during the earthquakeon 18 May 363 CE.
Text (with hotlink) | Original Language | Biographical Info | Religion | Date of Composition | Location Composed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Letter attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem | Syriac |
Background and Biography
Cyril was the Bishop of Jerusalem when the earthquake(s) of 363 CE struck. After the earthquake, Cyril presumably wrote a letter describing the earthquake and it's effects. The letter that we have may have been written by someone writing later in his name (i.e., attributed authorship or Pseudepigrapha) who used the original letter of Cyril as a source document. Cain and Lenski (2009) opine that the letter is probably not genuine and was likely composed in Syriac in the 5th century CE. However, although they doubt that Cyril was the author, they note that the letter may have been based on an earlier document written in Jerusalem due to its detailed knowledge of the topography of the city and the unique information about the actions of the Jerusalem Christian community. Brock (1977) noted that the consistency of the chronological information contained within the letter also enhances its credibility. |
Christian | 5th century CE possibly sourced from an original letter written in 363 CE | ? | Provides a detailed description of the time and date of the earthquakes along with the names of towns and areas damaged. Also mentions the Temple rebuilding project and states that strong winds and storms delayed the rebuilding project for a day and that the earthquakes then struck on the night that followed the day of storm delay. Mentions a fire and heavy rain causing many people to perish and a flame of fire emanating from a synagogue after the earthquake(s) which burned a number of people alive. Says there was a great loss of life. Dates the first earthquake to ~1030 pm on 18 May 363 CE and the 2nd earthquake to ~430 am on 19 May 363 CE. Indicates that Jerusalem experienced stronger shaking during the 1st earthquake. |
Libanius | Greek |
Biography
Van Hoof (2014) summarized the life of Libanius, a lifelong Pagan, as follows: Libanius’ life is well-known. He was born in Antioch, one of the largest and most important cities of the Roman Empire, in 314. Hailing from a curial and influential, yet somewhat impoverished family, he enjoyed a good education and decided to dedicate himself to rhetoric in his mid-teens. After thoroughly familiarizing himself with classical rhetoric and pursuing his studies with Diophantus in Athens from 336 to 340, he embarked upon a sophistic career. Active at first in Constantinople, where he enjoyed great success, he left the new capital after a few years for Nicaea. From there, he soon went on to Nicomedia. Although the future emperor Julian, also in Nicomedia at the time, never attended Libanius’ classes, the two men probably got to know each other at least indirectly. In 349, Libanius returned to Constantinople, where he was honoured by several governors, the senate and the emperor Constantius II, and once more became a celebrated professor of Greek rhetoric. After spending the summer of 353 in Antioch, however, he decided, against the wishes of the emperor, to return to his home city for good. From 354 until his death, he taught rhetoric there, first as a private teacher, but soon as the city’s official sophist. By speaking and writing to emperors (Julian, but also Valens and Theodosius), governors, city councillors and other people, he also took an active part in public life, although he probably never held any official position in the imperial administration. Libanius lived together with a woman of socially inferior standing, by whom he had an illegitimate son called Cimon. The latter’s death preceded his own, which occurred in 393. |
Pagan Hellene | ~363 CE | Antioch, Syria | brief statement that some cities in Palestine and Syria have been flattened in parts, others completely.inside what Guidoboni et. al. (1994) suggests is a eulogy Libanius delivered for Emperor Julian. |
4th hymn against Julian by Ephrem the Syrian | Syriac |
Biography
Ephrem the Syrian was a prominent Christian theologian and writer
who wrote in Syriac. He was born around 306 CE in Nisibis where he served as a
deacon (wikipedia). In 363 CE,
Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate began
hostilities against Persia (the Sasanian Empire) which led to
Julian's death in battle on 26/27 July 363 CE (wikipedia).
In the aftermath of Julian's demise, Nisibis was surrendered to the
Persians and all Christians were expelled. Ephrem then moved to Edessa where he died in 373 CE
(wikipedia and Griffith, 1987).
Griffith (1987) notes that |
Syriac Christianity | 363 CE | Nisibis | This hymn provides poetic descriptions of the storms, earthquake, fire, and the Temple rebuilding project. |
Fifth Oration Against the Pagans by Gregory of Nazianzusa | Greek |
Biography
Gregory of Nazianzusa (~329 AD - ~390 AD), who is also known as Gregory the Theologian and Gregory Nazianzen, was born sometime between 326 and 330 CE to Greek parents near to the town of Nazianzus in southwest Cappadocia (Daley, 2012:1 and wikipedia). Gregory pursued his studies at a variety of locations including Caesarea in Cappadocia, Caesarea in Palestine, Alexandria, and Athens ( Daley, 2012:4-5). On the way to Athens, he almost died in shipwreck off the coast of Cyprus. During this incident, he dedicated his life to "God's service" as a Christian ( Daley, 2012:6). In Athens he formed a lifelong friendship with Basil of Caesarea and probably encountered future Emperor Julian the Apostate who was also studying in Athens at the time (Daley, 2012:6-7). After returning home, probably between 356 and 358 CE, Gregory went on to hold a variety of ecclesiastical positions before becoming the Bishop of Constantinople in ~380 CE ( Daley, 2012:7,2 and wikipedia). Gregory wrote a variety of influential theological works and is noted for his work on the Trinity. His two part invective against Emperor Julian the Apostate was composed during Julian's reign and was probably finished by 364 CE ( Daley, 2012:32-33). This invective included a description of the 363 CE earthquake, an account which, according to Cain and Lenski (2009), was written within a year of the event. Gregory died in ~390 CE. |
Orthodox (Nicene) Christian | 363 CE | Nazianzus | States that the Temple rebuilding project was halted by a furious blast of windand an earthquake. Includes supernatural events afterwards. Mentions a flame of fire but appears to locate it within a church (of the Holy Sepulchre) directed towards fleeing construction workers/Jews rather than coming from the Temple Mount itself. |
Artemii passio | Greek |
Biography
The 8th century CE work Artemii passio may have been written by John of Damascus and apparently used the lost work Ecclesiastical History by Philostorgius written in the 4th or 5th century CE as a source (Levenson, 2013). |
Christian | 8th century CE but likely based on a 4th-5th century CE work | Mentions cities and places damaged, darkness, continual earthquakes, and a fire burning a great number of Jews. | |
Res Gestae by Ammianus Marcellinus | Latin |
Biography
Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330 - c. 391-400 CE), also known as Ammian, was
an officer and soldier in the Roman armies of Constantius II (r. 337- 361 CE)
and Julian the Apostate (r. 361-363 CE where he served in Gaul and the East
(wikipedia). Ammianus was born in Syria
and likely was fluent in Greek, Latin, and his native language (wikipedia).
After retiring from the military, he moved to Rome where he wrote wrote Res Gestae - a history of Rome from 96-378 CE
(wikipedia).
Ammianus was a Pagan but modern scholarship describes him as
|
Pagan - tolerant of Christianity | 380s CE | Rome | Does not mention the earthquakes, but does mention the effort to rebuild the Temple and fire bursting forth from the Temple foundations. |
Commentariorum In Esaiam by Jerome | Latin |
Biography
Jerome (Hieronymus in Latin) was a Christian Priest who authored and translated many works including an influential translation of the Old and New Testaments from Hebrew and Greek into Latin creating most of what is known as the Vulgate - a text which was used by the Catholic Church for over 1500 years. He was born in Stridon in the Roman province of Dalmatia between 342 and 347 CE. He lived in a monastery in Bethlehem starting in 382 CE and died there in 420 CE. |
Christian | 405-420 CE | Bethlehem | A passage in this text may indicate that the Dead Sea experienced a seiche during this earthquake. |
Historia Ecclesiastica by Socrates Scholasticus | Greek |
Biography
Socrates Scholasticus (c.380 - after 439 CE), aka Socrates of Constantinople, was a native of Constantinople who wrote Historia Ecclesiastica - a history of the Christian Church from 305-439 CE (wikipedia). The work was intended as a continuation of Eusebius' book on Church History and was completed in ~439 CE (wikipedia). His profession is unknown but he may have been a layman (wikipedia). |
~439 CE | Constantinople | Mentions an earthquake tearing up the stones of the foundation and a fire coming down from heavenconsuming all the builders' toolsand lasting for a day. Aslo mentions signs of crosses on people's garments. |
|
Ecclesiastical History by Sozomen | Greek |
Biography
Sozomen (~400 - ~450 CE), aka Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos, was born into a wealthy Christian family in Beit Lahia, a small town near Gaza in Palestine (wikipedia). His early education came from Monks and his family was reputed to have converted to Christianity after witnessing a healing miracle from Saint Hilarion (wikipedia). Sozomen studied Law in Beirut and worked in Constantinople. Of the two books he wrote on Church History only the second one, composed in Constantinople between ~440 and ~443 CE, is extant. It covers the years from ~323 CE to 425 CE. Socrates Scholasticus was one of the main sources. In addition to making use of several other sources, Sozomen is also known for mining oral traditions, particularly of southern Palestine (wikipedia). |
Christian | 440-443 CE | Constantinople | Discusses Earthquake, Temple Rebuilding Project, reports of the fire at the Temple, and the signs of the crosses appearing on people's clothes. Sozomen claims to have derived his information from eyewitnesses. |
Ecclesiastical History by Theodoret of Cyrus | Greek |
Biography
Theodoret of Cyrus (c. AD 393 – c. 458/466) was born in Antioch.
In his 20s he |
Christian | ~449-450 CE | Cyrrhus (Syria) or a monastery near Apamea (Syria) | Mentions the Temple rebuilding project, a storm during the day followed by an earthquake at night, a fire coming out of the Temple's foundations , and supernatural signs such as crosses appearing in the sky and on the garments of Jews. |
Julian Romance | Syriac |
Biography
Drijvers (2022:12) describes the Julian Romance as follows: The Julian Romance was composed by an anonymous author (or authors) in Syriac, most likely in the city of Edessa in northern Mesopotamia at the beginning of the sixth century, and surviving only in that language. The Julian Romance is a Christian discourse of historical fiction and consists of a number of narratives about the emperors Julian the Apostate and Jovian. The Romance and the stories it comprises are part of the large number of late antique discourses of imagination. ... The Julian Romance fits into the tradition of Christian polemical rhetoric against Julian which started to appear immediately after the death of the pagan emperor. While Julian is pictured as the worst emperor ever to have ruled the Roman Empire, Jovian is presented as the ideal Christian emperor. In the final and longest part of the Romance, Jovian plays a prominent role as second-incommand after Julian and as confidant of the emperor. After Julian’s death, Jovian becomes his successor. He openly promulgates a Christian policy and gradually develops into an ideal Christian emperor, a second Constantine. |
beginning of the 6th century CE | Edessa | Brock (1977) relates that this story tells of the Jews obtaining permission to rebuild the Temple but deliberately does not discuss events in Jerusalem because they were described by another author. | |
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 724 | Syriac |
Background and Biography
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 724, which is preserved in a manuscript in the British LIbrary (BM. Add. 14643, fols. 1-57) and is sometimes referred to as Liber Calipharum, is a world chronicle written in Syriac by an anonymous author in the 8th century CE (Brock, 1976). Brock (1976) notes that its entries are not always in chronological order. Affixed to the end of the text is something that may have been added by a later copyist - a list of Caliphs from Mohammed to Yezid II (r. 720-724 CE) along with the lengths of their reigns. This list is thought to have been translated from Arabic for a number of reasons including that it preserves the lengths of the reigns as they are counted in lunar Islamic years ( Penn, 2015:196-197). |
Christian | Brock (1977) relates that this source does not mention events in Jerusalem but reiterates that 21 cities suffered damage; echoing the letter attributed to Cyril. The date is mostly in agreement : The Year A.G. 674 (= A.D. 363) is the same, the month (Iyyar) is the same but the date is different. This passage refers to the 27th day of Iyyar while the letter attributed to Cyril identifies the date of the earthquake as the 19th of Iyyar. |
||
Chronicle of Zuqnin (Annals Part 1) by 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. 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 | Mentions the Temple rebuilding project and a nighttime earthquake which damaged construction facilities and houses near the Temple. Says that on another day, a fire came from the sky, lasted a full day, and burned up all the construction equipment. Also mentions crosses appearing in the sky and on the garments of Jews. |
Talmuds | Hebrew, Aramaic |
Background
The Talmud |
Jewish | 3rd-8th centuries CE | Israel and/or Iraq | Accounts of the Temple rebuilding project and the earthquake do not appear in either the Palestinian or Babylonian Talmud with the possible exception of two rather obtuse statements in the Palestinian Talmud attributed to R. Acha(Russell, 1980) |
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 846 | Syriac |
Background and Biography
Brock (1979-1980:14) describes this anonymous Syriac Chronicle as brief and covering "Creation" to 846/847 CE.
In a manuscript of the 10th century (London Add. 14642, ff. 1-36.), the beginning of the work (most of the 7th century CE)
is lost and there are some lacunae elsewhere
(
Brock, 1979-1980:14 and Brock, 1976:21).
