717 CE Quake

Textual Evidence

Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Biographical Info	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes
Chronology, Location, and Damage Reports from Textual Sources
Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre	Syriac	Biography This Syriac text also known as the Chronicle of Zuqnin is now thought to have been composed by a monk from the Zuqnin monastery rather than Dionysius of Tell-Mahre - hence the cognomen Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre. Parts 3 and 4 cover events from 488 - 775 CE. There is apparently a debate over its date of composition with some scholars suggesting it was composed in the 9th century CE rather than the late 8th century CE as the text would indicate - it ends in 775 CE. Harrak (1999) opines on the opening page of his translation that it was composed in 775 CE by a West Syrian Monk - probably Joshua (the Stylite) of the monastery of Zuqnin. If Harrak is correct, this is a contemporaneous source. The work is preserved in a single handwritten manuscript (Cod. Vat. 162), now in the Vatican (shelf mark Vatican Syriac 162).	Eastern Christian	750-775 CE	Zuqnin Monastery	Pseudo Dionysius of Tell-Mahre, a near contemporaneous source living in the region, wrote that a powerful and dreadful earthquake took place and destroyed many places, shrines, churches and great buildings, particularly in (Beth) Ma'de, as well as the Old Church of Edessa where large and high buildings collapsed on their inhabitants. He dated the earthquake to A.G. 1029 (1 Oct. 717 to 30 Sept. 718 CE).
Theophanes	Greek	Biography Theophanes (c. 758/60-817/8) wrote the Chronicle in Greek during the years 810-815 CE as a continuation of George Syncellus' Chronicle. Theophanes' Chronicle covers the period from 284 CE, where the Chronicle of George Synkellos ends, until 813 CE (Neville, 2018:61). Neville (2018:61) notes that Theophanes explains that George had asked him to complete the task of compiling the history and had given Theophanes the materials he had gathered. Neville (2018:61) describes Theophanes' Chronicle as follows: It is one of few Byzantine texts that is a true chronicle, in that it enumerates every year, and lists events for each year. The entry for each year begins with a listing of the year of the world, the year since the Incarnation, the regnal year of the Roman Emperor, the Persian Emperor, and the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch. After the conquest of the Persian Empire, it uses years of the rulers of the Arabs in place of the Persian Emperors. Despite the impression of chronological accuracy, many of these dates are mistaken. Scholars also debate whether these dates were integral to Theophanes’ original Chronicle or were added by a later copyist. Mango and Scott (1997:xci) characterize Theophanes' Chronicle as a "file" of sources and list at least 17 sources which informed his Chronicle (Mango and Scott, 1997:lxxiv-lxxxii). Hoyland (2011:10) noted that Theophanes made extensive use of an "eastern source" for events in Muslim-ruled lands during the the time period of the 630s-740s and continued to narrate events occurring in Muslim-ruled lands, until ca. 780 either making use of another chronicle for these three decades or, more likely, [] had at his disposal a continuation of the ‘eastern source’. Theophanes' ‘eastern source’ has been the source of much scholarly investigation and debate.	Orthodox (Byzantium)	810-815 CE	Vicinity of Constantinople	Theophanes wrote that a violent earthquake had occurred in Syria. In typical fashion, he supplied a variety of not entirely consistent time markers which constrain the date of the earthquake approximately between 25 Mar. 717 and 24 March 719 CE.
Chronicon ad annum 846	Syriac	Background Brock (1976:21) described Chronicon ad annum 846 as a world chronicle, which is preserved in BM. Add. 14642, fols. 1-36, of the tenth century and which relies heavily on the Chronicle of Zuqnin. Brock (1976:21) adds that the folios covering the seventh century have mostly been lost, and the only surviving entries are for the following years (Seleucid era): A.G. 912, 914, 921, 990, 991, 992, 994, 995, 996, 999, 1006, 1008, and 1010.	Christian	846 CE ?		Chronicon ad annum 846 wrote that there was a great earthquake on the 24th of December, possibly in the 3rd hour of the night (~9 pm) in 717 CE. No locations were specified.
Elias of Nisibis	Syriac and Arabic	Biography Elias of Nisibis was a cleric of the Church of the East, who served as bishop of Beth Nuhadra (1002–1008) and archbishop of Nisibis (1008–1046) (wikipedia). He wrote a number of texts but is best known for Chronography which he composed in the early 11th century CE. Enclclopedia Iranica describes Chronography as follows: His renowned Chronography on history is preserved in a single manuscript with only a few major lacunae. It is divided into two parts, in Syriac with Arabic translation following each paragraph for most of the first part. The first part, modeled on the Chronicle of Eusebius, treats universal and ecclesiastical history up to 1018 C.E. in the form of tables, usually with accurate references given to the sources. The second part is a manual of the different calendars used in the Orient.	Church of the East	Early 11th c.	Nusaybin, Turkey	Elias of Nisibis wrote that there was an earthquake of land in Mesopotamia where many houses collapsed followed by continual earthquakes for six months. There appears to have been a typographic or scribal error in his date which, when corrected, specified a date of 24 Dec. 717 CE in agreement with Chronicon ad annum 846.
Al-Isfahani	Arabic	Biography Al-Isfahani, born in Isfahan in 948 CE, was renowned as a scholar of the hadith (J. Pedersen in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 1, 1991:142-143). Starting in 967 CE, he traveled in Iraq. He wrote several books and died in Isfahan in 1038 CE (J. Pedersen in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 1, 1991:142-143).	Sufi ? Muslim	before 1038 CE	Isfahan ?	Al-Isfahani wrote that earthquakes recurred and lasted for six months in A.H. 98 (25 Aug. 716 - 13 August 717 CE). He did not specify any locations.
as-Suyuti	Arabic	Biography as-Suyuti is presently recognized as the most prolific author in the whole of Islamic literature (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). He was widely read and famous across the Islamic world during his lifetime and was known for extreme self-confidence in his mental abilities (e.g. he had memorized 200,000 hadiths and was a polymath) which mingled with arrogance and created acrimonious relations inside Egypt (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9 (1991:913-916) describes his procedure as scientific in so far as he quotes his sources with precision and presents them in a critical way and states that he cannot be considered as a mere compiler. He may have authored close to a thousand books writing on many subjects (e.g., History, Biography) besides religion and Islamic jurisprudence. as-Suyuti was born in Egypt in 1445 CE and at the age of eighteen taught Shafi'i law at the mosque of Shaykhu and gave juridicial consultations. In 1472 CE, he became a teacher of hadith at the same mosque. In 1486 CE at the age of 40, as-Suyuti retired from public life. By 1501 CE, he had completely isolated himself in his home on Rawda Island in Cairo where he worked on the editing and revision of his literary works. He died there in 1505 CE (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). His book Clearing up the Description of Earthquakes is a valuable reference for historical earthquakes and is one of the earliest extant earthquake catalogs.	Sufi Muslim	15th c. CE	Cairo	as-Suyuti wrote that earthquakes happened again for forty days in A.H. 99 (14 Aug. 717 - 2 Aug, 718 CE). Locations were not specified.
Text (with hotlink)	Original Language	Biographical Info	Religion	Date of Composition	Location Composed	Notes

