AD 1837 Jan 1 Palestine and Syria
At the time of the earthquake Palestine and Syria, parts
of the Ottoman empire, were occupied by the Egyptians
(during 1831-40) and the region was in turmoil.
This, to some extent, accounts for the dearth of information
from the hinterland and from Turkish archives
in Istanbul, although for the latter our search has been
rudimentary.
The main shock occurred on 1 January 1837 or
on 24 Ramadan a.H. 1252, 10 minutes before sunset. The
earthquake was reported from Beirut and other places at
various local times between 4.35 and 4.45 pm. The main
shock lasted between 10 and 30 seconds and eye-witness
reports imply that the earthquake consisted of two distinct
shocks about 5 minutes apart ([1, 5, 6]; Moore 1837).
Destruction or heavy damage extended along a
relatively narrow zone from the coastal area of Sidon
through the inland iklimi (regions) of al-Tuffa, Marjuyum
and Bshara to Lake Tiberias, a total length of about
120 km.
Starting from the north of the epicentral region, in
Beirut the earthquake caused panic but no serious damage
in the city itself. About eight houses, which had been
built outside its walls on alluvium by the sea, collapsed,
killing two people ([1]; Paxton 1839; Rustum 1942). No
damage was reported from Kesrawan, a district north of
Beirut, and reports from the district of Shouff, south of
the town, are lacking. The monastery of Deir Qamar was
badly shaken and those of Deir al-Mukhalles and Jun
were damaged, but details are lacking.
Sidon was almost totally ruined. Of its 1800
houses, 580 were demolished and 630 ruined, with the
loss of seven lives. Qala't Mezzeh (Chateau de Saint
Louis of the Crusaders), standing on the promontory
which divides the two harbours, collapsed. The French
merchants' stores fell and the walls of the town were
breached. The town and the land walls were rebuilt by
Soleyman Pasha immediately after the earthquake ([1, 3];
Thomson 1837; Rustum 1942; Kerhardene 1859).
At al-Ghaziye 14 houses collapsed, killing seven
people. Further inland Abra and nearby Deir Mar
Elias were seriously damaged (Lindsay 1839; Meryon
1845). Salihiyah, Dar al-Hatta, and Rumin were totally
destroyed [1].
On the eastern side of the Bekaa Valley, at
Rashaya, the shock was very violent, but it is not known
whether it caused any damage (Thomson 1837). In the
upper reaches of the Bekaa valley several villages were
more than half destroyed and a khan, the name of which
is not given, was thrown down, killing 60 people [1].
The shock was violent at Hashbaya, where it is not
known whether it caused any damage (Thomson 1837).
Al-Kufur collapsed with the loss of 72 lives, and so did
Dibbin Nabatiya al-Tahta and Jibshit [1].
The large villages of Irbil and Kherbet Shaqa were
completely destroyed and 100 people were killed. Also
Khirbah and al-Khiyam fell; 5 people lost their lives in
the foimer and 150 in the latter. In the region of Bilad
al-Shuqf 600 goats were killed, presumably by rock falls
[1].
Qala't al-Shuqf (Chateau de Beaufort of the Crusaders),
standing on a cliff where the Litani River turns
towards the sea, was shattered, and a part of the interior
structure of the citadel collapsed, killing five people [1].
Deir Mimas, where five people lost their lives, was totally
destroyed and rebuilt immediately after the earthquake.
About one third of the houses in Zeqqieh collapsed and
eight people were killed [1]. Deir Qufa was totally ruined,
and in Mitulla nothing was left standing and 78 people
lost their lives [1].
Much of Banyas was ruined and some parts of the
Qal'at al-Shubeibe, which stands on the summit of a hill
to the east of the village, collapsed. Also the roof of the
nearby Grotto of Pan fell and not far from its vicinity a
large rent was made in the ground ([2]; Saulcy 1955).
On the coast, Sur suffered considerable damage;
40 houses, presumably old ones, collapsed on the island,
killing 16 and injuring 36 people. There is some evidence
that as a result of this earthquake the eastern coast of
the north harbour slumped ([6]; Thomson 1837; Waghorn
1837; Bertou 1843; Prutz 1876). Further inland the old
castle of Hunin (Chastel Neuf of the Crusaders) was shattered
and much of its interior, including the mosque, collapsed,
no structure remaining habitable (Guerin 1880).
No damage details exist for the districts of Hunin and
Tibnin, where it is said that 614 people were killed in 49
settlements. Half of some of them and likewise five mills
were totally destroyed, together with a third of the inhabitants
[6].