Brock (1979-1980:14) further noted that |
Christian | Says that the Temple rebuilding project was halted by fire from the Temple Mount. An earthquake isn't mentioned. | ||
Chronicle by Michael the Syrian | Syriac |
Biography
Michael the Syrian also known as
Michael I Rabo and Michael the Great was born in
Melitene from a clerical family in 1126 CE
(Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, 2011). He studied at the
Monastery of Dayro d-Mor Barṣawmo where he stayed on as a Monk and
a Prior. In 1166, he was elected Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church. While acting as
Partriach he The text is not preserved in its entirety, and the layout of Michael’s chronicle was distorted through the process of copying. Chabot’s edition is a facsimile of a documentary copy written for him in Edessa (Urfa) from 1897 to 1899. While the scribes tried to imitate the layout, a number of mistakes were introduced. Its Vorlage, the only extant ms., was written in 1598 by a very competent scribe. It is kept by the community of the Edessenians in Aleppo. In view of the loss of the original, this beautiful manuscript is the best witness for the layout of the chronicle. Fortunately it will soon be made available in print. This ms. was probably the Vorlage for an Arabic translation, which also sought to preserve some of the visual features, while changing others. The Arabic translation has much the same lacunae as the Syriac text. By comparing his version with the Arabic translation preserved in ms. London, Brit. Libr. Or. 4402 (which is one of several Arabic copies), Chabot detected some details lost in the Syriac text. No further research has been done so far on this problem.Michael died in 1199 CE. |
Syriac Orthodox Church | late 12th century CE | Probably at the Monastery of Mar Bar Sauma near Tegenkar, Turkey | Mentions the Temple rebuilding effort which was apparently halted by a fierce windwhich scattered the lime and cement they wanted to build with, and fire descended and burned the structure and their tools. Did not mention an earthquake |
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 1234 | Syriac |
Biography
Chronicon Ad Annum 1234 may have been written in Edessa and was composed at the beginnings of the 13th century CE. This anonymous chronicle is described by Brock(1976) Next to Michael's Chronicle this world chronicle (sometimes referred to as the 'Anonymous of Edessa') contains the most detailed account of events in the seventh century that is available in Syriac. It is largely independent of Michael's work, and the lost chronicle of Dionysius of Teilmahre appears to be one of the compiler's main sources for this period. The text is preserved in a unique manuscript (perhaps of the fourteenth century) that was in private hands in Constantinople at the beginning of the century. |
beginning of the 13th c. CE | possibly in Edessa or the Monastery of Mar Bar Sauma near Tegenkar, Turkey | Brock (1977) relates that this Syriac chronicle devotes over 10 pages to Julian's reign but does not discuss the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. | |
Other sources | ||||||
Incorrect 362 date reported in older Scientific literature | ||||||
Text (with hotlink) | Original Language | Biographical Info | Religion | Date of Composition | Location Composed | Notes |
Cyril was the Bishop of Jerusalem when the earthquake(s) of 363 CE struck. After the earthquake, Cyril presumably wrote a letter describing the earthquake and it's effects. The letter that we have may have been written by someone writing later in his name (i.e., attributed authorship or Pseudepigrapha) who used the original letter of Cyril as a source document. Cain and Lenski (2009) opine that the letter is probably not genuine and was likely composed in Syriac in the 5th century CE. However, although they doubt that Cyril was the author, they note that the letter may have been based on an earlier document written in Jerusalem due to its detailed knowledge of the topography of the city and the unique information about the actions of the Jerusalem Christian community. Brock (1977) noted that the consistency of the chronological information contained within the letter also enhances its credibility.
14 I translate B ; the main variants of A are given in the footnotes.
15 Letter of Cyril bishop of Jerusalem.
16 A omits § 1.
17 pr. Cyril bishop of Jerusalem.
18 our Lord.
19 in all regions.
20 With (in) our Lord punishment.
21 in our own sight it specifically received it ; greetings !
22 Just as, my brothers.
23 om. of God.
29 shook.
25 world suffered.
26 om. here.
27 the land suffered specifically.
28 om. great.
25 + and cities.
30 + your.
31 seeing that we too, because we (were) there, struggled for ourselves.
32 Not only were we not harmed by the earthquake that took place at God's (behest), but no Christian who was here (was harmed), but many.
33 om. heavy.
34 winds and strong storms.
35 the foundations as they had wanted ; for it was in their mind to lay the Temple's foundations the following day.
36 fled and took refuge in.
37 whence.
38 om. glorious.
39 psalms.
40 + between.
41 those (who).
42 the Jews.
43 The folio of A containing the rest of the letter is lost.
a Guidoboni et. al. (1994)
state that there are "palaeographic reasons to suggest that the
debated 'RDQLY in Cyril's letter may be a reference to Areopolis rather than Archelais".
Year | Reference | Corrections | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
~1030 pm 18 May 363 CE | 3rd hour of the night Monday 19 Iyyar A.G. 674 | none |
|
Year | Reference | Corrections | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
~430 am 19 May 363 CE | partly at the ninth hour of the nightMonday 19 Iyyar A.G. 674 |
none |
|
Footnotesa Guidoboni et. al. (1994) state that there are "palaeographic reasons to suggest that the debated 'RDQLY in Cyril's letter may be a reference to Areopolis rather than Archelais".
Van Hoof (2014) summarized the life of Libanius, a lifelong Pagan, as follows:
Libanius’ life is well-known. He was born in Antioch, one of the largest and most important cities of the Roman Empire, in 314. Hailing from a curial and influential, yet somewhat impoverished family, he enjoyed a good education and decided to dedicate himself to rhetoric in his mid-teens. After thoroughly familiarizing himself with classical rhetoric and pursuing his studies with Diophantus in Athens from 336 to 340, he embarked upon a sophistic career. Active at first in Constantinople, where he enjoyed great success, he left the new capital after a few years for Nicaea. From there, he soon went on to Nicomedia. Although the future emperor Julian, also in Nicomedia at the time, never attended Libanius’ classes, the two men probably got to know each other at least indirectly. In 349, Libanius returned to Constantinople, where he was honoured by several governors, the senate and the emperor Constantius II, and once more became a celebrated professor of Greek rhetoric. After spending the summer of 353 in Antioch, however, he decided, against the wishes of the emperor, to return to his home city for good. From 354 until his death, he taught rhetoric there, first as a private teacher, but soon as the city’s official sophist. By speaking and writing to emperors (Julian, but also Valens and Theodosius), governors, city councillors and other people, he also took an active part in public life, although he probably never held any official position in the imperial administration. Libanius lived together with a woman of socially inferior standing, by whom he had an illegitimate son called Cimon. The latter’s death preceded his own, which occurred in 393.
Forster, R., 1902,
De Libanio, Pausania, templo Apollinis Delphico. Album gratulatorium in honorem Henrici van Herwerden. Utrecht 1902, S. 45–54
Funeral Oration for Julian in
King, C. W. G. (1888). "Julian the emperor containing Gregory Nazianzen's two Invectives and Libanius' Monody with Julian's extant theosophical works."
Van Hoof, L. (2014). Libanius: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge University Press.
Norman, A. F. (2000). Antioch as a Centre of Hellenic Culture as Observed by Libanius, Liverpool University Press.
Cribiore, R. (2016). The School of Libanius in Late Antique Antioch, Princeton University Press.
Bradbury, S. (2004). Selected Letters of Libanius: From the Age of Constantius and Julian, Liverpool University Press.
Libanius, Orationes, ed. R.Foerster and E.Richsteig, Leipzig 1903-27 (repr. Hildesheim 1963)
Libanius, Selected works, trans. A.F.Norman, Cambridge (Mass.)-London 1969-77.
Guidoboni et al (1994) noted the following:
In his Epitaph in memory of the emperor Julian (Or. 18.292), Libanius records that "many cities in Palestine" were destroyed (see entry ( 148 )). A brief reference to this earthquake is also to be found in his Autobiography (Or. 1.134).
Ephrem the Syrian was a prominent Christian theologian and writer
who wrote in Syriac. He was born around 306 CE in Nisibis where he served as a
deacon (wikipedia). In 363 CE,
Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate began
hostilities against Persia (the Sasanian Empire) which led to
Julian's death in battle on 26/27 July 363 CE (wikipedia).
In the aftermath of Julian's demise, Nisibis was surrendered to the
Persians and all Christians were expelled. Ephrem then moved to Edessa where he died in 373 CE
(wikipedia and Griffith, 1987).
Griffith (1987) notes that as Robert Browning has emphasized more
recently, Ephraem wrote these hymns in Nisibis in the very year of Julian's death, after he saw the emperor's embalmed corpse lying in
state before the city's gates, with a Persian flag flying from the ramparts of the citadel
.
Cain and Lenski (2009) also report that Ephrem composed his
Hymns against Julian within a year of the 363 CE earthquake.
1 "Who had read in Daniel that she should lay in ruins forever" refers to the Temple Mount - deserted at the time but undergoing a rebuilding project until apparently interrupted by the earthquake.
Cain, A. and N. E. Lenski (2009). The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity, Ashgate
Sidney, H. G. (1987). "Ephraem the Syrian's Hymns 'Against Julian':
Meditations on History and Imperial Power." Vigiliae Christianae 41(3): 238-266.
Renoux C. 1975 (ed.), Ephrem de Nisibe. Memre sur Nicomedie, PO 37/2-3, Turnhout.
Gregory of Nazianzusa (~329 AD - ~390 AD), who is also known as Gregory the Theologian and Gregory Nazianzen, was born sometime between 326 and 330 CE to Greek parents near to the town of Nazianzus in southwest Cappadocia (Daley, 2012:1 and wikipedia). Gregory pursued his studies at a variety of locations including Caesarea in Cappadocia, Caesarea in Palestine, Alexandria, and Athens ( Daley, 2012:4-5). On the way to Athens, he almost died in shipwreck off the coast of Cyprus. During this incident, he dedicated his life to "God's service" as a Christian ( Daley, 2012:6). In Athens he formed a lifelong friendship with Basil of Caesarea and probably encountered future Emperor Julian the Apostate who was also studying in Athens at the time (Daley, 2012:6-7). After returning home, probably between 356 and 358 CE, Gregory went on to hold a variety of ecclesiastical positions before becoming the Bishop of Constantinople in ~380 CE ( Daley, 2012:7,2 and wikipedia). Gregory wrote a variety of influential theological works and is noted for his work on the Trinity. His two part invective against Emperor Julian the Apostate was composed during Julian's reign and was probably finished by 364 CE ( Daley, 2012:32-33). This invective included a description of the 363 CE earthquake, an account which, according to Cain and Lenski (2009), was written within a year of the event. Gregory died in ~390 CE.
1a. It is to be remarked that the preacher never once mentions Julian by name. Was this meant for an expression of contempt?
1b. [Greek word]. Gregory knows nothing of the "metuendi flammarum globi," with which Ammian adorns the story. It is plain from this account,
written but a few months after the occurrence, that a sudden storm of wind sufficed to frighten the superstitious Jews, who saw in it a
sign of the displeasure of Heaven with the work they were about.
2. This must be Helena's Church: Gregory terms the Temple new_j.
1c. The keepers of the church, who naturally shut the doors in the face of a mad crowd of Jews running towards it
(for only one purpose as they would imagine), and then proceeded to disperse those attempting to force an entrance
by the usual expedient of throwing fire upon them through the windows. Ammian confounds the fire thrown from the
Christian church with "flames spontaneously issuing out of the ruins" of the ancient Temple, which completely
alters the case. He also states that Julian was rebuilding the Temple at his own cost, whereas it appears from
Gregory he left it entirely to the fanaticism of the Jews, doubtless (i.e., the moneyed part of them), very
glad of a sign from Heaven to stop so expensive a project. But to give Ammian's words,
Templum instaurare sumptibus cogitabat immodicis: negotiumque maturandum Alypio dederat Antiochensi, qui olim Britannias curaverat propraefectis. Cum itaque rei idem fortiter instaret Alypius, juvaretque provincial rector, metuendi globi flammarum prope fundamenta crebris assultibus erumpentes, fecere locum exustis aliquantis operantibus inaccessum, hoc que modo, elemento destinatius repellente, cessavit inceptum, - xxiii. 1, A.D. 363.The story had got embellished with these terrible globes of flame, in the interval of twenty years between the event and the time of Ammian's writing. The pious Gregory was much too fond of miracles to have omitted so splendid a manifestation had the report of it been contemporary.
3. He [Julian] 2 was daily growing more infuriated against us
Cain, A. and N. E. Lenski (2009). The Power of Religion in Late Antiquity, Ashgate
Daley, B. (2012). Gregory of Nazianzus, Taylor & Francis.
King, C. W. (1888). Julian the Emperor: Containing Gregory
Nazianzen's Two Invectives and Libanius' Monody : with Julian's Extant Theosophical Works, G. Bell. - online open access at google books
King, C. W. (1888). Julian the Emperor: Containing Gregory
Nazianzen's Two Invectives and Libanius' Monody : with Julian's Extant Theosophical Works, G. Bell. - online open access at tertullian.org
King, C. W. (1888). Julian the Emperor: Containing Gregory
Nazianzen's Two Invectives and Libanius' Monody : with Julian's Extant Theosophical Works, G. Bell. - online open access at archive.org
Tile Page and Preface to King's (1988) translation of Gregory Nazianzen, " Julian the Emperor"
The 8th century CE work Artemii passio may have been written by John of Damascus and apparently used the lost work Ecclesiastical History by Philostorgius written in the 4th or 5th century CE as a source (Levenson, 2013).
It also happened that cities fell: those around Nicopolis, Neapolis, Eleutheropolis, Gaza, and many others. A stoa of Aelia, that is to say, Jerusalem, by the synagogue of the Jews, fell and killed many of those just mentioned, and fire broke out mysteriously and burned up a great number of Jews. And there was darkness in those places, and continual earthquakes wreaking much destruction in many cities.
Levenson (2013:422) supplies the following on Artemii passio
The eighth-century Artemii Passio50 contains a number of additional details that are best explained as derived from PhilostorgiusFootnotes50 Based on several manuscripts, Bidez assigned the Artemii Passio to an otherwise unknown ninth-century monk John of Rhodes, but recent scholarship has tended to attribute it to the eighth-century Palestinian monk, John of Damascus. For a full discussion of authorship and date, see P.B. Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos,5:185-187. In support of Bidez’s position, see R.W. Burgess, “The Passio S. Artemii,Philostorgius, and the Date of the Invention and Translations of the Relics of Sts. Andrew and Luke,” AB 121 (2003), 5-36 (especially 5, n. 4, and 23).
R.W. Burgess, “The Passio S. Artemii, Philostorgius, and the Date of the Invention and Translations of the Relics of Sts.
Andrew and Luke,” AB 121 (2003), 5-36 (especially 5, n. 4, and 23)
P.B. Kotter, Die Schriften des Johannes von Damaskos,5:185-187
Levenson, D. (2013). "The Palestinian Earthquake of May 363 in Philostorgius,
the Syriac Chronicon miscellaneum, and the Letter Attributed to Cyril on the
Rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple." Journal of Late Antiquity 6: 60-83.