Chronology, Location, and Damage Reports from Textual Sources

Chronology

**Date**
Date	Author	Date of Composition	Notes
1 Oct. 717 to 30 Sept. 718 CE	Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre	775 CE
~25 Mar. 717 to ~24 March 719 CE	Theophanes	810-815 CE
24 Dec. 717 CE	Chonicon ad annum 846	846 CE ?	specified that the earthquake struck at the third hour - possibly the third hour of the night
24 Dec. 717 CE	Elias of Nisibis	Early 11th c. CE	Correction was required - chaging Jumada II to Jumada I
25 Aug. 716 - 13 August 717 CE	Al-Isfahani	before 1038 CE
14 Aug. 717 - 2 Aug, 718 CE	as-Suyuti	15th c. CE

Location

**Locations**
Location	Author	Date of Composition
(Beth) Ma'de¹ Edessa Footnotes 1 [Syriac Text]: For [Syriac Text], a village in the Tur-'Abdin, between Tella and Amida and to the north of them.	Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre	775 CE
Syria	Theophanes	810-815 CE
none specified	Chonicon ad annum 846	846 CE ?
Mesopotamia	Elias of Nisibis	Early 11th c. CE
none specified	Al-Isfahani	before 1038 CE
none specified	as-Suyuti	15th c. CE

Seismic Effects

**Seismic Effects**
Seismic Effects	Author	Date of Composition
A powerful and dreadful earthquake took place and destroyed many places, shrines, churches and great buildings, particularly in (Beth) Ma'de, as well as the Old Church of Edessa. Large and high buildings collapsed on their inhabitants. The earthquake left marks on even the ones that remained standing	Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre	775 CE
a violent earthquake had occurred in Syria	Theophanes	810-815 CE
there was a great earthquake	Chonicon ad annum 846	846 CE ?
there was an earthquake of land in Mesopotamia Many houses collapsed There were continual earthquakes for six months	Elias of Nisibis	Early 11th c. CE
earthquakes recurred and lasted for six months	Al-Isfahani	before 1038 CE
earthquakes happened again for forty days	as-Suyuti	15th c. CE

Chronicle of Zuqnin (aka Annals Part IV) by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre

Background and Biography

This Syriac text also known as the Chronicle of Zuqnin is now thought to have been composed by a monk from the Zuqnin monastery rather than Dionysius of Tell-Mahre - hence the cognomen Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre. Parts 3 and 4 cover events from 488 - 775 CE. There is apparently a debate over its date of composition with some scholars suggesting it was composed in the 9th century CE rather than the late 8th century CE as the text would indicate - it ends in 775 CE. Harrak (1999) opines on the opening page of his translation that it was composed in 775 CE by a West Syrian Monk - probably Joshua (the Stylite) of the monastery of Zuqnin. If Harrak is correct, this is a contemporaneous source. The work is preserved in a single handwritten manuscript (Cod. Vat. 162), now in the Vatican (shelf mark Vatican Syriac 162).

Excerpts

English from Harrak (1999)

Part 4
from Harrak (1999:160)

(717-718) The year one thousand and twenty-nine:

A powerful and dreadful earthquake took place and destroyed many places, shrines, churches and great buildings, particularly in (Beth) Ma'de,¹ as well as the Old Church of Edessa.² Large and high buildings collapsed on their inhabitants. The earthquake left marks on even the ones that remained standing, so that their inhabitants might tremble before the Lord, whenever they would see the earthquake's marks. ...

Footnotes

1 [Syriac Text]: For [Syriac Text], a village in the Tur-'Abdin, between Tella and Amida and to the north of them.

2 Same date in Theophanes 399 (A.M. 6210) and Michael IV 457 [II 490], Chronicon 846 p. 234:19-21 [177]: Friday, the 3rd hour, 24 [December] S. 1029 (717). Elias I 162: (January) H. 99 (718).

Syriac - embedded

not bookmarked
from archive.org

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
1 Oct. 717 to 30 Sept. 718 CE	A.G. 1029	none	Calculated using CHRONOS

Seismic Effects

A powerful and dreadful earthquake took place and destroyed many places, shrines, churches and great buildings, particularly in (Beth) Ma'de, as well as the Old Church of Edessa.
Large and high buildings collapsed on their inhabitants.
The earthquake left marks on even the ones that remained standing

Locations

(Beth) Ma'de¹
Edessa

Footnotes

1 [Syriac Text]: For [Syriac Text], a village in the Tur-'Abdin, between Tella and Amida and to the north of them.

Sources

Sources according to Harrak (1999)

Part 3

Harrak (1999:28) discussed sources in Part 3

The sources of Part III have already been identified by Witakowski,² and they are given in the footnotes of the present translation where appropriate. The second part of the Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus is the major source of Part III.³ ... Thus in Part III, our Chronicler was a mere copyist, writing down existing statements even in the first person.

Footnotes

2 Witakowski, OrSu 40 (1991) pp. 252ff.

3 See Van Ginkel, John of Ephesus: A Monophysite Historian in Sixth-Century Byzantium

Part 4

Harrak (1999:28-32) discussed sources in Part 4

In the introduction to Part IV, he bemoans the fact that he was unable to find "reliable" sources dealing with the period between A.D. 586, which ends the Ecclesiastical History of John of Ephesus, and the year A.D. 775, "apart from some bits and pieces". Despite the Chronicler's claim that he used few sources, Conrad has recently suggested that Part IV is a composition of four layers, each composed by a different author.^6a In support of his conclusion, Conrad noticed two misplaced events within the chronological frame of Part IV, the first being the earthquake in Edessa of 717-718, which was placed after the entry for the year 731-732, and the second being the shooting stars episode of 742-743, which was placed after the account of the year 748-749. In these misplacements as well as in the Chronicler's supposed mistranslations of the Arabism musawwadah (even though he knew Arabic),^1b Conrad saw a change of authors.

The reasons Conrad gives for his conclusion that Part IV is comprised of four layers are open to question.^2b First, misplacing events is a common phenomenon in Part IV, even in the section which has been assigned to the Chronicler by common scholarly consent (see below).^3b So, for example, the event of 760-761 (the rebuilding of Malatya of Cappadocia by the Arabs) was placed after an event in 763-764 (epidemic of horses). The flood of the Tigris which occurred in 762-763 was placed after 764-765, the year in which Severus, Bishop of Amida, died. This lack of concern for precise chronological sequence cannot be ascribed to a change of author or authors but must be attributed to the Chronicler himself, who, furthermore, explicitly states in his introduction that he was unconcerned about such trivia: "It is of no consequence to intelligent and God-fearing people if an event is dated one year earlier or one or two years later ..."^4b This unorthodox practice of our Chronicler is vividly pointed up by parallel accounts in Syriac, Greek and Arabic, which have been noted in the present translation, and which offer dates of events often at variance with the Chronicler's.