In this region, the villages of Asbagha, al-Afrish,
Amba, el-Asban, Akbar, Mugar and Sutli are reported to
have been ruined, but their locations could not be identified,
either because their names have changed or because
they are misspelled in the various reports.
Marun was also totally destroyed and Qana was
damaged (Thomson 1837). One of the two parts into
which al-Mays is divided collapsed, killing three people
[1]. Also Beit Yahun was totally ruined [1]. At Ya'tar
12 people were killed. Qadas was completely destroyed,
with the loss of 53 lives. Also Melkiyeh was destroyed,
as was nearby Aytarun, where 33 people were killed ([1];
Calman 1837).
Bint Jubayl was totally ruined, with the loss of
eight lives, and Ayn Ibli collapsed with the loss of 12
lives [1]. Another 17 people were killed at Marun al-Ras,
which was also ruined, while 30 people were killed and
10 injured at Rumaysh, and 12 lost their lives at al-Salha
([1]; Calman 1837; Thomson 1837).
Dibil was almost totally destroyed and 12 people
lost their lives there (Calman 1837). Three quarters of
Deishun collapsed and 13 people were killed, and Alma
was totally destroyed. In al-Fara 12 people perished [1].
Kafr Bir'irn was badly damaged; the church and a row
of columns and other standing remains of an early synagogue
were thrown to the ground ([1]; Thomson 1837;
1859, Calman 1837; Waghorn 1837; Guerin 1880).
At Ras al-Ahmar 40 people were killed and 12
injured (Calman 1837). Jish was completely destroyed
and not a house was left standing. The church fell, killing
130 persons, and the old walls of the town collapsed. In
all 235 people were killed, and in places the ground was
fissured (Thomson 1837; Waghorn 1837; Robinson 1856).
Sabelan was completely ruined, without casualties [1].
Also Tarshiha was likewise damaged without loss of life
[6].
Dallata, Qaddita and Ain Zeitun were almost
totally destroyed ([1]; Thomson 1837). In contrast,
nearby Meirun suffered relatively little damage, and the
walls of the tombs of Rabbi Eleazer and Rabbi Shemaun
were dislodged but did not collapse (Neman 1971).
In Safet, the largest of the places affected, the
northern, Jewish, section of the town was almost entirely
destroyed while the southern, Moslem, section suffered
far less serious damage. The number of deaths reached
2158, of which 1507 were Ottoman subjects, Moslem or
Jewish, and 651 were foreigners ([1, 2, 6]; Thomson 1837;
Waghorn 1837; Liebentrut 1854; Guerin 1880; Mitford
1884).
Nearby Rama was totally destroyed and 180 people
were killed ([1]; Calman 1837). Also in Shezor and in
Jabal (the location of which has not been identified) 245
houses were destroyed and 563 damaged, with 141 people
killed [1, 6].
Kafr Sumei was totally ruined. However, just west
of these villages, Jatt was probably not seriously damaged
([1]; Thomson 1837). Much of Eilabun collapsed, killing
25 people, and Maghar was ruined [1].
To the west at Acre only about 40 houses fell, four
people were killed and several injured, and the fortifications,
already in ruins, were damaged. In the district of
Acre the earthquake killed in all 141 people ([1, 6, 1°];
Waghorn 1837).
There is no evidence that the villages of Tamra,
Damun, al-Birwa, Kafr Yasif, Kaweikat, Ghabsiyya, Betset
and Jatt were damaged (Thomson 1837). Evlayin suffered
relatively little and its minaret was left standing,
but in nearby Shefar'am 86 houses were ruined and 139
heavily damaged; also seven people were killed and four
injured ([6]; Thomson 1837).
Mijdal, on the western coast of Lake Tiberias, was
destroyed and Irbid was totally ruined. The same happened
to Kafr `Akib on the northeastern coast of the
Lake ([1]; Thomson 1837; Guerin 1880).
About two thirds of the houses in Tiberias, most
of them built of stone masonry, together with a large part
of the walls, the bazaar, minarets, the mosque and the
church of St Peter, collapsed, killing 922 people, of whom
500 were Jews, 300 Moslems and 22 Christians, and injuring
65. These figures may include casualties from 17 settlements
in the environs, which were destroyed but are
not named in the returns. The castle was ruined, and its
towers began to lean. The baths, which had been built in
1833, were not damaged, but the yield of the hot spring
and fountains increased temporarily. The town was not
restored until after 1846 ([1, 6]; Thomson 1837; 1859;
Shkelov 1837; Olim 1843; Montefiori 1844; Furst 1847;
Beldam 1851; Robinson 1856; Pfeiffer 1856; Frankl 1858;
Kerhardene 1859; Jenner 1873; Layard 1887; Italiander
1979).