Ammianus Marcellinus (c. 330 - c. 391-400 CE), also known as Ammian, was
an officer and soldier in the Roman armies of Constantius II (r. 337- 361 CE)
and Julian the Apostate (r. 361-363 CE where he served in Gaul and the East
(wikipedia). Ammianus was born in Syria
and likely was fluent in Greek, Latin, and his native language (wikipedia).
After retiring from the military, he moved to Rome where he wrote wrote Res Gestae - a history of Rome from 96-378 CE
(wikipedia).
Ammianus was a Pagan but modern scholarship describes him as
tolerant of Christianity
(wikipedia). In Res Gestae,
Ammianus wrote a brief account of events surrounding the Cyril Quakes.
Although he does not mention the earthquakes, he does mention the effort to rebuild the Temple and fire bursting forth from the foundations.
Year | Reference | Corrections | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
363 CE | A.D. 363 (supplied by the translator) | none |
Yonge, C. D. (1862). The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus:
During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus,
Valentinian, and Valens, H. G. Bohn. - online open access at google books
Yonge, C. D. (1862). The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus:
During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus,
Valentinian, and Valens, H. G. Bohn. - online open access at tertullian.org
Jerome (Hieronymus in Latin) was a Christian Priest who authored and translated many works including an influential translation of the Old and New Testaments from Hebrew and Greek into Latin creating most of what is known as the Vulgate - a text which was used by the Catholic Church for over 1500 years. He was born in Stridon in the Roman province of Dalmatia between 342 and 347 CE. He lived in a monastery in Bethlehem starting in 382 CE and died there in 420 CE.
I heard from an inhabitant of Areopolis — but the whole city witnessed the event — that a great earthquake occurred when I was a child, and the sea swept in over the shores of the whole world, and the city walls collapsed that same night.
Audivi quemdam Aerapolitem, sed et omnis civitas testis est, motu terrae magno in mea infantia, quando totius orbis litus transgressa sunt maria, eadem nocte muros urbis istius corruisse.
Jerome's Commentariorum In Esaiam, in a section dealing with the region of Moab (V, xv, 1; ed. Migne 1845: 168; ed. Corpus Christianorum,
Vol. 73, pars 2, 1963: 176)
Commentariorum In Esaiam in Latin (as a pdf)
Commentariorum In Esaiam in Latin - online open access at archive.org
Russell (1980) examined this Commentariorum In Esaiam. His comments are below :
Jerome probably heard this story in his travels after arriving in Bethlehem in 385-86, or from pilgrims to Bethlehem actually living in the region of Moab (for an account of Jerome's early activities in Palestine, see Kelly 1975: 116-28). Unlike the other references to the 365 earthquake, this passage notes coastal inundation supposedly associated with an earthquake in which the region of biblical Moab, and specifically Areopolis, suffered direct earthquake damage. While earthquake destruction east of the Dead Sea along the edge of the Jordanian Plateau does not correlate with the other ancient accounts of the 365 earthquake, it does fit the 363 earthquake as described in Harvard Syriac 99. Confirmation of this is found in the agreement of Jerome's statement with Harvard Syriac 99 in placing the earthquake at night, while the 365 earthquake occurred shortly after daybreak (see Ammianus Marcellinus, XXVI, x, 16: Rolfe 1950: 648-49). Whether Jerome thought this story referred to the earthquake and tidal wave of his "youth" remains in question. It could well be the case that Jerome actually added the statement about coastal inundation because he assumed that the story did refer to this event. While it is possible that inundation of the Palestinian coast did occur in 363, there is no mention of such in Harvard Syriac 99.along the edge of the Jordanian Plateau does not correlate with the other ancient accounts of the 365 earthquake, it does fit the 363 earthquake as described in Harvard Syriac 99. Confirmation of this is found in the agreement of Jerome's statement with Harvard Syriac 99 in placing the earthquake at night, while the 365 earthquake occurred shortly after daybreak (see Ammianus Marcellinus, XXVI, x, 16: Rolfe 1950: 648-49). Whether Jerome thought this story referred to the earthquake and tidal wave of his "youth" remains in question. It could well be the case that Jerome actually added the statement about coastal inundation because he assumed that the story did refer to this event. While it is possible that inundation of the Palestinian coast did occur in 363, there is no mention of such in Harvard Syriac 99.
Socrates Scholasticus (c.380 - after 439 CE), aka Socrates of Constantinople, was a native of Constantinople who wrote Historia Ecclesiastica - a history of the Christian Church from 305-439 CE (wikipedia). The work was intended as a continuation of Eusebius' book on Church History and was completed in ~439 CE (wikipedia). His profession is unknown but he may have been a layman (wikipedia).
on the night followingcommencement of rebuilding of the Temple.
Sozomen (~400 - ~450 CE), aka Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos, was born into a wealthy Christian family in Beit Lahia, a small town near Gaza in Palestine (wikipedia). His early education came from Monks and his family was reputed to have converted to Christianity after witnessing a healing miracle from Saint Hilarion (wikipedia). Sozomen studied Law in Beirut and worked in Constantinople. Of the two books he wrote on Church History only the second one, composed in Constantinople between ~440 and ~443 CE, is extant. It covers the years from ~323 CE to 425 CE. Socrates Scholasticus was one of the main sources. In addition to making use of several other sources, Sozomen is also known for mining oral traditions, particularly of southern Palestine (wikipedia).
Chester D. Hartranft (1890). Ecclesiastical History by Sozomen
from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 2.
Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace.
(Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1890.)
Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight.
Walford, E. (1855). The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: From Ad 324 to Ad 425
Theodoret of Cyrus (c. AD 393 – c. 458/466) was born in Antioch.
In his 20s he became a monk in the monastery of Nicerte not far from Apamea
(wikipedia). In 423 CE, he was appointed Bishop of Cyrrhus, located about
80 Roman miles east of Antioch. Theodoret, who spoke
Greek and Syriac but was unfamiliar with Latin and Hebrew, wrote a number of works including
Ecclesiastical History which covered
Church history from the rise of Arianism (late 3rd century CE?) until 429 CE
(wikipedia). It was completed in 449-450 CE
(wikipedia).
Drijvers (2022:12) describes the Julian Romance as follows:
The Julian Romance was composed by an anonymous author (or authors) in Syriac, most likely in the city of Edessa in northern Mesopotamia at the beginning of the sixth century, and surviving only in that language. The Julian Romance is a Christian discourse of historical fiction and consists of a number of narratives about the emperors Julian the Apostate and Jovian. The Romance and the stories it comprises are part of the large number of late antique discourses of imagination. ... The Julian Romance fits into the tradition of Christian polemical rhetoric against Julian which started to appear immediately after the death of the pagan emperor. While Julian is pictured as the worst emperor ever to have ruled the Roman Empire, Jovian is presented as the ideal Christian emperor. In the final and longest part of the Romance, Jovian plays a prominent role as second-incommand after Julian and as confidant of the emperor. After Julian’s death, Jovian becomes his successor. He openly promulgates a Christian policy and gradually develops into an ideal Christian emperor, a second Constantine.
I should be doing something superfluous if I inserted into our narrative what has been outlined by another writer, who has described these events (i.e. the rebuilding of the temple) fittingly, as they actually took place.
Julian romance (ed. J. G. E. Hoffmann, Julianos der Abtrunnige, Leiden,1880, 108-16)
Drijvers, J. W. (2022). The Forgotten Reign of the Emperor Jovian (363-364): History and Fiction, Oxford University Press.
The "Julian" Romance A New English Translation ed. Michael Sokoloff Published by Gorgias Press 2017
Brock, S. P.; Muraviev, Alexei (2001). "The Fragments of the Syriac Julian Romance
from the Manuscript Paris Syr 378" (PDF). Khristianskij Vostok. 2: 14–34.
Julian Romance entry in e- Gedesh - Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 724, which is preserved in a manuscript in the British LIbrary (BM. Add. 14643, fols. 1-57) and is sometimes referred to as Liber Calipharum, is a world chronicle written in Syriac by an anonymous author in the 8th century CE (Brock, 1976). Brock (1976) notes that its entries are not always in chronological order. Affixed to the end of the text is something that may have been added by a later copyist - a list of Caliphs from Mohammed to Yezid II (r. 720-724 CE) along with the lengths of their reigns. This list is thought to have been translated from Arabic for a number of reasons including that it preserves the lengths of the reigns as they are counted in lunar Islamic years ( Penn, 2015:196-197).
Year | Reference | Corrections | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
27 May 363 CE | 27 Iyyar A.G. 674 | none |
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 724 can be found on pp. 139, 145-8, 155 in
E. W. Brooks ed., Chronica minora, II, CSCO, Scr. Syri 3, 199-200 [Louvain, 1904]
E. W. Brooks ed., Chronica minora, II, CSCO, Scr. Syri 3, 199-200 [Louvain, 1904]
Latin Translation in J. B. Chabot, Chronica Minora, II {CSCO Scr.Syri 4 [Louvain, 1904]), pp. 108,112-14, 119
Brock, S. P. (1976). "Syriac Sources for Seventh-Century History." Byzantine and modern Greek studies 2: 17-36.
S.P. Brock, ''Syriac Historical Writing: A Survey of the Main Sources'', Journal of the Iraq Academy, Syriac Corporation 5 (1979-1980): 1-30.
Penn, M. P. (2015). Chronicle ad 724 in When Christians First Met Muslims: A Sourcebook of the Earliest Syriac
Writings on Islam, University of California Press.
References and Links for CHRONICON AD ANNUM 724 at syri.ac
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. The work is preserved in a single handwritten manuscript (Cod. Vat. 162), now in the Vatican (shelf mark Vatican Syriac 162).
It is time for our Saviour's word to be fulfilled: There will be not left here one stone upon another.811 The holy Cyril said these words in advance. Now during the night there was such a mighty earthquake that the ancient foundation stones of the temple flew up, and all of them scattered by the intensity of the earthquake. Also the houses that were near the place were uprooted, and the news of the ruin spread out in the whole land. Then in another day, fire fell down from the sky, destroying all the work of the architects, masons, and all kinds of instruments of work. One could see the hammers, tongs, axes, and hatchets, and in short all the work that had been prepared by them for the building was burning in the fiery blaze; the fire burnt the instruments throughout the entire day. A great fear befell the Jews, and unwillingly, they confessed that Christ was God. But they did not obey his will, nor did the triple miracle [179] that happened to them bring them to the Faith. In another night, luminous impressions of a cross appeared imprinted on their garments, and when the day came and they saw this sign, they sought to wash them and wipe them out with every means but they failed.812
810 Soc. III xx.
811 Matthew 24:2
812 Soc. III xxi.
813 See Soz. HS, V viii, Theod., HE, III viii—ix. See also the full account of Mich. Syr. 147a [I 285].
Witakowski suggests that this detail about Julian may have derived from Theodore Anagnostes,
who wrote a Church history also called Historia Tripartita, and who was one of Mich. Syr.'s sources
in the Armenian version of his Chronicle. Since there is no evidence that this Historia was translated
into Syriac, Jacob of Edes. and or John of Ephesus who used it in its original language may well be the sources
of Chr. Zuq. and Mich. Syr.; Witakowski, "Third Part;" pp. 194—5. With regard to Cyril and Jerusalem
see Sebastian Brock, "A Letter Attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem on the Rebuilding of the Temple," BSOAS 40:2 (1977), pp. 267-286.
Year | Reference | Corrections | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 Oct. 362 to 30 Sept. 363 CE | A.G. 674 | none |
|
Harrak (2017:xvi) lists Pseudo-Dionysius' sources from 298/9 - 429/30 CE as
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.
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 II by Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre in Syriac at archive.org
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.
Pseudo-Dionysius of Tell-Mahre at syri.ac
Wikipedia page for the Zunqin Chronicle - many links and references
The Talmud is the textual record of generations
of rabbinic debate about law, philosophy, and biblical interpretation, compiled between the 3rd and 8th
centuries CE and structured as commentary (the Gemara)
on the Mishnah
with stories interwoven
(sefaria.org). The
Mishnah is a written collection of Jewish
oral traditions. The Gemara is commentary and debates on the
Mishnah. The Mishnah
and the Gemara make up the core of the
Talmud. The Talmud
exists in two versions: the more commonly studied Babylonian Talmud
was compiled in present-day Iraq, while the Jerusalem Talmud
was compiled in Israel
(sefaria.org).
With the exception of two rather obtuse statements in the Palestinian Talmud attributed to R. Acha, which might have been intended as a rationale for rebuilding the Temple (see Bacher 1898), the only other Jewish accounts date to the 16th century and were obviously based upon earlier ecclesiastical sources (see Adler 1893: 642-47). The apparent correlation between the day on which the Temple project began (as given in Harvard Syriac 99) and the Jewish semifestival of Lag ba-`Omer (Brock 1976: 104; 1977: 268) makes this silence even more of an enigma.
Such considerations not withstanding, the historical "kernel of truth" for the events of 363 involves Julian's attempt to rebuild the Temple and the subsequent occurrence of a devastating earthquake. The death of Julian in the following month ushered in an unbroken line of Christian emperors to the Roman throne, and the temple project was never resumed. Whether Jews were actively involved in Julian's project, as maintained by ecclesiastical accounts. or refused to participate, as maintained by Graetz ( 1956: 597-601) and Baron (1952: 160-61) remains a moot point.
Brock (1979-1980:14) describes this anonymous Syriac Chronicle as brief and covering "Creation" to 846/847 CE.
In a manuscript of the 10th century (London Add. 14642, ff. 1-36.), the beginning of the work (most of the 7th century CE)
is lost and there are some lacunae elsewhere
(
Brock, 1979-1980:14 and Brock, 1976:21).
Brock (1979-1980:14) further noted that in his edition CSCO Brooks concluded from the several mentions of the monastery of
Qartmin (Tur Abdin) that the chronicle had been written there, but as Barsaum
later pointed out in his edition of the Chronicle to 819, such a provenance would
be more suitable for the latter chronicle which served as a source for such entries to the
846 chronicle; even this, however, is far from certain
.
Brock (1979-1980:14) describes sources for Chronicon anonymum ad annum 846 as follows:
Prominent among its sources are an antecedent of the Melkite chronicle and the Syrian Orthodox Chronicle to 819.
