The Anonymous Itinerarium (erroneously) attributed to Antoninus of Piacenza
Background and Biography Background and Biography
Excerpts English from Stewart (1885)
Thence we came into the parts of Syria, to the island of Antaradus1 and thence we came to Tripolis2 in Syria, where St. Leontius rests, which city, together with some others, was destroyed by an earthquake in the time of the Emperor Justinian3. Thence we came to Byblus4, which city also was destroyed with its inhabitants ; and likewise to the city of Trieris5, which also was similarly destroyed. Next we came to the most magnificent city of Berytus6, in which there was recently a school of literature, and which also was destroyed. We were told by the bishop of the city, who knew the sufferers personally, that, without counting strangers, thirty thousand persons7, in round numbers, here miserably perished. The city itself lies at the foot of Lebanon. ... From Berytus we came to Sidon, [now Saida] which itself was partly ruined, and which is near to the slope of Lebanon. The people in it are very wicked.
- from Stewart (1885:1-3)
Footnotes[1] The island of Ruad, off the coast of Syria ; Antoninus has either confused Aradus, the island, with Antaradus, the town on the mainland, or the latter now Tartus, had so increased in importance, at the time of his visit, as to give its name to the earlier settlement on the island. Antoninus probably disembarked at Antaradus, and continued his journey by land.
[2] Tarabulus, on the Syrian coast.
[3] There were two great earthquakes on the Syrian coast : that of May 20, 526, which destroyed Antioch, and that of July 9, 551, which destroyed Berytus (Beirut). Tripolis appears to have been overthrown by the latter.
[4] Jebeil, on the Syrian coast ; the Gebal of Ezek. xxvii. 9. The land of the Giblites was assigned to the Israelites (Josh. xiii. 5).
[5] Trieris is misplaced here ; it should have followed Tripolis. According to Strabo, xvi. 2, § 15, Trieris lay between Tripolis and Theoprosopon (Ras Shakka); and it is apparently the same as the Tridis of the 'Itin. Hierosol.', twelve Roman miles from Tripolis ; it is now probably Enfeh.
[6] Beirut. At the time of its destruction by the earthquake of 551 A.D., Berytus was celebrated for its splendour and for its university, in which 'the rising spirits of the age' studied the civil law. After the catastrophe the school was removed for a time to Sidon.
[7] In the Antioch earthquake 250,000 persons are said to have perished.
English from Heidtman (2015)
We came to the island of Antharidus1 near Syria and then to Tripolis2 in Syria, where St. Leontius is buried. This and other cities were reduced to ruins by an earthquake in the time of the emperor Justinian3. Then we came to Byblus4, which was also destroyed with its inhabitants, and so to the city of Trieris5, which was also reduced to ruins in the same way…. Then we came to the magnificent city of Berytus6, where there was recently a center for literary study. That city was also destroyed. The bishop of the city told us that, without counting foreigners who were staying there briefly, thirty thousand known people7 had been killed. The city itself lies at the foot of the mountain of Lebanon. From Berytus we came to Sidon, which is low lying on one side and clings to the Lebanon mountain…. From Sidon we came to Sarepta, a city of moderate size which is strongly Christian…. Departing from Sarepta we came into the city at Tyre…And from there we came to Ptolemais. The city is honorable; the monastery is good.
- from Heidtman (2015:23)
(Antonini Placentini Itinerarium 1-2.)FootnotesFootnotes come from Stewart (1885:1-3):
[1] The island of Ruad, off the coast of Syria ; Antoninus has either confused Aradus, the island, with Antaradus, the town on the mainland, or the latter now Tartus, had so increased in importance, at the time of his visit, as to give its name to the earlier settlement on the island. Antoninus probably disembarked at Antaradus, and continued his journey by land.
[2] Tarabulus, on the Syrian coast.
[3] There were two great earthquakes on the Syrian coast : that of May 20, 526, which destroyed Antioch, and that of July 9, 551, which destroyed Berytus (Beirut). Tripolis appears to have been overthrown by the latter.
[4] Jebeil, on the Syrian coast ; the Gebal of Ezek. xxvii. 9. The land of the Giblites was assigned to the Israelites (Josh. xiii. 5).
[5] Trieris is misplaced here ; it should have followed Tripolis. According to Strabo, xvi. 2, § 15, Trieris lay between Tripolis and Theoprosopon (Ras Shakka); and it is apparently the same as the Tridis of the 'Itin. Hierosol.', twelve Roman miles from Tripolis ; it is now probably Enfeh.
[6] Beirut. At the time of its destruction by the earthquake of 551 A.D., Berytus was celebrated for its splendour and for its university, in which 'the rising spirits of the age' studied the civil law. After the catastrophe the school was removed for a time to Sidon.
[7] In the Antioch earthquake 250,000 persons are said to have perished.
English from Stewart (1885)- embedded
- see bottom of page 1 starting with
Thence we came into the parts of Syria- from Stewart (1885:1-3)
- from archive.org
Locations
This is the closest thing we have to a post earthquake survey. A summary of observations is listed below:
Location Reported Damage Tripolis destroyed Byblos destroyed Treiris destroyed Berytus (Beirut) destroyed Sidon partially ruined Online Versions and Further Reading References
Notes Observations by Ambraseys (2009)Ambraseys (2009) supplied the following discussion about this source:
The only original Latin source for this event is an itinerary attributed to Antoninus of Placentia (Piacenza), dating from the sixth century AD. The writer must have visited the area after AD 565, since he refers to an earthquake 'in the time of Justinian' He must have, therefore, visited not long after this, for he was told of it by the Bishop of Berytus, who was probably an eye-witness, and he also records that Sidon is described as ruined in part. In addition to noting that Tripoli and Byblus collapsed, and that at least 30,000 people died in Beirut, he mentions that a place called Trianis collapsed in the earthquake. The location of this town is not certain, but it seems to have been somewhere between Botrys and Tripoli; al-Heri in the bay of Shekka has been suggested, as has Enfe, on the coast 20 km southwest of Tripoli, or Shamarra (Stein 1950, ii, 757 n. 5).