Lubiya was totally destroyed and 143 people were
killed (Thomson 1837; Beldam 1851). To the south, Kafr
Sabt was ruined by the shock, without loss of life (Guerin
1880). Shadjara was also ruined and 50 people died (Calman
1837; Thomson 1837). In contrast, Kafr Kenna suffered
negligible damage and no loss of life. Saffuriya and
its church of Santa Ana also escaped entirely, with some
limited damage to its ruined castle, while, next to it, Reina
was obliterated, resulting in the loss of about 200 lives
(Calman 1837; Thomson 1837; Robinson 1856).
Contrary to early reports, damage in Nazareth
was not excessive. Only one house collapsed and about
one quarter of the dwellings in the town Suffered various
degrees of damage. The hostel of the convent collapsed
and an external cornice of the church of the Annunciation
fell, killing four people. In all seven people were
killed. The reported destruction in the northeastern part
of Nazareth in fact refers to the cumulative losses suffered
by settlements in the whole of its district, already
accounted for in the returns, that amounted to 373 houses
destroyed and 425 ruined, with 162 people killed and 13
injured ([1, 6]; Thomson 1837; Waghorn 1837; Vissino
1840; Schubert 1840; Blondel 1843; Beldam 1851; Robinson
1856; Tobler 1868).
South and southwest of Lake Tiberias the settlement
of Simakh was also destroyed and five people were
killed, and the villages of Hadatha, Ulam, Sirin, Kherbet
Baka'a and Danna were damaged without loss of life
(Waghorn 1837, Guerin 1880).
Many villages in the region east of the lake were
likewise reduced to ruins, but details are lacking. In the
district of Bashan, allegedly, fire was seen coming out
of the ground (Calman 1837, Thomson 1837, Robinson
1856).
To the west, half of the houses of Ma'lun were
ruined and five people were killed (Waghorn 1837). At
Haifa only three houses were ruined, without casualties,
and at Athlith a few local dwellings and one side of the
walls were damaged. The remains of the church built by
the Crusaders collapsed and the rubble was transported
to Acre for the construction of the fortifications of the
town ([6]; Waghorn 1837; Enlart 1925).
Further to the south damage was less serious. In
the region of Harithiya 15 villages, which are not named
in the sources, were ruined and 18 people were killed. In
Arraba and Ajja damage was slight, and in Attil only two
houses collapsed, while at Qaqun there was little damage
and only a portion of the citadel collapsed, but in Jaba
and in its environs 99 houses collapsed and 151 were damaged,
and 23 people were killed [6].
Burqa and other nearby villages also suffered
some slight damage, without casualties. Tubas was
severely damaged, and east of the Jordan at Ajlun and
Jerash there was also some damage. During the earthquake
free-standing columns in the ancient city of Jerash
were seen chattering on their bases but they did not collapse
([6]; Lindsay 1839; Johns 1932).
In Nablus one quarter of the houses and a number
of shops were ruined and one quarter damaged, causing
the loss of 48 lives. The rest of the town suffered only
light damage. In the district of Nablus 150 people lost
their lives ([1, 6]; Thomson 1837; Neman 1837; Shkelov
1837).
Damage decreased rapidly to the south. Jit suffered
very little, and at Zeita only one house fell, killing
two people [6].
Further away from the epicentral region, to the
north, the shock was felt all along the coast, and at Tripoli
it caused considerable concern, though no damage. At
Latakia it was less strong in the town but rather violent
in outlying districts. In Antioch ground movements were
slow and lasted intermittently for a long time. In Aleppo
the shock was generally felt and caused no damage anywhere
in the region, while it was slight at Kilis and almost
imperceptible at Aintab [1, 2, 6, 10].
However, in the alluvial plain of Adana the earthquake
was strong and caused some panic. Many shops in
the suq Adanat al-kubra collapsed. Also in the ports of
Ayas (or Payas) and Iskenderun there was some alarm
among European ship crews on land, who became nauseous.
The shock was also reported from Tarsus, where it
was slight but widely felt [6].
In the east, in Damascus about 2000 houses were
slightly damaged, four minarets and several houses were
destroyed, and about ten people were killed or injured.
The bazaars of the city were damaged and part of the
city gates and the tops of several minarets, which are not
named, were thrown down [1, 2].
