The year 864 [552-553]:
Extensive and severe earthquakes took place in which many |cities and villages| in the land of Syria collapsed
1
In the month of Haziran (June) of this year,
a severe and powerful earthquake occurred, in addition to the other ones.
Numerous cities collapsed, as did the cities of Phoenicia — that is Arabia and Palestine, Beirut, Tripolis, Tyre, Sidon,
Sarepta, Byblos, Antarados, and the rest of their towns, villages and districts fell and were ruined. Because of sins,
many people were buried in their houses in the wrath, as were the cattle and other things.
...
The year 868 [556-557]:
2
A powerful earthquake took place in which the city of Botrys
3 collapsed.
4
And the great mountain that was called the "Stone Face"
5 broke off and fell in the sea. So when
Botrys of Phoenicia, which is on the seashore, collapsed in the powerful earthquake, the great mountain close
to it, called the "Stone Face," suddenly shook and was rent from the violence of the quake. A big portion
detached from it and fell in the sea, and the earthquake sent it out further to sea. It came down and
obstructed much of the front of the city, with the sea moving inside it. It had one passage on one side
that became a great and admirable harbour; /p.133/ neither centenaria of gold nor the diligence of kings
could build one like it. It became such a great and spacious harbour that accommodated inside it great ships,
that everyone was marvelling and admiring God's providence, for even in his wrath graces are mixed. As for
Justinian the Emperor, he sent ample gold to all the cities that had collapsed in the earthquake. And
little by little they were rebuilt and their walls were repaired, while the evil will of those who
survived neither changed nor weakened substantially.
...
The year 870 [558-559]:
6
A powerful earthquake took place, and Beirut as well as many other coastal cities and villages in Galilee,
Arabia, Palestine and Samaria collapsed. Also the sea retreated and drew back for about two miles, all along Phoenicia.
We wanted to put into writing, for the instruction of future generations, an account of the terrible disaster and
the great and wondrous sign that occurred in Beirut, a city in Phoenicia, when the earthquake took place and
cities collapsed. /p.134/ For when the terrible earthquake suddenly happened, the sea from the city of Beirut
and the other cities along the seashore of Phoenicia, fell back, withdrew, retreated and fled away as far as
two miles in distance, at God's command. Thus the awesome depths of the sea became visible, and many great and
amazing objects were seen. Ships loaded with various cargoes sunk. Others, moored in the harbours, due to the
sudden withdrawal of the sea from the land, went down and settled on the bottom, after they had collided and broken up,
when the sea left them and pulled back at the command of its Lord.
Since this terrible disaster was meant to shock people, in order that it might lead them to grief and repentance,
they should have despised not only material things but especially their own lives, in view of this horrible spectacle of wrath,
that they witnessed. But they behaved like Pharaoh; their hearts were hardened like Pharaoh's, not by God, as it is written,
7
but here by Satan. The inhabitants of coastal cities and villages, with determined insolence and hardness of heart, rushed into the
great sea in order to pillage impressive, hidden treasures that were at the bottom of the sea, because of the beguiling avarice
that was destroying their lives. As thousands of people, with fatal passion, rushed to the bottom of the sea and began to carry
off treasures, hurrying to bring them up, others, when they saw those carrying the wealth of their perdition, rushed with great
eagerness so as not to be deprived of the hidden treasures that had suddenly come to light because of the earthquake.
While some were rushing down to the bottom, /p.135/ and while others were busy above, and still others were doing their best in between,
and while all of them without distinction were walking along proudly, then, at an invisible sign, the immensity of the terrible sea
suddenly ran to return to its former depths, engulfing and burying in the abyss of its immense depths all those wretched ones, who
pursued wealth from the great deep. Like Pharaoh, they went down to the bottom and sank like stones, as it is written.
8 The Lord
brought the waters of the sea back over them, when the stream resumed its way and returned to its former depth. When those who
were still on the outer shore began a hasty descent, those close to the dry land retreated, upon seeing the immense height of
the sea rushing back to its former bed. While they were trying to escape, as it were from hunters, a severe earthquake occurred,
which shook the buildings of the cities, especially those of Beirut. They collapsed and crushed those who fled from the sea
while not one of them survived. For when the sea rose up against them from behind, the earthquake shook the city before them.
Because of their evil avarice, they were caught in the middle of two horrors, for the priestly word is also fulfilled upon them:
Though they were saved from the sea, justice did not allow them to live.
9
Thus those who went down after wealth were reduced to complete destruction. They destroyed the breath of their lives and their
corpses were found floating on the surface of the water like litter. Then when the city collapsed, fire at God's command
kindled its ruins and burned /p.136/ and blazed inside the ruins for up to two months, until even the stones burned*t and
turned into lime. Afterwards, God sent down rain from the sky for three days and three nights and extinguished the fire
that blazed in the city of Beirut. And those who had escaped from drowning in the sea and from the downfall of the city,
were cast away in the city, while injured, troubled and tormented by thirst because its aqueduct was destroyed.
When the merciful Emperor Justinian heard about (this), he sent gold and some of his well-known people, and they uncovered
and exhumed countless human corpses; they also rebuilt part of the city.
Footnotes (re-numbered from Harrak)
1 Michael IV 320 [II 262]: Earthquake dated to the 28th year of Justinian (554-555). It seems that this earthquake
and the one of the year 564-565 (see below) are doublets. It is quite possible that these doublets are part of
the same earthquake described in the years 556-557 and 558-559 (see below).
2 Michael IV 310-311 [II 246-247]. Malalas 485 [291]: (550-551). Theophanes 227-228: 14th indiction, 9 July A.M. 6043 (551).
This earthquake is a doublet of the one described in a previous account (see the year 558-559 below, and Stein, Bas-Empire II, 757 and n. 5, 828).
The earthquake of 558-559 seems to be the same as the ones of the year 552-553 (see this date above) and 564-565 (see below).
3 | |: Sic. A | | was added later to conform it with | | found elsewhere. Bar Hebraeus mentioned | | and other cities in Phoenicia
that fell in the earthquake, thus confusing Botrys with Troas, the city in Northwest Anatolia; Chr., 81 [76]. Botrys is modern Batrun,
between Tripolis and Jubayl in northern Lebanon.
4 A very inaccurate translation of this account is found in the monograph by J. P. Brown, The Lebanon and Phoenicia, I, Beirut, 1969, 132-35;
see Brock's review of this monograph in JSS 16 (1971) pp. 111-13.
5 | |: Syriac translation of | | in Malalas and Theophanes;
6 Land, Anecdota II, 326:15-328:18. Michael IV 311 [II 247]: 31st year of Justinian (557-558). This earthquake and the
one dated to 556-557 (see above) are doublets; see Stein, Bas-Empire II, 757 and n. 6, 828. This earthquake seems to be
also the same as the ones described in the year 552-553 (see above) and the year 564-565 (see below).
7 Cf Exodus 10:20 etc.
8 Exodus 15:5.
9 Acts 28:4.