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 846 can be found on pp. 230—2 in
E. W. Brooks ed., Chronica minora, II, CSCO, Scr. Syri 3, 199-200 [Louvain, 1904]
E. W. Brooks ed., Chronica minora, II, CSCO, Scr. Syri 3, 199-200 [Louvain, 1904]
Latin Translation in J. B. Chabot, Chronica Minora, II (CSCO Scr. Syri 4 [Louvain, 1904]), pp. 174-6
Brooks (1897), 'A Syriac chronicle of the year 846', ZDMG, LI (1897), 569-88. - partial English translation with Syriac Text
Cf. H. Buk, 'Zur aitestenchristlichen Chronographie des Islam', BZ, XIV (1905). 533-5.
Brock, S. P. (1976). "Syriac Sources for Seventh-Century History." Byzantine and modern Greek studies 2: 17-36.
S.P. Brock, ''Syriac Historical Writing: A Survey of the Main Sources'', Journal of the Iraq Academy, Syriac Corporation 5 (1979-1980): 1-30.
References and Links for CHRONICON AD ANNUM 846 at syri.ac
Bibliography for Chronicle of 846 at Ghent University
Michael the Syrian also known as
Michael I Rabo and Michael the Great was born in
Melitene from a clerical family in 1126 CE
(Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, 2011). He studied at the
Monastery of Dayro d-Mor Barṣawmo where he stayed on as a Monk and
a Prior. In 1166, he was elected Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church. While acting as
Partriach he collected manuscripts of theological and historical content and restored and compiled hagiographical and liturgical works
(Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, 2011).
Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition (2011) reports that his canonistic work is partly conserved
in later collections, but the greater part is lost, as is his treatise on dualist heresies composed for the Lateran Council
.
Michael the Syrian is best known for his Universal Chronicle which covered "creation" until 1195 CE
(Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition, 2011).
Dorothea Weltecke in
Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition (2011) describes Michael's Chronicle and various editions as follows:
The text is not preserved in its entirety, and the layout of Michael’s chronicle was distorted through the process of copying. Chabot’s edition is a facsimile of a documentary copy written for him in Edessa (Urfa) from 1897 to 1899. While the scribes tried to imitate the layout, a number of mistakes were introduced. Its Vorlage, the only extant ms., was written in 1598 by a very competent scribe. It is kept by the community of the Edessenians in Aleppo. In view of the loss of the original, this beautiful manuscript is the best witness for the layout of the chronicle. Fortunately it will soon be made available in print. This ms. was probably the Vorlage for an Arabic translation, which also sought to preserve some of the visual features, while changing others. The Arabic translation has much the same lacunae as the Syriac text. By comparing his version with the Arabic translation preserved in ms. London, Brit. Libr. Or. 4402 (which is one of several Arabic copies), Chabot detected some details lost in the Syriac text. No further research has been done so far on this problem.Michael died in 1199 CE.
The historical material was originally organized in four columns, the first being designated as the ‘succession of the patriarchs’, the second as ‘succession of the kings’, the chronological canon as ‘computation of the years’. No title of the additional column, which contains mixed material, is now known. Chapters with excursus were inserted, which interrupted the system of columns. After an open and abrupt end, six appendices follow. The first appendix is a monumental synopsis of all the kings and patriarchs mentioned. It was supposed to function as a directory. The second appendix is a treatise on the historical identity of the Syrians, who are connected to the Ancient Oriental Empires, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Arameans. When the chronicle was translated into Armenian, in two different translations, in 1246 and 1247, it was transformed according to Armenian interests.
9. Socr., III, xx; Theod., III, xx.
10. greek text moxlo ?
9. Socr., III, xx; Theod., III, xx.
10. greek text moxlo ?
Michael the Syrian's Chronicle was also translated into Armenian twice in the first half of the 13th century. Over 60 Armenian manuscripts have survived. These manuscripts are, however, abridged and edited. The fact is we don't have an original copy of Michael the Syrian's Chronicle. We have multiple differing versions. The excerpt below was translated into English from Classical Armenian editions found in Jerusalem by Robert Bedrosian in the years 1870 and 1871.
[Julian] changed the names of cities
Les Juifs obtinrenton the bottom right of p. 288
Michael the Syrian, ' Chronicle ' (ed. J. B. Chabot, ii, 288-9 (translation) ;
iv, 146 (text)).
Brock (1976) notes that
A manuscript, dated 1598, of the Syriac text of this massive work was only discovered in 1889 in Urfa (Edessa). It is a transcript of this in facsimile that Chabot published, along with a French translation and index of names.text from the sole surviving Syriac manuscript
Chronicon Ad Annum 1234 may have been written in Edessa and was composed at the beginnings of the 13th century CE. This anonymous chronicle is described by Brock(1976)
Next to Michael's Chronicle this world chronicle (sometimes referred to as the 'Anonymous of Edessa') contains the most detailed account of events in the seventh century that is available in Syriac. It is largely independent of Michael's work, and the lost chronicle of Dionysius of Teilmahre appears to be one of the compiler's main sources for this period. The text is preserved in a unique manuscript (perhaps of the fourteenth century) that was in private hands in Constantinople at the beginning of the century.
There are two volumes to this Chronicle. Vol.1 deals with secular history and Volume 2 deals with ecclesiastical history. For our purposes, we are
interested in Volume 1.
Both Volumes in Syriac - bookmarked to the start of the secular section
Latin translation (bookmarked to the wrong section - 749 CE)
Chronicon anonymum ad annum 1234 (ed. J. B. Chabot, CSCO, Scr. Syri,
36, 155-67).
syri.ac on CHRONICON AD ANNUM 1234 (Scroll down to see it)
Guidoboni et. al. (1994) and Brock (1976) mention several other sources which provide commentary on the Cyril Quake. They are
Kagan et. al. (2011) dates the two earthquakes to ~362 CE and 363 CE. The 362 CE date is based on Ben-Menahem (1991) who misdated the earthquake to 24 May 362 CE - perhaps partly influenced by Sieberg (1932a) who dated the Cyril Quake(s) to June 362 CE without citing a source. A deep examination of the various textual accounts reveals that mistakes were made by early earthquake cataloguers in parsing the accounts leading to incorrect months and dates and likely years as well. Since these earthquakes appear to be well dated by contemporaneous sources to 363 efforts to unravel the source of this propagating catalogue dating mistake will not be pursued here. Russell (1980, p.52) relates that "the scholarly process by which 362 rather than 363 came to be the accepted date is difficult to ascertain".
Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jerash - Introduction | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jerash - Hippodrome | possible | ≥ 8 |
3rd century CE Earthquake ?
The hippodrome was already quarried for stone by the end of the 4th C. A number of its seat stones was used for rebuilding (repairing) a stretch of the city wall, which according to an inscription mentioning the event and its date took place in 390 (ZAYADINE 1981a, p. 346).Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020:315) report evidence that potters and other craftsmen took over the structure starting at the end of the 3rd century CE. Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020:142) suggested the possibility that an earthquake had damaged the structure to such an extent that it could no longer be used for racing. It is clear that the SW part of the cavea had collapsed at a certain date and that once this happened no races could be held. This occurrence would best explain the reoccupation of and quarrying for stone in the hippodrome. There is no direct evidence for dating the collapse of that part of the cavea but it is tempting to associate it with the earthquake of 363 which affected many sites in Palestine and NW Arabia (RUSSELL 1985, p. 39, 42). This earthquake has not been attested at Jerash so far but the study of the earthquakes which affected Gerasa is only in its infancy.The suggestion of seismic damage stemmed from earlier publications which was later revised by Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020:150) where they state that the building ceased to serve the primary purpose [] because of the disintegration of a large part of its masonry and of the arenawhere the disintegration was caused by the extremely poor foundation of the structure.Foundation problems, including estimates of foundation pressures, are discussed in detail in Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020:157). An E-W cross section of a part of the Hippodrome (see top) illustrates potential foundation problems where an uncompacted fill of variable thickness lies underneath the majority of the structure - something which could have easily led to differential settlement. Although foundation problems appear to be present, this does not preclude the possibility that seismic damage contributed to the demise of the Hippodrome as a racing facility. As Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020) were unaware of the mid 3rd century CE Capitolias Theater Quake, if Ostrasz and Kehrberg-Ostrasz (2020:315) have correctly dated occupation of the structure by potters and other craftsmen to the end of the 3rd century CE, the possibility exists that the Hippodrome was damaged by an earthquake sometime in the 3rd century. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heshbon | possible | ≥ 8 |
Stratum 11 Earthquake (Mitchel, 1980) - 4th century CE - possibly Cyril Quake
Mitchel (1980:181) noted that Although evidence for the AD 363 earthquake was found at Hesban, it could only be identified in a few rock tumbles in various areas of the tell. Following the earthquake there was no large scale construction, neither domestic nor public. The earthquake, which was severe at other sites (Russell 1980) probably did little damage at Hesban.That said, if Mitchel (1980:193) is correct that a retaining wall collapsed on the monumental stairway, unless it was tilted and at the point of collapse beforehand, it's collapse suggests high levels of local Intensity. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kedesh | indeterminate |
Earthquake(s) after the 3rd century CE
Fischer et al (1984) examined a Temple at Kadesh which, based on inscriptions and architectural decorations, was presumed to have been in use in the second and third centuries CE. Noting that there were indications that the Temple appeared to have been destroyed by an earthquake, they speculated that the Temple was damaged by the northern Cyril Quake. Some of the masonry courses of the east facade are clearly shifted out of line (PI. 27: I), and a similar disturbance is evident in the keystones above the two side entrances. This could have been caused by an earthquake some time in the past. One likelihood is the devastating earthquake of May 19, 363 C.E. that affected the entire region, from northern Galilee to Petra and from the Mediterranean coast to the Jordan Valley (Russel 1980; Hammond 1980).Schweppe et al (2017) reiterated that Fischer et al. [1984] suggest that the temple was destroyed by an earthquake on May 19, 363 C.E.. They further stated that unearthed ceramics and coins show that the temple was abandoned after the earthquake.This last quote does not refer to any part of Fischer at al (1984) and its source or whether it is a paraphrase is unknown. While the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE could have damaged the Temple, other seismic events - in particular the mid 8th century CE earthquakes - could have also damaged the Temple or caused additional damage. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hippos Sussita | probable | ≥ 8 |
363 CE earthquake
Wechsler, N., et al. (2018) report the following archeoseismic evidence at Hippos The destruction of the Roman Basilica built in the center of the city at the end of the 1st century CE is clear evidence for the 363 CE earthquake judging by the archaeological data (Eisenberg, 2016; Segal, 2014a). The latest coins found in-between the fallen architectural fragment and the basilica floor are dated to 362 CE while the floor built above its debris is dated to the 380s CE. It is possible that some of the later, strong, post-abandonment earthquakes caused some additional damage at the site.Press reports (Science Daily) also indicate the discovery of the skeleton of a woman with a dove-shaped pendant under the tiles of a collapsed roof in an area north of the Basilica which was attributed to the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. A Topographic or Ridge Effect appears to be present at the site. |
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Gush Halav | possible |
End of Stratum VI Phase b Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Meyers, Strange, Meyers, and Hanson (1979) report strong evidence for destruction at the end of VIb due to the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. Their discussion of archeoseismic evidence follows: Therefore a second phase - VIb - of Late Roman occupation, after this seismic event, is postulated. This second Late Roman phase is also terminated by an earthquake, no doubt in A.D. 362. The coin evidence for this terminus is extremely illuminating, inasmuch as the earliest preserved surfaces of the western corridor contain coins which may extend at the latest until A.D. 365. Equally important, the ceramic repertoire from VIb corresponds precisely to that of Meiron Stratum IV and Khirbet Shema Stratum IV. In other words, there is a clear continuity in the ceramic tradition here, unmistakably late Roman. Whereas Stratum VIa contains many 3rd-century Middle Roman forms, these forms virtually disappear in VIb.Their misdating of the Cyril Quake to 362 AD is a mistake frequently found in older papers. Their mention of coins from the Western corridor extending "at the latest until 365 AD" is somewhat problematic as this coincides with the date of the Crete Earthquake of 365 AD. The epicenter of this earthquake was too far away to have produced archeoseismic damage at Gush Halav so this will be left as a numismatic mystery which does not infringe badly on their chronology. The biggest potential problem with their chronology is it is debated. Magness (2001a) performed a detailed examination of the stratigraphy presented in the final report of (Meyers, Meyers, and Strange (1990)) and concluded, based on numismatic and ceramic evidence, that a synagogue was not built on the site until no earlier than the second half of the fifth century. While she agreed that earthquake destruction evidence was present in the excavation, she dated the destruction evidence to some time after abandonment of the site in the 7th or 8th centuries AD. Strange (2001) and Meyers (2001) went on to rebut Magness (2001a) to which Magness (2001b) responded again. Netzer (1996) reviewed the original archaeological reports and although he agreed with the original dating of the material remains, he concluded that only one synagogue was constructed at Gush Halav and it was constructed in the first half of the 4th century CE. He further concluded that the seismic destruction of this synagogue dates to the 551 CE Beirut Quake. He did not interpret destruction in 363 CE that left a mark in the material remains. Eric M. Meyers in Stern et al (1993) also discussed this earthquake The second building period thus witnessed no major modification [for] the plan of the building. However, stratigraphic assessment of the data indicates quite clearly that great effort was made to reinforce corners, stylobates, and walls. The debris buildup in the western corridor in particular demonstrates how soon after the great 363 CE earthquake the basilica was reused. Many architectural fragments were then reused, and a smaller bema replaced the earlier and larger one on the southwest interior of the southern facade wall. |
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Meiron | possible | ≥ 8 |
End of Stratum IV Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Eric M. Meyers in Stern et al (1993) summarized Meiron's history as follows The population grew steadily from Late Hellenistic times but especially after the wars with Rome; its most productive era was the third and fourth centuries CE; its economic orbit was northern, oriented toward the port of Tyre; conditions from the period of Gallus Caesar (351~352 CE) to the great earthquake of 363 CE conspired to create a situation that resulted in systematic abandonmentRussell (1980) suggested that the site may have been destroyed by the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE; as well as abandoned. A thick destruction layer was found in multiple rooms of the lower city ( Site M I ) as well as the northern suburb of the city ( Site M II ). Further, in what the excavators believed was a store room of the so-called 'Patrician House', they discovered crushed storage jars still containing remnants of stored food. The stored food was interpreted by Eric M. Meyers in Stern et al (1993) as follows A strange fact came to light when the small finds (a bell and a sickle) and the food remains (identified as nuts, wheat, barley, and beans) from the Patrician House were examined. The food was placed in the storage jars in a charred and inedible state, inside a sealed room with no convenient access. On one of the storage jars the word "fire" was carved, while on another an inscription read "belonging to Julia (or Julian)." Apparently, the room had been a deposit area for a pious individual or family-possibly descended from the line of priests who settled in Meiron after the destruction of the Temple. The finds and food had been dedicated to the Lord as heqdesh (consecrated items) and hence purposely rendered unusable-the foods by charring, the bell by not having a clapper, and the sickle by not having a handle. The contents of this house undoubtedly reflect the religious views of the people who lived here.Coin and pottery evidence apparently dates this abandonment to ~360 CE (Meyers and Meyers, 1978). Meyers, Strange, and Groh (1978) report that in the stratum of interest (III) no stratified coins were found dating to after 360 CE. Magness (2012) redated the chronology of the original excavators. Her analysis is repeated in its entirety in Magness and Schindler (2015). This analysis redated construction of the houses to "the second half of the fourth century and first half of the fifth century, which means that occupation ended a full century later than the excavators believe." This was based on coin and ceramic evidence. In particular, Magness and Schindler (2015) identified some post 363 CE coins and ceramics as not intrusive which the original excavators viewed as intrusive. |
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Khirbet Shema | possible |
1st Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Although excavators Meyers, Kraabel, and Strange (1976) identified two earthquake events (
Eusebius' Martyr Quake of ~306 CE and
Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE) which destroyed a Synagogue I and then a Synagogue II at
Khirbet Shema, subsequent authors (
e.g. Russell, 1980 and
Magness, 1997) re-examined their chronology and redated the earthquake evidence.
