquake and a number of walls collapsed. In Hamah, 7 women died and 3 men and boys, in Hims 8 people died, and in Ba’albek, 4 people.’ (al- ’Umari, f. 131r).

References

Ambraseys, N. N. (2009). Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: a multidisciplinary study of seismicity up to 1900.

1354 CE Quake

28 Oct. 1354 CE

by Jefferson Williams

Introduction & Summary