Second, the Chronicler clearly understood the Arabism musawwadah, despite the fact that he partially mistranslated it. In the passage where we find the Arabism, he writes as follows about the 'Abbasids: "All their clothes were black ... and for this reason they were called musawwadah."^5b Yet, he failed to give a literal translation of this Arabism into Syriac, translating it simply "black" instead of "black-cloaked", as did Theophanes, the 9th-century Byzantine historian, who more aptly translated it as [Greek text].^6b Near the end of his work, our Chronicler committed a genuine mistake, when he confused an Arabic case ending, by rendering Arabic 'yn fin 'bny flny instead of 'yn fin 'bnw flny "where is so-and-so son of so-and-so?".^7b

Although it is not possible to determine precisely at what point in Part IV we should begin speaking of the Chronicler's uniquely personal contribution, one can start at least from folio 128 onward. In this folio the Chronicler wrote about the death of the Ummayad Caliph Hisham and the political upheaval that followed it; he dated these events to S. 1055 (A.D. 743-744). He then wrote an account about a famine and a bubonic plague that occurred in Syria in the year Hisham died. It is revealing that in his description of the mid-8th-century plague, the Chronicler used the lengthy narrative of John of Ephesus about the Great Plague of Justinian's reign as a model. Though he had previously copied verbatim the account of John of Ephesus for Part III of his Chronicle, in Part IV, the Chronicler reproduced John's outline, leading ideas, and individual expressions, including even the jeremiad, from John's account of the Great Plague. In other words, John's account was used by our Chronicler as a kind of mould into which he poured his own information about the plague that occurred during his own lifetime.

...

In light of the various pieces of information we have been able to uncover, the Chronicler seems to have composed the history of the period between 743 and 775. The fact that in 775 A.D. he wrote from memory about events dated as early as 743 A.D. means that his contribution covered the history of at least 32 years, using oral and personal information. This span of time is well within the range of human memory. The early section of Part IV, comprising events dated to the 7th and early 8th centuries, may well be based on written sources of some kind, as well as on oral tales about holy men. The written items were mostly lists of dates that furnished the Chronicler with conflicting data, about which he himself complains, as we have noted above. Palmer has given some indication as to the nature of the sources from which the Chronicler drew information about the 7th century,^1c but nothing more can be said about their authors.

In addition to the scant written sources and oral traditions used in the early portion of Part IV, the Chronicler had recourse to "old people" and other eyewitnesses, including himself, as sources of information for most of Part IV. This explains why his information is so plentiful and often very detailed. Sometimes he explicitly refers to his oral sources^1d and at least on one occasion hints at his personal skepticism, when he valiantly attempts to justify their testimony. Such is the case of the rainbow reported to have been seen by some, turned upside down. The Chronicler felt obliged to add the note: "If someone does not want to believe this matter, let him search in the preceding chapters where he will find an occurrence just like it."^2d He also discloses when and where he was himself witness to an event, as in the following passage dealing with Christians who apostatised to Islam: "I was in Edessa at this time for some event that took place there ... "^3d

Some 58 folios out of the 179 of Codex Zuqninensis were devoted to the writing Part IV of the Chronicle. To write his own personal contribution, the Chronicler filled 51 out of the 58 folios of Part IV. In other words, nearly 29% of the entire Chronicle and almost 88% of Part IV is the author's own contribution.

Footnotes

6a Conrad, "Syriac Perspectives on Bilad al-Sham During the Abbasid Period," 24-26.

1b See below p. 179. 2

2b Hoyland, Seeing Islam as Others Saw it, chapter 8, also expressed doubt about Conrad's conclusion.

3b Tisserant noticed the same phenomenon in other parts of the Chronicle; Codex, xii. 4

4b See below p. 139. 5

5b See below p. 179. 6

6b See below p. 178 n. 1.

7b See below p. 330 and n. 11.

1c See Palmer, The seventh Century in the West-Syrian Chronicles, 69f.

1d See below p. 212. 2

2d See below p. 213. The earlier information is found in Chabot, Chronicon I, 263:20-21 and Chronicon II, 4:7-12 (below p. 39).

3d See below p. 328.

Background Information

Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre vs. Dionysius of Tell-Mahre

Annals by Dionysius of Tell-Mahre and Annals by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre are not the same work nor were they composed by the same author. Annals by Dionysius of Tell-Mahre is largely lost. It only exists in fragments. Annals by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre is extant. Annals by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre is also known as the Chronicle of Zuqnin as it is thought to have been composed by a monk at the monastery of Zuqnin before it was falsley attributed to Dionysius of Tell-Mahre - hence the reason why the author is referred to as Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre. To complicate matters further, Chabot (1895) published a French translation of Annals by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre which he mistakenly titled Annals by Dionysius of Tell-Mahre. Well, it was actually titled Annals by Denys of Tell-Mahre which is another name for Dionysius of Tell-Mahre.

Online Versions and Further Reading

Online versions including the supposed autograph (original copy)

The sole surviving manuscript at the Vatican (Cod. Vat. 162) - This manuscript is claimed by some to be the autograph - the first draft of the manuscript. No further recension, or copy, is known.

Annals Part by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre in Syriac at archive.org

References

Harrak (2017:xvi) notes major sources identified in Parts I and II of the Zugnin Chronicle had been discussed in great detail by Witakowski.

Witakowski, Study, p. 124-135

Witakowski, "The Sources of Pseudo-Dionysius of Tel-Mahre for the Second Part of his Chronicle," in J.O. Rosenqvist (ed.), AEIMΩN Studies Presented to Lennart Ryden on his Sixty-Fifth Birthday (Uppsala, 1996), pp. 181-210

Witakowski, "Sources of Pseudo-Dionysius of Tel-Mahre for the Christian Epoch of the First Part of his Chronicle," in G.J. Reinink and A.C. Klugkist (eds.), After Bardaisan: Studies on Continuity and Change in Syriac Christianity in Honour of Professor Han J.W. Drijvers (Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Department Oosterse Studies, 1999), pp. 329-366.

text in original Syriac

The sole surviving manuscript (Cod. Vat. 162) at the Vatican - online and open access

Manuscript Cod. Vat. 162 is claimed by some to be the autograph - the first draft of the manuscript. No further recension, or copy, is known.

Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre at syri.ac

Wikipedia page for the Zunqin Chronicle - many links and references

Chronicle of Theophanes

Background and Biography

Theophanes (c. 758/60-817/8) wrote the Chronicle in Greek during the years 810-815 CE as a continuation of George Syncellus' Chronicle. Theophanes' Chronicle covers the period from 284 CE, where the Chronicle of George Synkellos ends, until 813 CE (Neville, 2018:61). Neville (2018:61) notes that Theophanes explains that George had asked him to complete the task of compiling the history and had given Theophanes the materials he had gathered. Neville (2018:61) describes Theophanes' Chronicle as follows:

It is one of few Byzantine texts that is a true chronicle, in that it enumerates every year, and lists events for each year. The entry for each year begins with a listing of the year of the world, the year since the Incarnation, the regnal year of the Roman Emperor, the Persian Emperor, and the bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch. After the conquest of the Persian Empire, it uses years of the rulers of the Arabs in place of the Persian Emperors. Despite the impression of chronological accuracy, many of these dates are mistaken. Scholars also debate whether these dates were integral to Theophanes’ original Chronicle or were added by a later copyist.