Russell (1980) redated the two earthquake events to the northern Cyril Quake
of 363 CE and the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE while Magness (1997)
concluded that there was no solid evidence for the existence of a Synagogue I on the site and evidence for an earthquake event in ~306 CE was lacking. She posited that Synagogue II was
constructed in the late 4th to early 5th century CE and concluded that there was no solid evidence for the 419 CE (or 363 CE) earthquake as well. In Magness (1997) interpretation of the
evidence, she suggested that the site had been abandoned when an earthquake brought down Synagogue II sometime before the 8th century CE. |
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Beth She'arim | possible | ≥ 8 |
End of Phase III Earthquake (mid-4th century CE) - Destruction could be due to an earthquake or a rebellion or both
Mazar (1973) and
Nahman Avigad and Benjamin Mazar in Stern et al (1993) dated a collapse, destruction, and burnt layer to
the Jewish
rebellion in 351 CE against Gallus Caesar. Russell (1980) suggested that this destruction
layer was due to the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
Erlich (2018), reporting on renewed excavations that began in 2014,
reports that |
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en-Nabratein | possible |
End of Phase IIIb Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Meyers, et al. (2009) performed excavations of what they labeled Synagogue 2 at en-Nabratein. They subdivided the life of this structure into two phases of Period III (Late Roman, A.D. 250-350/363)
Magness (2010) examined the reports of Meyers, Strange, and Meyers (1982) paying attention to stratigraphic levels and chronological information and concluded that the first (and only) Synagogue built on the site occurred "no earlier than the second half of the fourth century, and point to occupation and activity precisely during the centuries when the excavators claim the site was abandoned." A coin of 341-346 from the east wall and pottery suggests a terminus post quem of the second half of the 4th century for the synagogue's construction. Other evidence leads to a terminus ante quem of the second half of the 5th century or later (mid 6th century). There is also the inscription which states that the synagogue was built or remodeled in 564 AD (Magness, 2010). Meyers and Meyers (2010) rebutted Magness (2010) analysis of the stratigraphy and chronology discussing intricate details of sloping bedrock, lensed stratigraphy, later disturbance of the site, the coin of 341-346 not being in the wall but in earthen fill, etc. etc. |
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Capernaum | possible |
363 CE Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Numismatic evidence from various strata revealed that a synagogue in Capernaum was built in the late 4th or early 5th centuries CE
(Loffreda, 1972,
Loffreda, 1973, and Chen, 1986)
note.
The synagogue was built on an artificial platform that was itself on top of the remains of an earlier village (stratum a). Chronology was established after construction
of the synagogue but not before leaving the timing and cause for the underlying village to be in remains unanswered - at least not definitively. Russell (1980)
speculated that the village was damaged or destroyed by the northern Cyril Quake of 363 AD citing numismatic evidence to bolster his case. |
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Magdala | possible | ≥ 8 |
4th century CE earthquake
de Luca and Lena (2014:126) reported that buildings were found in a state of collapse due to the 363 CE earthquake. de Luca and Lena (2014:139) dated a collapse layer in the harbor to the 363 CE earthquake. For causes yet unknown, the harbor basin was silted by 45–60 cm lacustrine sandy deposits covered by conglomerates of gravel (Units 3–4) typical of beaches areas, rich in mollusc shells and byoclasts (in particular melanopsis are copious). The imbrication of clasts, principally oriented eastwards and only partially toward the west, reveals the strongest water motion, typical of upper beach/foreshore environment. The potsherds from the conglomerates date back to the Middle-Late Roman (3rd century A.D.) period and give a terminus post quem for its formation (cf. Figs. 10 and 20 - see above). On this layer of pebbles, probably due to the earthquake of 363 A.D., there was the collapse of the elevation of the eastern portico to which several architectural elements – voussoirs, worked wall stones, corbels – belong. A great quantity of fragments of wall plasters with traces of paintings in vermilion red hues, burned ochre, yellow ochre, copper green, black and Egyptian blue, have been uncovered in context with pieces of ochre, red and caeruleum pigments, as well as coins and potsherds from the 3rd–4th century A.D. |
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Samaria-Sebaste | possible | ≥ 8 |
3rd-7th century CE Earthquake - Appears to suffer from chronological imprecision - NEEDS INVESTIGATION (by me)
While reports by Reisner, Fischer, and Lyon (1924: 218), Crowfoot, Kenyon, and Sukenik (1966:137-38), and Russell (1980) suggests evidence of seismic destruction, it seems that that this potential destruction can only be narrowed down to sometime between the 3rd and 7th century CE. |
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Bet She'an | possible | ≥ 7 |
363 CE earthquake
Raphael and Bijovsky (2014) report that The collapse of the roof of the Bet She'an odeum and the partial destruction of the theater were attributed to the 363 CE earthquake. A major wave of construction in the city center is thought to be related to earthquake damage (Foerster and Tsafrir 1988:18, 15-32; Foerster and Tsafrir 1992a:11-12; Foerster and Tsafrir 1992b; Foerster 1993; Atrash 2003:VI; Mazor and Najjar 2007:14,17,55-56,70,187).Tsafrir and Foester (1997:108-109) discussed the 363 CE earthquake at Bet She'an The excavations have shown that Scythopolis was damaged by the famous earthquake of the year 363 c.E. Beshan is mentioned as partly destroyed in a Syriac manuscript [Letter attributed to Cyril] that gives a list of the ruined settlements in Palestine by name. The excavations support the information given in the source that the city was only partially destroyed. The damage has been discerned mainly through the rebuilding of several Roman monuments in various locations at the site. The stratigraphy, the similar character of the rebuilding, and the distribution of ruined or renovated monuments all over the city center have led us to the conclusion that the monuments were damaged at the same time, most likely by an earthquake. The reconstruction of the monuments after the earthquake was somewhat inferior to the original second-century construction, but the classical character of the restoration proves that the classical tradition was still alive in the late fourth century. |
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Shechem and enrirons - Tell er-Ras | probable | ≥ 8 |
363 CE Earthquake - Well dated
Bull and Campbell (1968:4-6) reported on excavations at Tell er-Ras,
which is located on a north trending ridge off the peak of
Mount Gerizim and overlooks Tell Balata (ancient Shechem). There
they encountered the remains of a Temple Complex dedicated to Zeus which they suggested was built during
Emperor Hadrian's visit to Palestine around 130 CE. |
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Ma’ayan Barukh | Historical Background | n/a |
Inscription for Temple restored by Julian II
Negev (1969) published a description of an inscription regarding a restored Temple which he interpreted as attributing the restoration to Emperor Julian II (aka Julian the Apostate). Julian's name is not specifically mentioned but possibly referred to as Romani orbis liberatori. An analogue to another inscription in Italy was used to hypothesize that this referred to Julian. Language in this inscription found at Ma’ayan Barukh was also compared to other inscriptions attributed to Julian which Negev (1969) used to further bolster the case that the inscription found at Ma’ayan Barukh refers to Julian. Julian's reign was characterized by restorations of a number of Pagan Temples; some of which had been previously damaged by zealous Christians earlier during the 4th century CE. If Julian is referred to in the inscription, the use of the title "Pontifici maximo" dates the inscription to some time after the summer of 362 CE as Julian did not use that title earlier in his reign (Negev, 1969). |
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Anz | Historical Background | n/a |
Inscription for Temple restored by Julian II
Ambraseys(2009) reports Another inscription from ‘Anz in the southern Hauran states that another temple was restored by Julian (Littman 1910, 108/no. 186).This inscription is recorded in ILS (Inscriptiones Latinae Selecta) vol. 3 #9465 |
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Caesarea | possible |
Cyril Quake - 363 CE - tenuous evidence
Raphael and Bijovsky (2014) examined "a large hoard of 3,700 copper coins found in the excavations of" what may have been a synagogue. They describe the discovery of the coin hoard as follows: In 1962, during the excavations at Caesarea, Avi-Yonah unearthed a large hoard containing 3,700 copper-alloy coins, in a building that he identified as a synagogue. The latest coins in the hoard date to 361 CE, suggesting that the synagogue was destroyed by the 363 CE earthquake.The coins were found in Stratum IV. The original excavator (Avi-Yonah) "gave no reason for the destruction of Stratum IV." In discussing evidence for seismic destruction in Caesarea, Raphael and Bijovsky (2014) provide the following: None of the excavations revealed large scale damage in Stratum IV: "there is no evidence of wholesale destruction across the site, especially since the wall lines are still mostly intact based upon photographic record. Yet not much remains of the structure either in stratum IV or stratum V" (Govaars et al. 2009:132). After the earthquake debris was cleared, the synagogue was rebuilt. Stones from the previous synagogue were reused for the building of the stratum V synagogue, but the hoard was not found until Avi-Yonah's excavations. Govaars wrote "the direct relationship of the coin hoard to a structure is uncertain and, therefore the coin evidence cannot be used to date the still unknown structure" (Govaars et al. 2009:42). This is a somewhat peculiar statement considering the coins were found in the synagogue and are on the whole well preserved, homogeneous and well dated. Avi-Yonah was convinced that the hoard was directly related to the Stratum IV building: "The fact that a hoard of 3,700 bronze coins was found in the ruins of the synagogue itself that were buried in 355/356 AD indicates that this synagogue was built in the end of the third or the early fourth century, and was destroyed in the mid fourth century AD" (Avi-Yonah 1964:26 n. 5).1,453 coins from the hoard of coins were identifiable by mints and dates. They ranged in age from 315 CE to the first quarter of the 5th century CE. 110 of these coins ranged in age from 364 - 421 CE and post dated 363 CE. The bulk of the hoard, however, were struck between 341 and 361 CE. The authors noted that 11 of the post 363 CE coins may have been intrusive. An explanation for the other 99 post 363 CE coins was based largely on a comparison to a similarly dated coin hoard in Qasrin. The authors opined that the many coins from Julian II shows that the coins could not have been concealed before 355 CE ruling out the Gallus Revolt (352 CE) as a cause for the loss of the hoard. On the whole, this numismatic evidence for the Cyril Quake striking Caesarea seems tenuous however since Caesarea was mentioned as being partly ruined in Cyril's letter, it merits inclusion in this catalog. |
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Masada | possible | ≥ 8 |
2nd - 4th century CE Earthquake
Netzer (1991:655) reports that a WHEN Masada was thus taken, the general left a garrison in the fortress to keep it, and he himself went away to Caesarea; for there were now no enemies left in the country, but it was all overthrown by so long a war.Yadin (1965:36)'s evidence for proof of the stationing of the Roman garrison follows: We have clear proof that the bath-house was in use in the period of the Roman garrison - in particular, a number of "vouchers" written in Latin and coins which were found mainly in the ash waste of the furnace (locus 126, see p. 42). Of particular importance is a coin from the time of Trajan, found in the caldarium, which was struck at Tiberias towards the end of the first century C.E.*The latest coin discovered from this occupation phase was found in one of the northern rooms of Building VII and dates to 110/111 CE (Yadin, 1965:119)**. Yadin (1965:119) interpreted this to mean that, this meant that the Roman garrison stayed at Masada at least till the year 111 and most probably several years later.Russell (1985) used this 110/111 coin as a terminus post quem for the Incense Road Earthquake while using a dedicatory inscription at Petra for a terminus ante quem of 114 CE. Masada may be subject to seismic amplification due to a topographic or ridge effect as well as a slope effect for those structures built adjacent to the site's steep cliffs. Footnotes *Yadin (1965:118) dated this coin to 99/100 CE - This would be coin #3808 - Plate 77 - Locus 104 - Caldrium 104 - Square 228/F/3 **perhaps this is coin #3786 which dates to 109/110 CE - Plate 77 - Locus 157 - Building 7 Room 157 - Square 208/A/10 |
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Jerusalem - Introduction | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jerusalem - Robinson's Arch | debated |
363 CE Earthquake - Debated Chronology
Russell (1980) reported that Excavations in Jerusalem revealed a domestic structure just south of the pier of "Robinson's Arch" (Mazar, 1975: 247, Mazar, 1976: 36-38). Numerous coins were recovered from beneath the rubble and ash that marked the destruction of this house. The latest of these dated to the reign of Julian II. Mazar interpreted this destruction as probable evidence of Jewish preparations for the reconstruction of the Temple.However, Russell (1980) noted that the location of the structure to the side of Temple Mount rather than on it suggests that the destruction was more likely due to the Cyril Quake than Jewish preparations to rebuild the Temple.The Constantinian structures near the Western Wall may have been destroyed by Jews who, encouraged by Julian, began preparations for the reconstruction of the Temple—which project came to nought upon the emperor's death (Mazar 1976: 38). Brock (1976) citing Mazar(1971 - in Hebrew) noted that an inscription quoting Isaiah 66:14 was found in the same area and suggested it was associated with the Temple rebuilding project. However, The New encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land Supplementary Volume 5 (2008) - Reich and Billig notes that A Hebrew inscription citing Isaiah 66:14 was discovered by B. Mazar on one of the stones of the western wall. Mazar dated it to the mid-fourth century CE, the days of Julian the Apostate. However, it may now be understood as having been directly related to the cemetery, and should thus be dated to around the eleventh century CE.Gibson (2014) proposed that archeoseismic evidence for the Cyril Quake of 363 AD was in fact discovered during the excavations by Mazar and states the following : What is the date of the stone collapse near Robinson’s Arch?Gibson (2014) noted the similarity of the fallen stones north of Robinson's Arch accompanied by destruction of nearby domestic structure(s) to the description in Historia Ecclesiastica by Socrates Scholasticus (in Notes) that a mighty earthquake tore up the stones of the old foundations of the temple and dispersed them all together with the adjacent edifices.Gibson (2014) argued further that the massive stone collapse just north of Robinson’s Arch contained pilaster stones which had likely been upright and standing in 325 CE when Christian builders imitated them in supporting pillars that have been found from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church over the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the church at Mamre near Hebron. This would add further evidence that this massive stone collapse occurred during the Cyril Quake of 363 AD rather than due to Roman destruction during the seige on the second Temple in 70 CE [5]. Leen Ritmeyer countered in a blog pointing out that underneath the fallen Herodian stones was a thin layer of destruction debris that contained many Herodian coins supporting the original interpretation that these stones were pushed over the wall by Roman Troops after the Second Temple burned. He summarized his counter argument while making reference to an illustrated cross section
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Jerusalem - Givati Site | probable | ≥ 8 |
363 CE Earthquake - Well dated
Ben Ami and Tchekhanovets (2013) excavated a large peristyle building of the Late Roman period located to the south-west of the Temple Mount in the Givati site of the City of David. Ben Ami et al, 2013) dated its construction to the third century CE based on a coin found in one of its walls. The coin was a provincial Roman coin from the reign of Diocletian (Alexandria mint) of the year 285 CE. This provided a terminus post quem for the foundation of the building (Ben Ami et. al. (2013)). The building collapsed violently with scores of coins buried under the collapse in various rooms dated to no later than 361 CE providing a terminus post quem for the destruction (Ben Ami and Tchekhanovets, 2013). |
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Ghor-es-Safi (ancient Zoara) | definitive |
363 CE Earthquake
Three tombstones discovered in Ghor-es-Safi (Byzantine Zoara) provide an explicit date for the southern Cyril Quake.