In the south, at the port of Jaffa the shock threw
merchandise from stacks, and in Ramla it was slow. It was
said that people could not stand erect. However, there is
no evidence that it caused any damage [1, 6].
In Jerusalem the earthquake was not very strong
and caused only limited damage. It is alleged that the
minarets of the mosque at Kafr al-Tur, east of the city,
were shaken down ([1, 2, 6, 10]; Calman 1837; Neman
1837).
In the Moab the shock caused sporadic destruction,
particularly to old sites such as at Dihban, where
some free-standing columns and arches were overthrown
(Tristram 1874). Some slight damage was reported from
Hebron, but details are lacking (Neman 1837). In Gaza
the shock was rather slight and, except for the customs
house, which was badly cracked, there was no
other damage [6]. The earthquake was reported felt
from as far south as Mt Sinai (St Catherine's?; Thomson
1837).
In the southwest the earthquake was felt in the
Nile Delta, at Damietta, causing water to slosh out of a
container, and in Misr (Cairo?), but it was not reported
from Alexandria (Thomson 1837).
In the west the earthquake was rather strong in
the ports of Famagusta and Larnaca and was felt in other
parts of Cyprus [1].
There is no evidence of a seismic sea wave on the
Mediterranean coast. Also no waves have been reported
in the Dead Sea. Allegedly, after the earthquake large
masses of bitumen were seen floating in the Dead Sea
(Robinson 1856).
It is said that waves flooded the coast of Lake
Tiberias, but it is not clear whether this happened before,
during or after the earthquake (Shkelov 1837; Kerhardene
1859). Aftershocks continued to be felt for almost
four months, three of which were particularly important
[2].
The loss of life caused by this earthquake and its
aftershocks is difficult to estimate. The officially reported
figure is 6000-7000 killed, but this is an early estimate and
probably does not include losses in the districts of Marjuyum,
al-Tuffa and Banyas, where many places within
a radius of 50 miles (80 km) of Banyas were seriously
affected, about which there is no infoiination [2].
A plague epidemic shortly after the earthquake
added to the loss of life and isolated the coastal area from
the hinterland, a situation aggravated by the Bedouins
who for some time after the earthquake kept on hovering
about ruined villages and towns. Safet, Tiberias and
villages in the region of Bshara were plundered repeatedly
by roving Druses and Mtwalis ([1, 4]; Montefiori
1844).
The combined effects of the earthquake, plague
and unrest had considerable social implications. Owing
to a rise in the price of labour, before long merchants
began to find it difficult to transact their business and
the most serious disturbances of commerce took place
(Rustum 1923).
Damage in the epicentral region was widespread
and varied from place to place over short distances. Much
of the damage can be attributed to the high vulnerability
of the local type of houses and also to the location of villages,
particularly those in the central and northern parts
of the affected area.
A general observation about a typical rural house
in Syria and Palestine in the early 1800s is that its inherent
strength was very low and extremely variable, and
its vulnerability to earthquakes high. Local houses were
chiefly one storey high, of rubble-masonry construction
covered with heavy flat roofs, already in a ruinous state.
The degree of damage or destruction caused by an earthquake
was usually proportional to the size of the housing
conglomerate or village; the larger the conglomerate,
the heavier the apparent damage. The high vulnerability
of local houses becomes apparent when we consider
the relatively small damage sustained by the few properly
built public structures in the epicentral region, such
as convents, churches, walls and bridges, compared with
that sustained by ordinary dwellings.
Another factor that contributed to the erratic
distribution of damage in this and other earthquakes
before and after 1837 is site effects. Many villages in the
region, for defence reasons, were built on hilltops or on
steep slopes, overlooking their fields. Many of these sites
had already suffered from slides and regional instability
of the ground, particularly those built on marls, chalk
and weathered limestone. The destruction of Safed, for
instance, and of the nearby villages of Ein Zeitim, Reina
and Jish in the earthquake of 1837 can be attributed to
their unstable foundation conditions rather than to the
exceptional severity of the shock (Wachs and Lewitte
1984). Furthermore, the earthquake happened in the
evening, during a wet period in winter when most people
were indoors having dinner, which also contributed
to the relatively large number of casualties.
The relatively large magnitude of the event, the
elongated shape of the meizoseismal region and its
alignment with the Roum fault (Walley 1988) suggest
that the earthquake was perhaps associated with surface
faulting. However, there is no evidence for this in the
sources.