Mango and Scott (1997:xci) characterize Theophanes' Chronicle as a "file" of sources and list at least 17 sources which informed his Chronicle (Mango and Scott, 1997:lxxiv-lxxxii). Hoyland (2011:10) noted that Theophanes made extensive use of an "eastern source" for events in Muslim-ruled lands during the the time period of the 630s-740s and continued to narrate events occurring in Muslim-ruled lands, until ca. 780 either making use of another chronicle for these three decades or, more likely, [] had at his disposal a continuation of the ‘eastern source’. Theophanes' ‘eastern source’ has been the source of much scholarly investigation and debate.

Excerpts

English from Mango and Scott (1997)

from Mango and Scott (1997:550)

AM 6210 [AD 717/18]
Year of the divine Incarnation 710

Leo, 2nd year
Oumaros, leader of the Arabs (2 years), 1st year
Germanus, 4th year
John, 13th year

... In the same year, after a violent earthquake had occurred in Syria^d

Footnotes

d Cf. Chr. 846, 177, 24 Dec.AG 1029; Mich. Syr.

English from Mango and Scott (1997) - embedded

see the start of the bottom paragraph of page 550 starting with In the same year, after a violent earthquake had occurred in Syria
from Mango and Scott (1997:550)
from archive.org

English from Turtledove (1982)- embedded

see the middle of page 91 starting with In the same year, because there had been a strong earthquake
from Turtledove (1982:91)
from archive.org

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
25 Mar. 717 to 24 Mar. 718 CE	A.M._a 6210	none	calculated using CHRONOS If we use Grumel's (1934:398-402) synchronisms, A.M._a 6210 is in synchronism MA and the A.M._a year should start in March (see Theophanes' Calendaric Inconsistencies under Notes)
25 March 718 to 24 March 719 CE	divine incarnation year 710	none	Calculated using CHRONOS
25 Mar. 718 to 24 Mar. 719 CE	Leo, 2nd year	none	calculated using CHRONOS reign started 25 March 717 CE
22 Sept. 717 to 21 Sept. 718 CE	Oumaros, leader of the Arabs (2 years), 1st year	none	calculated using CHRONOS reign started 22 Sept. 717 CE
1 Jan. 718 to 30 Dec. 719 CE	Germanus, 4th year	none	calculated using CHRONOS consecrated in 715 CE

Seismic Effects

a violent earthquake had occurred in Syria

Locations

Syria

Sources

Source Discussions

Natural phenomenon in Theophanes

Conterno (2014:106-107) considers the following regarding reports of natural phenomenon in Theophanes:

However, in examining this type of information two aspects must be kept in mind: on the one hand the fact that they represented the main content of the chronological lists linked to the city archives, on the other hand the fact that events of this type could very likely be the subject of independent recording by several sources and, especially in the case of the most impressive phenomena, their memory could also be passed down orally for a long time. The importance of the registers of the archives of Antioch and Edessa in relation to the Syriac and Greek chronicles was highlighted by Muriel Debié. As emerges from one of his studies, in fact, the registers of documents kept in the city and patriarchal archives - the so-called "archive books" - probably also contained annotations, in calendar or annalistic form, of the most relevant local events, references to which they could be contained in the documents and administrative acts themselves: construction of buildings, destruction due to wars or fires and floods, natural disasters and exceptional events of various kinds (plagues, famines, eclipses and other astronomical phenomena ...)

From these registers, short chronological lists were extracted and circulated independently and from which authors of both Greek and Syriac chronicles could draw, as can be seen from the testimony of Giovanni Malalas. To these must also be added the episcopal lists, lists of rulers and lists of synods and councils, and it is precisely to these thematic lists, which circulated independently and in different versions, that the material centered on Edessa, Antioch and Amida which is found in the later chronicles. According to Debié, any dating discrepancies found in the various chronicles can be attributed, on the one hand, to the fact that the chroniclers had different lists available and often crossed the data from the lists with those taken from other chronicles; on the other hand, the probable difficulties encountered by chroniclers in matching the different dating systems or in obtaining absolute datings from chrono related logies, or even to their precise intention to modify the chronological data for ideological reasons. Debié therefore hypothesizes a large production and circulation of these lists, which in fact constituted a concrete form of scheduling relevant events at the local level, primarily for practical purposes. Being instruments of use rather than compositions of a historiographical nature, they were not intended to cover very large periods, but were rather relatively short clips. An aspect that emerges clearly from his study, moreover, is that in these lists the relative chronology was just as and perhaps more important than the absolute one, since the fixing of memorable facts and their concatenation was essentially aimed at establish reference points for the chronological location of other events.

Theophanes' 7th and 8th century Sources

The 'Eastern Source'

The three earliest Byzantine sources (Paul the Deacon, Anastasius Bibliothecarius, and Theophanes in that order¹) speak of two earthquakes separated by 3 years. The similarity of the ten Byzantine accounts, dates of composition, and the distance of the authors from the region (e.g., writing in Constantinople or Italy) suggests that the accounts are derived from a shared local source(s) and each other. None of the three earliest Byzantine authors could have experienced the earthquakes firsthand. As none of the Byzantine authors cite a source, the shared source - often referred to as the ‘eastern source’ - is a matter of conjecture². Several scholars (e.g., Brooks, 1906) have suggested that the ‘eastern source’ was cobbled together by a Melkites³ monk who wrote around 780 CE. After civil unrest led to the dissolution of Melkite monasteries in Palestine and Syria, a number of Melkite Monks ended up in Constantinople in 813 CE (Brooks, 1906:587). One of the monks may have brought this text with him – a text that would eventually find its way into the hands of Theophanes. How this source was cobbled together is also a matter of conjecture. Two authors whose works are now lost have been proposed as promising candidates in providing source material - John son of Samuel of whom nothing is known beyond that he lived in Western Syria and Theophilus of Edessa. Theophilus, who wrote in Greek, Syriac, and Arabic, was in his 50’s and living in the region when the earthquakes struck⁴. John’s Chronicle is thought to have ended in 746 CE (supposedly⁵) and the unknown editor of ~780 CE may have been a continuator – meaning he added his own version of events from ~746 to ~780 CE. He may have also incorporated Theophilus’ text, simply used Theophilus alone, or used other texts and information. Further, he may have been a redactor meaning that he modified John and/or Theophilus’ original text in addition to adding his own events. Some hypothetical possibilities are shown in Fig. 2. However this ‘eastern source’ came to be, since the Byzantine accounts write about earthquakes which affected Palestine, Syria, and Jazira (northern Mesopotamia), it would appear that the original report(s) of these earthquakes came from these territories.

Footnotes

1 Although Anastasius Bibliothecarius wrote after Theophanes, Neil (1998:46) points out that Anastasius likely based his account on an earlier non-extant and perhaps ‘unfinished’ version of Theophanes thus making his account effectively older than the extant copies of Theophanes we currently have access to.

2 Brooks (1906:587) was one of the first scholars to hypothesize about who wrote the ‘eastern source’. Subsequent work on the subject is discussed in multiple publications including but not limited to Proudfoot (1974), Mango and Scott (1997: lxxxii – lxxxiv), Conrad (1992, 2004), Hoyland, (2011:10), and Conterno (2014).