All three tombstones state that the victims died
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Aphek-Antipatris | possible | ≥ 7 |
Byzantine Earthquake - 4th-5th century CE
Karcz and Kafri (1978: 244-245) reported The fact that most of the coins dated to the second half of the fourth century CE suggests that the cardo may have been abandoned at the beginning of the Byzantine period, which seems to corroborate the excavators’ conclusions (Kochavi 1989) that assumed the city was destroyed in the year 363 CE.The latest coins reported by Kochavi (1975), apparently come from the Early Byzantine level, dated to Constantine the Great (308-337 C.E.), Constantius II (337-361 C.E.), and Arcadius (395-408 C.E.). Jones (2021) added Caution must be exercised in interpreting the numismatic data, however, as the ceramic fords included PRS 3 forms dating to the mid-5th-6th century (Golan 2008: fig. 5.5-6). More troubling is the apparent presence of `Mefjar ware' (i.e. Islamic Cream Ware), which dates no earlier than the late 7th century (see Walmsley 2001), in the `earthquake stratum' (Neidinger 1982: 167). This may indicate multiple destructions, but without more complete publication of the excavations, this is difficult to evaluate. It is, however, worth noting the presence of a bishop of Antipatris at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (Dauphin 2000; Frankel and Kochavi 2000: 23, 31). This may be explained, as Fischer (1989: 1806) suggests, by assuming that the role of Antipatris `was filled with a great number of smaller settlements' like Khirbat Dhikrin (Zikrin) after the 418/419 earthquake, but it is equally likely that Antipatris was simply not abandoned in the early 5th century. |
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Avdat/Oboda | possible | ≥ 7 |
Southern Cyril Quake (363 CE)
Tali Erickson-Gini in Stern et al (2008) provided some information on the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. In 1999–2000 an area located east of the Byzantine town wall and the north tower at Oboda was excavated on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. one room of the earlier structure appears to have been utilized in the fourth century CE (room 7), and it apparently collapsed in the 363 earthquake.Intensity was downgraded one unit because of possible ridge effect. |
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Haluza | possible | ≥ 8 |
1st Earthquake - late 3rd - mid 6th century CE - perhaps around 500 CE
Korjenkov and and Mazor (2005) surmised that the first earthquake struck in the Byzantine period
Negev (1989) pointed out that one earthquake, or more, shattered the towns of central Negev between the end of the 3rd and mid-6th centuries A.D.. Literary evidence is scarce, but there is ample archeological evidence of these disasters. According to Negev aThe inscriptions Negev noticed were discovered at Shivta which Negev (1989) discussed as follows:decisive factoris that the churches throughout the whole Negev were extensively restored later on. Negev found at the Haluza Cathedral indications of two constructional phases. One room of the Cathedral was even not cleaned after an event during which it was filled with fallen stones and debris from the collapsed upper portion of a wall. In the other roomthe original limestone slabs of the floor had been removed but the clear impression of slabs and ridges in the hard packed earth beneath suggests that they remained in place until the building went out of use(Negev, 1989:135). A severe earthquake afflicted Sobata [aka Shivta].Although Negev (1989) and Korjenkov and and Mazor (2005) suggested the Fire in the Sky Earthquake of 502 CE as the most likely candidate, its epicenter was too far away to caused widespread damage throughout the region. This suggests that the causitive earthquake is unreported in the historical sources - an earthquake which likely struck at the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century CE. This hypothesized earthquake is listed in this catalog as the Negev Quake. |
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En Hazeva | possible | ≥ 8 |
Earthquake from 324 CE to early 6th century CE - possibly Southern Cyril Quake (363 CE)
Coins below collapsed arches in Room 45 provide an apparent terminus post quem of 324 CE while coins above an associated floor date from the first half of the 4th century to the early 6th century CE. Erickson-Gini and Moore Bekes (2019) discussed the 4th century earthquake as follows: Three phases of construction and occupation were identified in the camp (Erickson-Gini 2010:97–99). The camp appears to have been built around the time that the Diocletianic fort was constructed on the tell, in the late third or early fourth century CE. It was devastated in the earthquake of 363 CE, which damaged the bathhouse and the fort as well. The camp was subsequently reconstructed and remained in use until the sometime in the sixth century CE. |
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Mampsis | possible | ≥ 8 |
First Earthquake - Early Byzantine ?
Negev (1974) dated the first earthquake to late 3rd/early 4th century via coins and church architectural styles
however he dates construction of the East Church, where some archaeoseismic evidence for the first earthquake was found, to the 2nd half of the 4th century CE. Given this
apparent contradiction, I am labeling the date of the first earthquake at Mamphis as "Early Byzantine ?". |
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Yotvata | possible to unlikely |
Excavators view earlier destruction layer to be due to military activity rather than an Earthquake
Davies et al (2015) excavated a Roman Fort at Yotvata
from 2003-2007. A monumental Latin inscription discovered earlier (1985) outside of the east gate We are confident that the fort was destroyed in a violent attack as we encountered signs of intense burning across most contexts and, even more suggestively, the stone frame of the main gate was fire-seared as well. If the fire had been more localized and associated with signs of toppling collapse, then ‘natural causes’ may have been more persuasive or, indeed, that this represented an accidental destruction. Instead, the evidence suggests to us that the fort was put to the torch quite deliberatelyAnother of the excavators, Jodi Magness (personal communication, 2020) related the following In addition to the lack of evidence of visible structural damage that could be attributed to an earthquake in the earliest destruction level, the absence of whole (restorable) pottery vessels and other objects in that level suggests an earthquake did not cause the destruction, as one would expect these artifacts to be buried in a sudden collapse. Therefore, we attributed the destruction by fire to human agents.As for the collapse layer, it is dated to after the abandonment of the fort in the late 4th century. |
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Petra - Introduction | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Petra - Petra Theater | probable | ≥ 8 |
Mid 4th century CE Earthquake - Major Collapse - High levels of Intensity indicated
Russell (1980) reports that during the 1961-1962 seasons, Hammond (1965:13-17) found evidence of 4th century AD architectural collapse while excavating the Main Theater. From the stratigraphic evidence and the recovery of two coins of Constantine I (ruled 306 - 337 AD) and one of Constantius II (ruled 337-361 AD), he was able to date this event to the mid 4th century.Hammond (1964) labeled the destruction period as Period IV noting that In this period the scaena and its stories, blockade walls, the tribunalia(e), and other built parts of the Theater were all cataclysmically destroyed. |
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Petra - Khubtha Cliff | possible |
Cave abandonment could be due to an Earthquake
Zayadine, F. (1973) excavated on the western slope of Khubta Cliff; uncovering a small dwelling in a cave in "Area A". Inside the cave, Zayadine (1973), found objects dated to the beginning of the 4th century AD noting that "it was tempting to consider that the cave was abandoned after an earthquake." |
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Petra - Temple of the Winged Lions | possible | ≥ 8 |
363 CE Earthquake
Although the Phase X destruction layer was initially misdated to the Crete earthquake of 365 CE, Hammond (1980) later acknowledged this as a mistake. The corrected correlation of the Phase X destruction layer would then be to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. See also Area I near the Temple of the Winged Lions. Jones (2021) noted that Ward (2016: 144) has pointed out that the evidence for dating the major destruction to 363 is quite limited, although this is still the most reasonable date for this destruction.It should be noted, however, that the reason that the evidence for dating the major destruction to 363 is quite limitedmay be because a final report on the excavation was never published before the deaths of Hammond and Russell. |
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Petra - Near Temple of the Winged Lions | probable | ≥ 8 |
363 CE Earthquake
During the seasons of 1975-1977, Hammond (1978) excavated at a location north of the Cardo Maximus and encountered some chronologically precise archeoseismic evidence for the Cyril Quake(s). Ken Russell served as one of two supervisors on these excavations and provided a detailed account of the archeoseismic evidence encountered in his article from 1980. In the 1976 and 1977 seasons at what was termed the "middle house" structure of Area I, Russell (1980) reports the discovery of a destruction layer containing numerous domestic articles such as lamps, shattered ceramics and glass, spindle whorls, and coins. In Room II, a hoard of 85 bronze coins was discovered of which 45 were identifiable. All 45 identifiable coins were minted during the reign of Constantius II who ruled from 337-361 AD. Further, 40 of these 45 coins were identified as being minted after 354 AD. This coin evidence provided a terminus post quem - i.e. the earliest possible date of destruction was between 354 and 361 AD. This points to the southern Cyril Quake as the probable cause of the destruction layer in the "middle room" in Petra. |
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Petra - Qasr Bint | possible | ≥ 8 or 9 |
3rd-4th century CE Earthquake
Tholbecq et al (2019:36-37) attributed a destruction layer (see Figures 11 and 12) to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE based on excavations of the western Temple Staircase (peribola) in Zone F of Qasr al Bint. The dating is approximate - to the 3rd or 4th century CE - apparently based on pottery fragments (North African Sigillata) and oil lamps. Colluvium atop the destruction layer suggests partial abandonment of the site after the destructive earthquake. |
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Petra - Wadi Sabra Theater | possible | ≥ 8 |
Phase 4 earthquake - Late Roman/Early Byzantine - not precisely dated
Tholbecq et al (2019) reports |
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Petra - Jabal Khubthah | possible | ≥ 8 |
End of Phase 2 Earthquake - 4th century CE ? - Dating difficulties
Fiema in Tholbecq et al (2019) acknowledged difficulties in dating this presumed seismic destruction but suggested that the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE was responsible. |
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Petra - The Great Temple | possible | ≥ 8 |
Phase IX Earthquake - 4th century CE
Joukowsky (2009) attributed the Phase IX earthquake to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. |
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Petra - Pool Complex | possible | ≥ 8 |
Phase V Earthquake - 4th century CE
Bedal et al (2007) report seismic destruction in Phase V as follows: The architectural elements of the pool complex suffered serious damage in the mid-4th century AD, most likely a result of the well-documented earthquake of 363 AD. The upper courses of the pavilion walls collapsed into the pool, forming a dense layer of large stone rubble in a reddish-brown sandy matrix overlying the Phase IV fill (trench 1) (Fig. 24 ). In the south-west corner, stones falling from the South Wall and the Great Temple's East Perimeter Wall formed a similar destruction layer (Fig. 23 ).Bedal (2003:79) entertained the less likelypossibility that the observed destructionwas due to decay rather than seismic forces. While it is possible that this destruction resulted from neglect and structural decay over a long period of time, it more likely that the island-pavilion fell victim to the major earthquake of 363 CE that caused irreparable damage to many of the major monuments at Petra and destruction throughout the region (Russell 1980; 1985:42; Amiran et al. 1994:265). 74Bedal (2003:79) dated Phase V seismic destruction to the 4th century CE unlike Bedal et al (2007) who dated it to the mid 4th century CE. |
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Petra - Roman Street | possible | ≥ 8 |
4th century CE earthquake - some seismic effects appear to be speculative
Kanellopoulos (2001:16) speculated that a partial collapse of the upper story of Room 28 was caused by the southern
Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
Fiema (2008) further speculates that The disastrous earthquake which affected Petra on May 19, AD 363 (Russell 1980), would have spelled the end to some of the shops, or at least seriously limited their function. The shop excavated by Parr was definitely abandoned then, displaying a layer of destruction debris - Phase XV (Parr 1970: 366-368). |
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Petra - NEPP site | possible |
363 CE Earthquake
Fiema and Schmid (2014:429) suggest that Structure 2 in the NEPP area was
destroyed by the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
Fiema and Schmid (2014:429-430) suggest that Structure 1 in the NEPP area was
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Petra - ez Zantur | probable | ≥ 8 |
363 CE Earthquake - well dated and identified as seismic destruction
Stucky (1990:270-271) discovered two skeletons
(a woman and child) along with 65 bronze coins between the woman's ankles thought to come from a purse which was attached to her belt.