It is said that as a result of the earthquake the
coast of Lake Tiberias sank and that the lake water rose
and swept away many people ([1]; Macgregor 1904). This
observation on its own does not imply that this change of
level of the coast was necessarily of tectonic origin. It may
well have been a rather exaggerated observation relating
to the usual rapid fluctuation of the level of the lake
(Lynch 1852).
Reports that near Safed the ground was 'rent' and
was so up to a point east of Jish and beyond as far as one
could see, and that large fractures in the ground opened
up near Mitulla and likewise in the vicinity of Baniyas,
may refer to phenomena having a tectonic origin ([1, 2];
Waghorn 1837; Robinson 1856).
However, the reported cases of deep cracks opening
up between Tiberias and Safed, emitting dust, seem
to be descriptions of landslides, which include a classical
case of a crack on a hillside near Tiberias opening up during
the earthquake, into which two people fell, with the
crack thereafter closing again and entombing them ([3];
Robinson 1856).
Another report, by seamen, that the westerly
side of the shoreline at Sur had risen above the rocks
and that this was clear proof of the subsidence of the
ground caused by the earthquake cannot be substantiated
(Bertou 1843).
In the light of this it appears that the 1837 earthquake
was a shallow event with a magnitude larger than
had been considered up to now. It was perhaps a multiple
event, not dissimilar to earlier large earthquakes,
consisting of two shocks, the macroseismic effects of
which cannot be separated. Maximum damage was experienced
along the Roum fault and perhaps some of its
small branches, which occupy the region to the southwest
(Freund et al. 1970; Nemer and Meghraoui 2006). However,
there is no evidence in the sources for coseismic surface
faulting for this earthquake, which is suggested only
by the elongated shape of its epicentral region along the
Roum fault.
[1] PRO FO 78.316 (Beirut: Moore to Palmerstone) 2.1.1837,
9.1.1837, 2.3.1837 (enclosures 2 and 5 to Palmerstone),
17.1.1837 (Aleppo: Werry to Palmerstone); 17.1.1837
(Aleppo: Werry to Bidwell) and 1.2.1837 (Aleppo: Werry
to Ponsonby).
[2] PRO FO 78.315 (Damascus: Farrer to Palmerstone)
25.1.1837, 20.3.1837, 24.5.1837 and enclosures that are not
dated.
[3] Archives Dipl. Nantes (Turq.) Corr. Cons. (Damas)
15.1.1837 and 22.2.1837; and (Beyrouth) 28.1.1837.
[4] Archives Dept. des Bouches du Rhone (Marseille) 200.33.
[5] Archives Societe de Geographie, Paris, Corr. 1649 (Beyrouth:
Joselle to H. Joselle) 15.1.1837; (Beyrouth: Guys to
H. Joselle) 17.1.1837.
[6] Archives Abdin Palace, Cairo, Corr. 1252, vol. 254, no.
403 (Ibrahim Pasa to Sami Beg) 10.3.1837 (2.12.1252); also
extracts in Rustum (1942).
PATH no. 418, 1837.
PCB vol. 12.305.1837 and vol. 13.150.1838.
PEMS 15.2.1837 and 20.5.1837.
PJS 21.1.1837.
PMR no. 11, 322-341, 1843.
PNH vol. 2, no. 9, 134-135, 1835.
AD 1837 Jan 16 Rum
This was an aftershock of the earthquake of 1 January,
which was widely felt at the southern extremity of the
epicentral region and caused considerable damage in the
districts of Jaffa and Nablus. Details are, however, lacking.
This is an important shock in the seismic sequence
because, if the damages caused by this event were serious
and they were amalgamated in the official damage
returns for the earthquake of 1 January 1837, the epicentral
area of the main shock should not be extended as far
south as Nablus. However, there is no way of confirming
this since all of the detailed damage returns are dated
February and March 1837.
AD 1837 Jan 22 Rum
The aftershocks of the 1 January earthquake, which
occurred on 22 and 25 January, were reported from the
northern part of the epicentral region. They caused panic
in Damascus, but it is not known whether any damage
was sustained (M2)
AD 1837 May 20 Rum
This was a third aftershock of the 1 January earthquake,
which was also reported from the northern part of the
affected area, where it caused considerable additional
damage at Hashbeya, details of which are not known. The
shock was strongly felt in the region of Lake Hule, but
it was not reported at Damascus, perhaps because of a
severe thunderstorm at the time (PRO FO 78.315).
References
Ambraseys, N. N. (2009). Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East: a multidisciplinary study of seismicity up to 1900.