3 Melkites were supporters of the Council of Chalcedon (i.e., Chalcedonians) who resided in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In the church schisms of the time, Chalcedonians were allied with the same faction as Byzantine writers such as Theophanes and wrote in Greek and Syriac thus producing texts which could have been read by the Greek reading Byzantine authors.

4 Theophilus’ Lost Chronicle is known to have directly informed Arabic writer Agapius of Menbig and indirectly informed later Syriac authors such as Michael the Syrian and Chronicon Ad Annum 1234 (Hoyland, 2011:11-15). All three of these authors wrote about the Sabbatical Year Quakes.

5 The dates of the Sabbatical Year Earthquakes may suggest that it ended in 749 CE.

Hypothetical dependencies for Theophanes' eastern source

Figure 2 - Three hypothetical source dependencies for Theophanes. Dashed arrows indicate uncertain textual transmission. Solid lines are certain. Other Sources refers to some of the many sources thought to have informed Theophanes Chronicle. Mango and Scott (1997: lxxiv-lxxxviii), for example, list 20 possible sources for different time periods and subjects. Other local source refers to unknown sources of information for the Continuator. Alternative source dependencies are also possible. - Williams (in press)

Proudfoot (1974)'s discussion of the 'Eastern Source'

Proudfoot (1974:405-409) summarized Brook's pioneering work on Theophanes' eastern source in several run on sentences (only the first part is shown below)

Exposition of this source might profitably be preceded by discussion of the pioneer studies of Brooks towards identification of the common source underlying much of the seventh and early eighth century narratives of Theophanes and Michael the Syrian, the development and the corroboration of this work in the light of more recently published primary sources and of other chronicle traditions, and its contribution to the emerging perspective of a single Byzantino-Syriac tradition for the historiography of the seventh century. A Monophysite Syriac chronicle extending to 746 written soon after that date by the otherwise unknown John son of Samuel and citing an unknown chronicle composed 724-31 (wherein much of the more detailed material was attributable to a source written either within or on the frontier of the Caliphate before 717) (2) was transmitted to Theophanes through the intermediary of a Melchite monk of Palestine writing in Greek c. 780 whose work was brought to Constantinople in 813 after the dissolution of the Syrian monasteries and the dispersal of their personnel, and to Michael the Syrian through Denis of Tellmahre -writing c. 843-6, while the chronicle dated to 724-31 was one of the sources of the monk of Karthamin whose work was written c.785 and continued as the Chronicon ad 846 pertinens (3). The last notice Theophanes drew from the Melchite continuator of the common source was apparently (780) the persecution of Christians by al-Mandi (775-85) the first caliph of the Abbasid jihad ...

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Brooks, E. W. (1906). "The sources of Theophanes and the Syriac chroniclers." Byzantinische Zeitschrift 15(2): 578-587.

Conterno, M. (2014). La “descrizione dei tempi” all’alba dell’espansione islamica Un’indagine sulla storiografia greca, siriaca e araba fra VII e VIII secolo, De Gruyter.

Grumel, V. (1958). La chronologie, Presses Universitaires de France.

Hoyland, R. G. (2011). Theophilus of Edessa's Chronicle and the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, Liverpool University Press.

Mango, C., et al. (1997). The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern history, AD 284-813, Clarendon Press.

Proudfoot, A. S. (1974). "THE SOURCES OF THEOPHANES FOR THE HERACLIAN DYNASTY." Byzantion 44(2): 367-439.

Turtledove, H. (1982). "The Chronicle Of Theophanes, Trans. By Harry Turtledove ( 1982)."

Notes

Theophanes' Calendaric Inconsistencies

Author

Inconsistencies

Theophanes

Theophanes used the Alexandrian version of the Anno Mundi calendar even though it was out of favor at the time and would be obsolete by the 9th century CE. He did so because his Chronicle was a continuation of George Syncellus Chronicle which itself used the Alexandrian version of the Anno Mundi calendar. Proudfoot (1974:374) noted that the problem of whether Theophanes regarded the year as commencing on March 25 according to the Alexandrian world-year or on September 1 according to the Byzantine indiction cycle has not been resolved with [] clarity.

Theophanes

Grumel (1934:407), Proudfoot (1974:373-374), and others have pointed out that Theophanes A.M._a in the years A.M._a 6102-6206 and A.M._a 6218-6265 are frequently a year too low. The indictions, however, are thought by many more likely to be correct.

**Grumel's (1934:398-402) synchronisms**
Synchronism	Explanation
MA	Theophanes’s indictions begin in March - the start date for A.M._a
MB	Theophanes’s indictions begin in September after the March starting date for A.M._a

Note: Outside of Egypt, Indictions began on 1 September

**Grumel's (1934:398-402) synchronisms by time period**
Synchronism	Years A.M._a (approx.)	Date Range CE	Historical Markers
MA	? - 6102	? - 5 Oct. 610	until the end of the reign of Phocas (ruled 23 Nov. 602 – 5 Oct. 610 CE)
MB	6102 - 6206	5 Oct. 610 - 3 June 713	starting with the reign of Heraclius (ruled 5 Oct. 610 – 11 Feb. 641 CE) and ending right before the start of the reign of Anastasios II (aka Artemios) (ruled from 4 June 713 – 4 June 715 CE)
MA	6206 - 6220	4 June 713 CE - 24 March 728	starting with the reign of Anastasios II (aka Artemios) (ruled from 4 June 713 – 4 June 715 CE) until A.M._a 6220
MB	6221 - 6266	1 Sept. 728 - 31 Aug. 774	A.M._a6221 - 6266
MA	6267 - ?	25 March 774 - ?	A.M._a6267 - ?

Martin (1930:12-13) states the following:

The indiction runs from Sept. 1st, the Alexandrian A.M. from March 25th, but Theophanes probably dates the latter for calendar purposes from Sept. 1st², to correspond with the Indiction.
...
In two periods (607-714 and 726-774) the A.M. and the indictions do not correspond ³. It was formerly supposed that the Indictions were most likely to be correct, and therefore they must be made the foundation for a true chronology. But a suggestion was made by Bury (Later Roman Empire, II, p. 425). and worked out by Hubert (Byzant. Zeitschrift, VI, pp. 491 sqq.), that in 726 Leo III raised double taxes and put two indictions in one year, while in 774 or 775, Constantine remitted a year's taxation and spread one indiction over two years. This suggestion has been generally accepted. On the other hand, it is purely conjectural. Ginis (Das Promulgationsjahr d. Isuar. Ecloge. Byz. Zeitsch., XXIV, pp. 346 sqq.) would trace the error to Theophanes having confused the April of Indiction 10 (Sept. 1st, 726, to Aug. 31st, 727), with April of the 10th regnal year of Leo (March 25th, 725, to March 24th, 726). E.W. Brooks (Byz. Zeitsch., VIII, pp. 82 sqq.) explains the error by differences in the chronological systems of the sources used by Theophanes.