These were found beneath a destruction layer (collapsed roof and masonry) in Room 1 of
area EZ 1 in Ez-Zantur. The coins dated from 336 - 361 CE providing a strong
chronological correlation to severe earthquake damage in Petra due to the southern
Cyril Quake.
Bedal et al. (2007)
also excavated the Ez-Zantur domestic complex at Petra. They identified a destruction layer composed of architectural elements of the pool
complex of Ez-Zantur which they attributed to the southern
Cyril Quake.
Pottery fragments in the layer below the destruction layer were dated from the 1st to 4th century AD. EZ IV: The Nabataean "Villa"Seismic effects from Room 6 at ez-Zantur IV (EZ IV) included broken columns, debris, and a cracked flagstone floor under 6 carbonized wood beams which Kolb et al (1998) described as a witness to the violence with which the wood hit the floor. Also found in ez-Zantur IV were cracked steps which may have been seismically damaged. There were no indications from the article what lay below the steps and whether geotechnical factors could have played a role in cracking the steps. Kolb et al (1998) report that some structures at EZ IV were built directly on bedrock. Kolb B. and Keller (2002:286) also discussed archeoseismic evidence at ez-Zantur for both an early 2nd c CE earthquake and the southern Cyril Quake Stratigraphic excavation in square 86/AN unexpectedly brought useful data on the history of the mansion' s construction phases and destruction. The ash deposit in Abs. 2 with FK 3524 and 3533 provided clear indications as to the final destruction in 363. A further chronological "bar line" — a some-what vaguely defined construction phase 2 in various parts of the terrace in the late first or second century AD — received clear confirmation in the form of a thin layer of ash. The lamp and glass finds from the associated FK 3546 date homogeneously from the second century AD, and confirm the assumption of a moderately severe (not historically documented) earthquake that led to the structural repairs observed in various places and the renewal of a number of interior decorations.Kolb and Keller (2000:366-368) discovered some glass lamps normally dated to a later time period associated with 363 CE debris. |
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Petra - Jabal Harun | possible | ≥ 8 |
Pre-Monastic Phasing Destruction Event (IV) - 363 CE or an earthquake from around that time
In Appendix C of the Petra - the mountain of Aaron : the Finnish archaeological project in Jordan., one can find Pre-Monastic Phasing. Phase IV is listed as a destruction layer attributed to the 363 CE earthquake. However, if one considers the dates for the phases before and after Phase IV in Appendix C, it appears that other earthquakes are also plausible candidates such as the Aila Quake of the 1st half of the 4th century and the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE. Some of the reasoning behind assigning a 363 CE date to this presumed seismic destruction was based on the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE being assigned to seismic destruction at other sites in Petra. |
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Petra - Petra Church | possible | ≥ 8 |
PEnd of Phase II earthquake - based on rebuilding evidence - 363 CE ?
Fiema et al (2001:18) surmised that Phase II ended with an earthquake based on rebuilding evidence discussed below: The type of construction activity in Phase III [] included massive backfilling of certain spaces with material clearly originating from a demolition. Furthermore, there was seemingly no shortage of architectural elements - including doorjambs, drums, cornices and ashlars - which were reused. This evidence all indicates that Phase II ended in disaster and was followed by a period of intense restoration and construction. This hypothesis, combined with the available absolute dating, suggests that the earthquake of A.D. 363 is the best candidate for such a disaster. That earthquake is a historically documented, major natural calamity which beset Petra during the Byzantine period. The severity of its destructive power left numerous Nabataean and Late Roman period structures in ruins, e.g., the domestic structures at ez-Zantur, the Temple of the Winged Lions and Area I, the Theater, the Colonnaded Street area, and the Southern Temple. Afterwards, some buildings were either partially abandoned or never rebuilt. Whether the Phase II structures in the excavated area were seriously affected is not apparent, but it remains a possibility. At any rate, Phase II most probably represents the 3d century A.D. and the first half of the following century, ending in A.D. 363.Dating for the end of Phase II was largely established from sounding 30 of the foundation course of Wall I (infra), which Fiema et al (2001:18) states certainly dates to Phase III. Fiema et al (2001:18) reports that two coins were found there, one unidentifiable, the other dated to A.D. 350-55. |
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Petra - Blue Chapel and the Ridge Church |
363 CE earthquake - No evidence found
No evidence found. Bikai et al (2020:41) surmise that cleaning and restoration after the 363 CE earthquake may have removed evidence. |
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Aqaba/Eilat - Introduction | n/a | n/a | n/a | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aqaba/Eilat - Aila | definitive | ≥ 8 |
Earthquake V - Early Byzantine - 363 CE
Thomas et al (2007) identified earthquake destruction (Earthquake V) in a collapse layer which they dated to the southern Cyril Quake. A terminus post quem of 360 CE for Earthquake V was established with coins and pottery. Thin wall construction and surface layers produced pottery from the mid to late fourth century A.D. (similar types to Phase 2 described earlier). The latest pottery dates from about A.D. 360 onward (based on several examples of African Red Slip form 67, introduced ca. A.D. 360; Hayes 1972). However, over 100 coins were found on the final floor of this phase. The majority of these coins were found associated with the remains of a broken box in Room 2. The latest coins date to the reign of Constantius II who reigned from A.D. 337 to 361 (Parker 1999a) and provide a terminus post quem for this building phase.They added The very refined pottery and coin dates give a secure post A.D. 360 date for the Earthquake V event. The scarcity of post A.D. 360 pottery and the location of the coin hoard at the interface between occupation surface and collapse horizon indicate that this event cannot have occurred long after A.D. 360. We have interpreted this earthquake to be the historically attested earthquake of May 19, A.D. 363 (Russell 1980; Guidoboni 1994: 264-67).Powers (2010) reports the following: At the end of thetroubled third century, the Legio X Fretensis was transferred from Jerusalem to bolster Diocletian’s new Limes Arabicus, to the effect that the population increased substantially and the city emerged as a regional centre.61 A church was built in c. 300 – one of the oldest in the world – testifying to the early progress of Christianity in Palestine; it was apparently destroyed by the earthquake of 363 and subsequently covered by the new city wall. This stone and mud-brick wall was complete by the late fourth or early fifth century, suggesting something of the seriousness which the continued threat of Saracen raiding was taken.62 |
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Beit-Ras/Capitolias | possible | ≥ 8 |
3rd-5th century CE Earthquake
The second earthquake is believed to have tilted the
scaenae wall approximately
8 degrees to the north where the upper 2/3 of that wall is now missing.
Al-Tawalbeh et. al. (2020:8) suggest this event led to |
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Iraq el-Amir | possible | ≥ 8 |
4th century CE Earthquake (335-395 CE)
Lapp et al (1980:8-9) identified a possible seismic destruction layer between Stratum I and Stratum II. Stratum II |
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Dharih | possible |
363 CE Earthquake - abandonment of Baths - dating info not presented
Durand (2015:14) attributes abandonment of A2 baths in Dharih
to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
Durand (2015:14) states that during |
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Khirbet Faynan | possible |
363 CE Earthquake - unpublished evidence
Jones (2021:Table 1) suggested that there may be archeoseismic evidence at Khirbet Faynan for the Southern Cyril Quake in Area 16, Terrace 3, local stratum 2a in as yet unpublished work. A preliminary report can be found at Levy et al (2012:430-435). |
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Khirbet Tannur | possible | ≥ 8 |
End of Period III Earthquake - 3rd-4th centuries CE
Period III ended when |
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el-Lejjun | probable | ≥ 8 |
1st Earthquake - 355 CE - 384 CE
Lain and Parker (2006:130) established a terminus post quem of 355 CE in
the aedes
where architectural installations from a rebuild after the 1st earthquake included a new floor. Underneath the new floor was a layer which yielded
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Castellum of Qasr Bshir | possible |
Speculative evidence regarding a 363 CE earthquake
Clark (1987) identified some wall charring which could be earthquake related. Stones of the adjacent barrack walls (H.2:001 and 002) were charred at this level. This may represent a localized fire or possibly extensive conflagration, perhaps the result of the 363 earthquake (note also the ash in H.1:012, 014, and 015). Ceramics from this ash were predominantly Late Roman IV to Early Byzantine, but a query is raised by a single sherd which may be UmayyadElsewhere in the vicus building, H.5., coins were found in the soil immediately overlying floor H.5:009 with the latest coin dating to 337-340 (Coin #52-H.5:014). There were no indications that occupation of this room extended beyond the mid-fourth century. Although no clear archaeoseismic evidence was reported in the vicus building, Clark (1987:488) speculated that abandonment of this room may have been related to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. |
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Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes |
Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Dead Sea | unlikely | No physical tsunamogenic evidence from the Cyril Quake(s) has been conclusively identified in the Dead Sea. However, as discussed in the Commentariorum In Esaiam by Jerome in the Textual Evidence section of this catalog entry, Jerome apparently relayed oral reports coming from the town of Areopolis of a seiche in the Dead Sea generated by the Cyril Quake(s). Although Jerome mistakenly conflated these reports with tsunamis generated in the Mediterranean during the Crete Earthquake of 365 AD, Jerome's mistake is not a reason to reject this report and Geologists would be well advised to examine the Cyril Quake seismites for tsunamogenic evidence. | |
Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes |
Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes | |||||||||||||||
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al-Harif Syria | possible | ≥ 7 (based on 4.2 m of slip) |
Sbeinati et. al. (2010) report a seismic event X which they dated to 335 AD ± 175 years at a displaced aqueduct at al-Harif, Syria (close to Masyaf, Syria). | |||||||||||||||
Qiryat-Shemona Rockfalls | probable | 9 | Kanari, M. (2008) examined rockfalls in
Qiryat-Shemona which were attributed to earthquakes.
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was performed on soil samples beneath the fallen rocks.
Kanari et al (2019) proposed that
rockfalls QS-3 and QS-11 were most likely triggered by the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. Their discussion is quoted below:
QS-3 (1.6±0.1 ka) and QS-11 (1.7±0.2 ka) fit the historical earthquakes of 363 and 502 CE, and only lack 40 years in error margin to fit the one of 551 CE. Since the 502 CE earthquake was reported on shoreline localities only in the DST area, we find the 363 CE earthquake to be a better rockfall-triggering candidate. We suggest that the two ages are clustered around one of these earthquakes, hence suggesting they represent one rockfall event in the 363 CE earthquake. However, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that these were two separate rockfall events, both triggered by large earthquakes in 363 and 502/551 CE. |
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Bet Zayda | probable | ≥ 7 | The Northern Cyril Quake is a good fit for Event CH4-E1 (Modeled Ages 294-369 CE) particularly as it relates to other events observed in these trenches. (Wechsler at al., 2014) | |||||||||||||||
Dead Sea - Seismite Types | n/a | n/a | n/a | |||||||||||||||
Dead Sea - ICDP Core 5017-1 | possible | 7 | Lu et al (2020) associated a turbidite in the core to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake. CalBP is reported as 1636 ±47. This works out to a date of 314 CE with a 1σ bound of 267-361 CE. Ages come from Kitagawa et al (2017). The deposit is described as an 11 cm. thick turbidite (MMD). Lu et al (2020) estimated local seismic intensity of VII which they converted to Peak Horizontal Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.18 g. Dr. Yin Lu relates that "this estimate was based on previous studies of turbidites around the world (thickness vs. MMI)" ( Moernaut et al (2014). The turbidite was identified in the depocenter composite core 5017-1 (Holes A-H). | |||||||||||||||
Dead Sea - En Feshka | possible to unlikely | 7.9-8.8 | Kagan et. al. (2011) identified
two seismites at En Feshka which might match with the
Cyril Quakes of 363 CE although both seem a better fit for the
Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE.
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Dead Sea - En Gedi | no evidence | Migowski et. al. (2004)
assigned a 419 CE date to 0.5 cm. thick seismite at a depth of 237 cm (2.37 m).
Williams et. al.(2012) varve counted part of the same
1997 GFZ/GSI core that Migowski et. al. (2004)
worked on and produced an estimate of varve count uncertainty based on distance from a well dated "anchor" earthquakes
which in this case are the Josephus Quake
of 31 BC and the Sabbatical Year Quake of 747/749 CE. These anchor quakes are
between 329 and 394 years away from the Cyril Quake of 363 CE and/or the
Monaxius and Plinta Quake
of 419 CE. Assuming a worst case scenario of 394 years, the 8% varve count error estimated by Williams et al (2012)
constrains Migowski et. al.'s (2004) 419 CE to +/-32 years - i.e. between 387 and 451 CE. Two conclusions can be drawn.