Chronicon ad annum 846

Background and Biography

Brock (1976:21) described Chronicon ad annum 846 as a world chronicle, which is preserved in BM. Add. 14642, fols. 1-36, of the tenth century and which relies heavily on the Chronicle of Zuqnin. Brock (1976:21) adds that the folios covering the seventh century have mostly been lost, and the only surviving entries are for the following years (Seleucid era): A.G. 912, 914, 921, 990, 991, 992, 994, 995, 996, 999, 1006, 1008, and 1010.

Excerpts

English from Brooks (1897)

from Brooks (1897:583-584)

And in the year 1029, [in the month of December], on the 24th of it, on the Preparation⁷, at the third [hour], on the Nativity¹, there was a great earthquake, and a voice was heard, as of many people.

Footnotes

7) El. Nis. also mentions this earthquake and places it on Fri. 15 Gum. II AH 99, i.e. Jan. 23, 718, which however was a Sunday. We must therefore correct 'Gum. I'. which gives us Dec. 24, 717, which was a Friday and agrees with our author.

1) Strictly on the Eve of the Nativity. By the 3rd hour the 3rd hour of the night is perhaps meant.

English - embedded

see bottom of page 582 starting with And in the year 1029
from Brooks (1897:583-584)
from archive.org

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
24 Dec. 717 CE	in the year A.G. 1029, [in the month of December], on the 24th of it, on the Preparation, at the third [hour], on the Nativity	none	Calculated using CHRONOS Brooks (1897:584 n.1) suggests that the 3rd hour might refer to the 3rd hour of the night due to the reference to the Nativity.

Seismic Effects

there was a great earthquake

Locations

none specified

Sources

Source discussion

Brock (1976:21) wrote that this Chronicle relies heavily on the Chronicle of Zuqnin.

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Brock, S. P. (1976). "Syriac Sources for Seventh-Century History." Byzantine and modern Greek studies 2: 17-36.

Edition: E. W. Brooks, Chronica Minora, II (CSCO Scr. Syri 3 [Louvain, 1904]), pp. 230—2.

Latin Translation in J. B. Chabot, Chronica Minora, II (CSCO Scr. Syri 4 [Louvain, 1904]), pp. 174-6

English Translation (also with Syriac text} in Brooks, 'A Syriac chronicle of the year 846', ZDMG, LI (1897), 569-88.⁵

Footnote

5 Cf. H. Buk, 'Zur altesten christlichen Chronographie des Islam', BZ, XIV (1905). 533-5.

Chronography by Elias of Nisibis (aka Elijah Bar Shinajah)

Background and Biography

Elias of Nisibis was a cleric of the Church of the East, who served as bishop of Beth Nuhadra (1002–1008) and archbishop of Nisibis (1008–1046) (wikipedia). He wrote a number of texts but is best known for Chronography which he composed in the early 11th century CE. Enclclopedia Iranica describes Chronography as follows:

His renowned Chronography on history is preserved in a single manuscript with only a few major lacunae. It is divided into two parts, in Syriac with Arabic translation following each paragraph for most of the first part. The first part, modeled on the Chronicle of Eusebius, treats universal and ecclesiastical history up to 1018 C.E. in the form of tables, usually with accurate references given to the sources. The second part is a manual of the different calendars used in the Orient.

Excerpts

English from Delaporte (1910)

from Delaporte (1910:100)

Year 99 [A.H.] Begins on Saturday 14 Ab of the year 1028 of the Greeks [August 14, 717 AD].

In which Suleiman, son of 'Abd el Malik, died. After him, 'Umar, son of 'Abd el 'Aziz, inaugurated his reign on Tuesday, 8 Safar [September 21, 717]

— In which there was an earthquake of land in Mesopotamia, on Friday 15 Gumadu II¹. Many houses collapsed. There were continual earthquakes for six months (Kuwarazmi).

Footnotes

1. 13 Gumada II was Sunday 23 January 718; What should we not read: "15 Gumada 1", which was Friday, December 24, 717?

French from Delaporte (1910)

from Delaporte (1910:100)

An 99. — A commence le samedi 14 Ab de l'an 1028 des Grecs [14 aout 717 de J.-C.].

En lequel mourut Suleiman, fils de 'Abd el Melik. Apres lui, 'Omar, fils de 'Abd el 'Aziz, inaugura son regne le mardi 8 Safar [21 septembre 717], — En lequel il y eut un tremblement de terre en Mesopolamie, le vendredi 15 Gumadu II¹, Beaucoud de maisons s'ecroulerent. Il y eut des tremblements de terre continuels pendant six mois (Kuwarazmi).

Footnotes

1. Le 13 Gumada II fut le dimanche 23 Janvier 718; ue faut-il pas lire: « le 15 Gumada 1 », qui fut le vendredi 24 decembre 717?

French from Delaporte (1910) - embedded

see towards the top of page 100 starting with An 99.
from Delaporte (1910:100)
from archive.org

Syriac - embedded

not bookmarked

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
24 Dec. 717 CE	Friday 15 Jumada I A.H. 99	Jumada II altered to Jumada I	Calculated using CHRONOS Original text specified Friday 15 Jumada II A.H. 99 which equates to 23 Jan. 718 CE and fell on a Sunday (Calculated using CHRONOS) 15 Jumada I A.H. 99 equates to 24 Dec. 717 CE and fell on a Friday A date of 24 Dec. 717 CE agrees with the date from Chronicon ad annum 846

Seismic Effects

there was an earthquake of land in Mesopotamia
Many houses collapsed
There were continual earthquakes for six months

Locations

Mesopotamia

Sources

Elias of Nisibis cited his source

Elias of Nisibis cited his sources - the lost history of Musa al-Khwarizmi’.

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

Chronography in Syriac

Bibliography from Encyclopedia Iranica

The Syriac and Arabic text of the Chronography is found in Opus chronologicum, ed. and tr. E. W. Brooks, Scriptores Syriacae, 3rd ser., VII-VIII, Paris, 1909-10 (Figure 1).

A. Baumstark, Geschichte der syrischen Literatur, Bonn, 1922, pp. 287 f.

Idem and A. Rücker, “Die aramäische und syrische Literatur,” HO I/3, Leiden, 1964, p. 196.

R. Duval, La littérature syriaque, Paris, 1899, pp. 211 f., 304, 394 f.

G. Graf, Geschichte der christlichen arabischen Literatur II, Rome, 1947, pp. 177-89.

Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser, pp. 400 ff.

Kitab tarikh sini muuk al-ard wa’l anbiya by Al-Isfahani

Kitab tarikh sini muuk al-ard wa’l anbiya by Al-Isfahani

Aliases

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Isfahani
Abu al-Fath Mahmud ibn Muhammad ibn Qasim ibn Fadl al-Isfahani
Hamza Ibn Hasan al-Isfahani
Abu Nu'aym al-Isfahani, Ahmad b. 'Abd Allah b. Ishak b. Musa b. Mihran al-Shafi'i

Background and Biography

Al-Isfahani, born in Isfahan in 948 CE, was renowned as a scholar of the hadith (J. Pedersen in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 1, 1991:142-143). Starting in 967 CE, he traveled in Iraq. He wrote several books and died in Isfahan in 1038 CE (J. Pedersen in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 1, 1991:142-143).

Excerpts

English from Ambraseys (2009)

from Ambraseys (2009)

'[After the earthquake of 94 in Antiochia] in the year a.H. 98 earthquakes recurred and lasted for six months.' (al-Isfah. 187).

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
25 Aug. 716 - 13 August 717 CE	A.H. 98	none	Calculated using CHRONOS

Seismic Effects

earthquakes recurred and lasted for six months

Locations

none specified

Online Versions and Further Reading

References

al-Isfahani, Hamza Ibn Hasan, Kitab tarikh sini muuk al-ard wa’l anbiya, ed. J. M. Gottwaldt, Leipzig, 1844–48

Bibliography from the Encyclopedia of Islam

Brockelmann, S I, 616 f

Yakut, index

Ibn Khallikan, Cairo, no. 32

Dhahabl, Tadhkirat al-Huffaz, Haydarabad 1334, iii, 275-79

Subki, Tabakat al-Shafi'iyyah, Cairo 1324, 7-9

Sha'rani, al-Tabakat al-Kubra, Cairo 1315, i, 56

Ibn al-'lmad, Shadhardt, iii, 245

NabhanI, Djami' Kardamat al-Awliya', Cairo 1329, i, 293

Clearing up the Description of Earthquakes by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti

كتاب كشف الصلصلة عن وصف الزلزلة by عبد الرحمن بن كمال الدين أبي بكر بن محمد سابق الدين خضر الخضيري الأسيوطي

Aliases

Aliases	Arabic
Al-Suyuti
As-Suyuti
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Abu 'l-Fadl 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad Djalal al_Din al-Khudayri

Background and Biography

al-Suyuti is presently recognized as the most prolific author in the whole of Islamic literature (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). He was widely read and famous across the Islamic world during his lifetime and was known for extreme self-confidence in his mental abilities (e.g. he had memorized 200,000 hadiths and was a polymath) which mingled with arrogance and created acrimonious relations inside Egypt (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9 (1991:913-916) describes his procedure as scientific in so far as he quotes his sources with precision and presents them in a critical way and states that he cannot be considered as a mere compiler. He may have authored close to a thousand books writing on many subjects (e.g., History, Biography) besides religion and Islamic jurisprudence. as-Suyuti was born in Egypt in 1445 CE and at the age of eighteen taught Shafi'i law at the mosque of Shaykhu and gave juridicial consultations. In 1472 CE, he became a teacher of hadith at the same mosque. In 1486 CE at the age of 40, as-Suyuti retired from public life. By 1501 CE, he had completely isolated himself in his home on Rawda Island in Cairo where he worked on the editing and revision of his literary works. He died there in 1505 CE (E. Geoffroy in Encyclopedia of Islam v. 9, 1991:913-916). His book Clearing up the Description of Earthquakes (Kashf as-Salsalah 'an wasf Az-zalzalak) is a valuable reference for historical earthquakes and is one of the earliest extant earthquake catalogs.

Excerpts

English from Ambraseys (2009)

from Ambraseys (2009)

In the year A.H. 98 [25 August 716 to 13 August 717] earthquakes happened again for forty days: this is what is said in al- Mirat.' (al-Suyuti 16/9)

`In the caliphate of `Umar `Abd al-'Aziz (99 Safar 10 [22 September 717]-101 Rajab 20 [5 February 720])' (al-Suyuti 17/9).

An Original Manuscript - Arabic

The Noor book courtesy of Najib Abou Karaki (personal correspondence, 2022)

Chronology


Year	Reference	Corrections	Notes
14 Aug. 717 - 2 Aug, 718 CE	A.H. 99	none	Calculated using CHRONOS

Seismic Effects

earthquakes happened again for forty days

Locations

none specified

Sources

Source according to as-Suyuti

as-Suyuti cited his source as al-Mirat' by Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

Notes and Further Reading

References

Sprenger (1843). "As-Soyuti's work on Earthquakes, ." Journal of The Asiatic Society of Bengal 12(141): 741-749.

Nejjar, S. (1973-1974). Traité du tremblement de terre / Jalal ad-Din as-Suyut'i ; trad. annotée [de l'arabe] de Saïd Nejjar. Rabat, Cahiers du centre universitaire de la recherche scientifique.

Al-Sadani, A. (1971). (Jalal-Eddine Al-Suyouti) Kasff Al-Salsala Wa Wasf Al-Zalzalah, in Arabic. Rabat, Morocco.

References from the Encyclopedia of Islam

al-Suyuti's biography, written by his disciple 'Abd al-Kadir al-Shadhili, Bahdjat al-adbidin bitardjamat Djaldl al-Din (mss. in London, Dublin, Kuwayt)

Shams al-Din al-Dawudi, Taradjamat al-Suyuti (ms. Tubingen)

Nadjm al-Din al-Ghazzi, al-Kawakib al-sa'ira bi-a'ydn al-mi'a a al-'ashira, Beirut 1945, i, 226-31.

E.M. Sartain, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti - remains the most complete study in a Western language

eadem, Jalal al-Din as-Suyuti's relations with the people of Takrur, in JSS, xvi (1971), 193-8.

S. Abu Djib mentions several studies in Arabic (op. cit., 331-2).

In his Muhammad's birthday festival (Leiden 1993, 45-70), N.J. Kaptein presents and translates al-Suyuti's fatwa which validates the practice of the mawlid nabawi

Tsunamogenic Evidence

Paleoseismic Evidence

Notes

Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes
Hama			Needs investigation. Walmsley (2013:89) reports possible earthquake evidence in Hamah in the 8th century CE: The mound at Hamah apparently was walled (or re-walled) in the eighth century (Ploug 1985: 109-11), and although Ploug opts for a Byzantine date an Umayyad one fits better.
Reṣafa	possible		Sack et al (2010) reports seismic destruction that led to abandonment of Basilica B which probably took place before the middle of the seventh century and certainly before the building of the Great Mosque was begun in the second quarter of the eighth century. Al Khabour (2016) notes that the Basilica of St. Sergius (Basilica A) suffered earthquake destructions but did not supply dates. The apse displays fractures that appear to be a result of earthquakes or differential subsidence Fig. 2 Rusafa: the huge church containing the remains of St. Sergio. Al Khabour (2016) . Sack et al (2010:307) reported that from the building of the church [Basilica A first built in the 5th century CE] up to the abandonment of the city in the 13th century, earthquakes and the building ground weakened by underground dolines [aka sinkholes] have caused considerable damage.
Palmyra	possible	≥ 8	Intagliata (2018:27) reports that water pipes are believed to have been laid in Umayyad times, but were destroyed after a disastrous earthquake and then replaced in the ʿAbbāsid era (al-Asʿad and Stępniowski 1989, 209–10; Juchniewicz and Żuchowska 2012, 70). Juchniewicz and Żuchowska (2012:70) report the following: Excavation in the Camp of Diocletian, in the area of Water Gate revealed pipeline which is dated by Barański to the Abbasid Period ( Baranski, 1997, 9-10). This pipeline, as well as the earlier one dated to Omayyad Period, is clearly visible in the Great Colonnade, running along the Omayyad suq (al-Asʿad and Stępniowski 1989, 209–10). The Omayyad pipeline was replaced by the later one probably after earthquake. Some of the monumental architraves from the Great Colonnade fell down and destroyed the Omayyad conduits. Gawlikowski (1994:141) suggests that an earthquake struck the then abandoned Basilica around 800 CE leading to wall collapse.
Location (with hotlink)	Status	Intensity	Notes

Ambraseys (2009)

AD 717 Dec 24 Syria

A damaging earthquake in Syria. Although many Byzantine and Arab writers describe this earthquake as most destructive, they do not mention the particular localities affected in Syria or Jazira (Mesopotamia). Aftershocks continued for six months.

Theophanes reports a 'great earthquake' in Syria in a.M. 6210 = September 717 to August 718. Once again the regnal year is one too low: Leo III a.2 =18 April 716 to 17 April 717. This is reported as occurring just before the caliph `Urnar banned wine in the cities and forced Christians to convert to Islam'.

The Syriac sources give more details. Chron. 846 dates this event to a.S. 1029, Kanun I, 24 on Friday, at the third hour, 'on the Feast of the Nativity' = 24 December 717, while al-Isfahani reports a recurrence of earthquakes in Sham in a.H. 98 (25 August 716 to 13 August 717), which is probably on al-Khawarizmi's authority. Two editions of Elias of Nisibe have important differences: both record an earthquake in Syria and Mesopotamia, adding that houses collapsed, which is significantly more detail than is given by Theophanes and the Chron. 846. Where they differ is that the Syriac edition gives a.S. 1028 Jumada II, a year too low, if this is the same earthquake. However, Eli. Nis. D. 33r gives a.H. 99 Jumada II, 15, a Friday = 23 January 718. This does not appear particularly helpful either, except that a.H. 99 Jumada II, 15 was not a Friday but a Sunday. Jumada I, 15th of a.H. 99 was Friday 24 December 717, hence it is probably a copyist's error. Thus it is certain that the entries in Elias of Nisibe refer to this rather than to another earthquake, probably of AD 713. Al-Suyuti has a brief note on this earthquake taken from the Mirat of Ibn al-Jauzi; a second entry says that 'as we have already noted' an earthquake took place in Syria during the caliphate of `Umar `Abd al-'Aziz. The latter was in fact caliph from 99 Safar 10 (22 September 717) to 101 Rajab 20 (5 February 720), so this is either an error or in fact pertains to an aftershock or to another earthquake.

Syrian authors give 15 Jumada II 99 a.H., instead of Jumada I, which may have led Guidoboni et al. (1994, 360-619) to include an additional earthquake in their catalogue. Also the damage to Edessa and Batna Sarug attributed to this earthquake by these authors is in error since their sources refer, quite clearly, to the event in AD 679.

Notes

(a.M. 6210) In the same year a great earthquake happened in Syria, and `Urnar banned wine from the cities, and compelled the Christians to convert to Islam.' (Theoph. 399).

`And in the year 1029, in the month of prior kanun, the 24th day, Friday, 3rd hour, on the feast of the Nativity, there was a violent earthquake, and a sound like great thunder was heard.' (Chron. 846, 234/177).

' [After the earthquake of 94 in Antiochia] in the year a.H. 98 earthquakes recurred and lasted for six months.' (al-Isfah. 187).

`Year 99 began on Saturday 14th Ab of a.S. 1028... and at that time there was an earthquake in Mesopotamia on the day of preparation in the middle of latter gumada, and many houses fell. And the earthquake continued for six months.' (Eli. Nis. 161 162/177).

Arabic version (Eli. Nis. D. 33r)

`In the year 98 [25 August 716 to 13 August 717] earthquakes happened again for forty days: this is what is said in al- Mirat.' (al-Suyuti 16/9).

`In the caliphate of `Umar `Abd al-'Aziz (99 Safar 10 [22 September 717]-101 Rajab 20 [5 February 720])' (al-Suyuti 17/9).

References

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

An apparently slightly earlier earthquake discussed in Palmer et al (1993)

Palmer et al (1993:45-46) wrote

7. A CHRONICLE OF DISASTERS DATED AD 716

INTRODUCTION

A short notice, concerning various natural disasters which occurred between the years AD 712 and 716, is to be found in a manuscript dated AD 874, where it follows an account of the meeting between the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch, John I, Composer of Prayers (AD 632-48), and an unnamed emir, on 9 May of an unspecified year (see Reinink, ‘Syriac apologetic literature’). The text (translated by S. P. Brock) helps to make the transition from the chronicles to the apocalyptic texts, No. 14 and No. 15. The author of the historical note would appear to have been a contemporary of the events he describes; his openness about the significance with which his beliefs endowed them is useful in understanding those texts in which we have to try to read between the lines. The text was edited, with a French translation, by Nau, ‘Un colloque’.

Next, the various aflictions which came to the land in the year 1024 according to the numeration of Alexander, and [in the years] following:
When the kingdom of the Ishmaelites held sway, its control spread over the whole land, in the days of Walid b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwin who was reigning at that time, and the patriarch of the apostolic faith of the Orthodox, Elijah, was recognized throughout the whole land of Syria - he was from the monastery of Gubb6 BarrGyG, called ‘in the desert’: in the year 1023 according to the reckoning of the Greeks, on 8 August, a sign was seen in the sky, in the shape of a long lance, wide at the upper tip. It was in the northern part of the sky, facing and inclined towards the southern part, and it appeared in the evening, about the second hour [of the night].

In the following year, 1024, from December to February, there occurred [as] a judgment a great plague in the land, and many people perished in it, mercilessly. During this aforesaid act of judgment, before it had yet come to an end, on 28 February of that same year, in the middle of the night before Tuesday, there occurred a great earthquake, so that houses in the villages, churches, and many large towns collapsed on top of the people living there, bringing death to them in various and many terrible ways: in some cases houses, villages and towns caved in; some people were suffocated, while others were crushed; many others were left alive, with their homes made into graves; others were rescued. All these things occurred in accordance with the just, inscrutable and astonishing judgments of God.

This in particular happened, the story and account reaching us by way of people who were actually involved and who saw it. In what is now called the ‘western region’, I mean the city of Antioch and the area of Seleucia (?) and KSYWT, and the whole coast, this earthquake lasted from 28 February until the year 1027, so that the inhabitants of the villages and towns everywhere spent all this time with any of their property that remained, camping out and living away from their homes, in the fields, on the hills, on threshing floors, in orchards, making themselves tents and shelters. Many others (fled), their work left under the open sky without protection, out of fear and terror at the terrible judgment that had been brought upon the land and all who live in it because of our sins and iniquities. While these two terrible afflictions were still running their course together without any relaxation or end, God sent to the land a third affliction, known as the bubonic plague; countless people were buried without pity in all sorts of places.

References

Palmer, A., et al. (1993). The Seventh Century in the West-Syrian Chronicles, Liverpool University Press. - at archive.org - online open access - can be read ("borrowed") with a free account

717 CE Quake

24 Dec. 717 CE

by Jefferson Williams

Introduction & Summary

Textual Evidence

Archaeoseismic Evidence

Tsunamogenic Evidence

Paleoseismic Evidence

Notes

Paleoclimate - Droughts

Footnotes

References