Calculations
Migowski et al (2004) report the 419 CE seismite at a depth of 2.3716 m with a thickness of 0.5 cm. They report the ~175 CE seismite at a depth of 2.5562 m. A simple calculation reveals that in this part of the core, 1 cm. of sediment represents ~13 years of time. As 363 CE is 56 years earlier than 419 CE, it should be ~4 cm deeper and thus ~3.5 cm. below the bottom of the 0.5 cm. thick 419 CE seismite. It should not have been masked or overprinted. |
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Dead Sea - Nahal Ze 'elim (ZA-1 & ZA-2) | possible to probable | 8.0-8.9 (ZA-1) 8.1-8.9 (ZA-2) |
There has been an ongoing debate since the start of the millennium whether a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim should be assigned to the southern
Cyril Quake
of 363 CE or to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE. Ken-Tor et al. (2001a) assigned a 4 cm. thick Type 4 seismite dated to 358- 580 CE (± 2σ) and labeled as Event D in Nahal Ze 'elim (ZA-1) to the 363 CE Cyril Quake Seismite as did Williams (2004). Neither Ken-Tor et al. (2001a) nor Williams (2004) were aware at the time that the Cyril Quake was a result of two earthquakes with northern and southern epicenters; just that the damage reports were so widespread that it was doubtful that one earthquake could have produced so much destruction. Considering the possibility that textual reports overstated the damage, this cast significant uncertainty in determining which date to assign to the seismite. Williams (2004) estimated that that the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE was unlikely to produce sufficient shaking to form a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim which is why he rejected that earthquake for Event D. At the time, he was relying on Russell (1980) whose article suggested an epicenter north of the Sea of Galilee. This may not have been a good assumption. He also noted that at the time three authors (Abou Karaki (1987), Ben-Menahem et. al, (1981), and Galli and Galadini (2001)) had placed the epicenter of the 363 CE Cyril Quake to the south in the Araba. Other authors had estimated that the epicenter was in the north due to the many northern cities listed in Cyril's letter (Brock, 1977). At ZA-2, Kagan et. al. (2011) assigned a 5 cm. thick intraclast breccia at a depth of 342 cm (Modeled Age ±1σ - 453 CE ± 67, ±2σ - 456 CE ± 86). to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE. this appears to be the same seismite Ken-Tor (2001a) labeled as Event D at ZA-1. Kagan et al (2011) likely assigned a 419 CE date because it better fits with the modeled ages. Bookman (nee Ken-Tor) co-authored a paper in 2010 ( Leroy et. al., 2010) which maintained a 363 CE date for Event D. Because Migowski et. al. (2004) had used varve counting in the En Gedi core to assign a seismite to the 419 CE earthquake rather than the 363 CE Cyril Quake, there was doubt whether the 363 CE Cyril Quake had created seismites in the Southern Dead Sea. Because the southern Cyril Quake produced fatalities in nearby Ghor-es-Safi, Jordan (see Archeoseismic evidence for the Cyril Quake), it seems likely that the southern Cyril Quake produced a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim however there is a significantly better radiocarbon match with the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE and thus the correct Quake assignment remains unresolved. |
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Araba - Introduction | n/a | n/a | n/a | |||||||||||||||
Araba - Taybeh Trench | possible | ≥ 7 | LeFevre et al. (2018) might have seen evidence for this earthquake in the Taybeh Trench (Event E3 - Modeled Age 551 AD ± 264). | |||||||||||||||
Araba - Qatar Trench | possible | ≥ 7 | Klinger et. al. (2015) identified a seismic event (E6) in a trench near Qatar, Jordan in the Arava which they modeled between 9 BCE and 492 CE. The large spread in age caused them to consider two possible earthquakes as the cause; the early 2nd century CE Incense Road Quake and the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. They preferred the Cyril Quake of 363 CE based on weighing other evidence not related to their paleoseismic study and noted that further investigation was required. | |||||||||||||||
Location (with hotlink) | Status | Intensity | Notes |
Sbeinati et. al. (2010)
report a seismic event X which they dated to 335 AD +/- 175 years at a dispalced aqueduct at al-Harif, Syria (close to Masyaf, Syria).
Kanari, M. (2008) examined rockfalls in Qiryat-Shemona which were attributed to earthquakes. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was performed on soil samples beneath the fallen rocks. Kanari et al (2019) proposed that rockfalls QS-3 and QS-11 were most likely triggered by the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE. Their discussion is quoted below:
QS-3 (1.6±0.1 ka) and QS-11 (1.7±0.2 ka) fit the historical earthquakes of 363 and 502 CE, and only lack 40 years in error margin to fit the one of 551 CE. Since the 502 CE earthquake was reported on shoreline localities only in the DST area, we find the 363 CE earthquake to be a better rockfall-triggering candidate. We suggest that the two ages are clustered around one of these earthquakes, hence suggesting they represent one rockfall event in the 363 CE earthquake. However, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that these were two separate rockfall events, both triggered by large earthquakes in 363 and 502/551 CE.
The Northern Cyril Quake is a good fit for Event CH4-E1 (Modeled Ages 294-369 CE)
particularly as it relates to other events observed in these trenches.
(Wechsler at al., 2014)
Lu et al (2020)
associated a turbidite in the core to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake. CalBP is reported as 1636 ± 47. This works out to a date of 314 CE with a 1σ bound of 267-361 CE.
Ages come from Kitagawa et al (2017).
The deposit is described as an 11 cm. thick turbidite (MMD). Lu et al (2020) estimated local seismic intensity
of VII which they converted to Peak Horizontal Ground Acceleration (PGA) of 0.18 g. Dr. Yin Lu relates that "this estimate was based on previous studies of turbidites
around the world (thickness vs. MMI)" (
Moernaut et al (2014). The turbidite was identified in the depocenter composite core 5017-1 (Holes A-H).
See the following from
Lu et al (2020b) regarding estimating intensity from turbidites:
Previous studies have revealed that the intensity threshold for triggering historic turbidites are variable in different regions and range from MMI V½ to VII½ (Howarth et al., 2014; Moernaut, 2020; Van Daele et al., 2015; Wilhelm et al., 2016). The intensity threshold constrained from the Dead Sea data (≥VI½) is situated in the middle of this range.
Previous studies in Chilean lakes have indicated that the (cumulative) thickness of historic turbidites across multiple cores correlates with seismic intensity, and can thus be used to infer paleo-intensities in this setting (Moernaut et al., 2014). However, in the case of the Dead Sea core 5017-1, there is a random relationship (a correlation factor of 0.04) between the thickness of prehistoric turbidites and seismic intensity (Figure 5a).
Kagan et. al. (2011) identified two seismites at En Feshka which might match with the Cyril Quakes of 363 CE although both seem a better fit for the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE.
Top Depth (cm.) | Thickness (cm.) | Seismite Type | Modeled Age (± 1σ) | Modeled Age (± 2σ) |
---|---|---|---|---|
220 | 2 | 4 | 462 AD ± 54 | 452 AD ± 118 |
228 | 1 | 4 | 430 AD ± 58 | 422 AD ± 126 |
Migowski et. al. (2004)
assigned a 419 CE date to 0.5 cm. thick seismite at a depth of 237 cm (2.37 m).
Williams et. al.(2012) varve counted part of the same
1997 GFZ/GSI core that Migowski et. al. (2004)
worked on and produced an estimate of varve count uncertainty based on distance from a well dated "anchor" earthquakes
which in this case are the Josephus Quake
of 31 BC and the Sabbatical Year Quake of 747/749 CE. These anchor quakes are
between 329 and 394 years away from the Cyril Quake of 363 CE and/or the
Monaxius and Plinta Quake
of 419 CE. Assuming a worst case scenario of 394 years, the 8% varve count error estimated by Williams et al (2012)
constrains Migowski et. al.'s (2004) 419 CE to +/-32 years - i.e. between 387 and 451 CE. Two conclusions can be drawn.
Migowski et al (2004) report the 419 CE seismite at a depth of 2.3716 m with a thickness of 0.5 cm. They report the ~175 CE seismite at a depth of 2.5562 m. A simple calculation reveals that in this part of the core, 1 cm. of sediment represents ~13 years of time. As 363 CE is 56 years earlier than 419 CE, it should be ~4 cm deeper and thus ~3.5 cm. below the bottom of the 0.5 cm. thick 419 CE seismite. It should not have been masked or overprinted.
There has been an ongoing debate since the start of the millennium whether a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim should be assigned to the southern
Cyril Quake
of 363 CE or to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE.
Ken-Tor et al. (2001a) assigned a
4 cm. thick Type 4 seismite dated
to 358-580 CE (± 2σ) and labeled as
Event D in Nahal Ze 'elim (ZA-1) to the 363 CE Cyril Quake Seismite as did
Williams (2004). Neither Ken-Tor et al. (2001a) nor Williams (2004) were aware
at the time that the Cyril Quake was a result of two earthquakes with northern and southern epicenters; just that the damage reports were so widespread
that it was doubtful that one earthquake could have produced so much destruction. Considering the possibility that textual reports overstated the damage,
this cast significant uncertainty in determining which date to assign to the seismite. Williams (2004) estimated that that the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE was unlikely to
produce sufficient shaking to form a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim which is why he rejected that earthquake for Event D. At the time, he was relying on Russell (1980) whose article
suggested an epicenter north of the Sea of Galilee. This may not have been a good assumption. He also noted that at the time three authors
(Abou Karaki, 1987,
Ben-Menahem et. al, 1981,
and
Galli and Galadini, 2001) had placed the epicenter
of the 363 CE Cyril Quake to the south in the Araba.
Other authors had estimated that the epicenter was in the north due to the many northern cities listed in
Cyril's letter (Brock, 1977).
At ZA-2, Kagan et. al. (2011)
assigned a 5 cm. thick intraclast breccia at a depth of 342 cm (Modeled Age ±1σ - 453 CE ± 67, ±2σ - 456 CE ± 86). to the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE. this appears to be
the same seismite Ken-Tor (2001a) labeled as Event D at ZA-1. Kagan et al (2011) likely assigned a 419 CE date because it better fits with the modeled ages. Bookman (nee Ken-Tor) co-authored a paper in 2010
(
Leroy et. al., 2010) which maintained a 363 CE date for Event D.
Because
Migowski et. al. (2004) had used varve counting
in the En Gedi core to assign a seismite to the 419 CE earthquake rather than the 363 CE Cyril Quake, there was doubt whether the 363 CE Cyril
Quake had created seismites in the Southern Dead Sea.
Because the southern Cyril Quake produced fatalities in nearby Ghor-es-Safi, Jordan
(see Archeoseismic evidence for the Cyril Quake),
it seems likely that the southern Cyril Quake produced a seismite in Nahal Ze 'elim however there is a
significantly better radiocarbon match with the Monaxius and Plinta Quake of 419 CE and thus the correct Quake assignment remains unresolved.
LeFevre et al. (2018) might have seen evidence for this earthquake in the
Taybeh Trench (Event E3 - Modeled Age 551 AD ± 264).
Klinger et. al. (2015) identified a seismic event (E6) in a trench near Qatar, Jordan in the
Arava which they modeled between 9 BCE and 492 CE. The large spread in age caused them to consider two possible earthquakes as the cause; the
early 2nd century CE Incense Road Quake
and the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
They preferred the Cyril Quake of 363 CE based on weighing
other evidence
not related to their paleoseismic study and noted that further investigation was required.
AD 363 May 19 Palestine
Two successive earthquakes in Palestine, six hours apart,
destroyed 22 towns in Palestine and Syria and caused
great loss of life. The first shock happened at the third
hour, destroying one part of the region, and the second
shock at the ninth hour of the night between Sunday
and Monday, 18–19 May 363, destroying the rest of it.
The whole of Antipatris, Nicopolis, Sebastia, Sepphoris and their territories as well as Ain d-Gader, Haifa
and Japho were destroyed.
More than half of Archalais, Beit Gubrin, Hada, a
suburb of Jerusalem, Jerusalem itself, Lydda, Petra and
their territory as well as of Samaria also were ruined
and half of Ascalon, and Azotus, collapsed. Also part
of Baishan, Caesarea Gophna, Tiberias and their territory were destroyed and one third of Paneas fell to
the ground. Ensuing fires and heavy rains added to the
destruction.
These shocks in Jerusalem probably destroyed,
among other structures, a cistern, and they are often associated with the fire and earthquake which seems to have
halted the rebuilding of the Temple.
The greater part of Areopolis and its walls as well
as Zoora, in the Ghoe al-Safi, also fell, the earthquakes
causing the Dead Sea to flood its shores.
There is archaeological evidence that this earthquake caused damage in Gush Halav, and damaged the
cathedral and staircase in the ‘Fountain Court’ of Gerasa
(Jerash).
It is not possible to separate the effects of the
two shocks, one of which was probably felt in Antioch. It is probable that the first shock on the night of
18 May occurred in the northern part of the affected
region, whereas the second shock of 19 May affected the
southern part of the region.
Contemporary and later writers amalgamate the
effects of this event with those of the large earthquake
during the Hellenic arc of AD 365.
The contemporary orator Libanius, listing the
earthquakes during Julian’s reign, says that
‘as for us Antiochians, not one man survived, and . . . some cities in Palestine and Syria have been flattened in parts, others completely.’A far more detailed list, which enables the extent of the area affected by the earthquake to be established, is found in a Syriac letter attributed pseudonymously to Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem, which was discovered in 1976. This letter also provides a precise time and date for the earthquake in Jerusalem:
Monday, at the 3rd hour, and partly at the 9th hour of the night . . . on 19 Iyyar of the year 674 of the kingdom of Alexander the Greek= 19 May 363. Even though not all the place names in the letter have been deciphered, this kind of source is as valuable as it is rare, and gives us a yardstick whereby to assess other extant sources for this event and archaeological evidence.
‘As for us Antiochians, not one man survived, and the earthquakes which have happened bear witness to the evil: some cities in Palestine and Syria have been flattened in parts, others completely. It seems to us that the god is showing a great sign through great calamities.’ (Lib. Or. i. 134/Foerster i. 147ff.).
‘Now we should like to write down for you the names of the towns which were overthrown: Beit Gubrin – more than half of it; part of Baishan, the whole of Sebastia and its territory, the whole of Nikopolis and its territory; more than half of Lydda and its territory; about half of Ashqelon, the whole of Antipatris and its territory; part of Caesarea, more than half Samaria; part of NSL’, a third of Paneas, half of Azotus, part of Gophna, more than half Petra (RQM); Hada, a suburb of the city (Jerusalem) – more than half; more than half Jerusalem . . . Part of Tiberias too, and its territory more than half ‘RDQLY’, the whole of Sepphoris (SWPRYN) and its territory, ‘Aina d-Gader; Haifa (?; HLP) flowed with blood for three days; the whole of Japho (YWPY) perished, [and] part of ‘D’NWS.
This event took place on Monday at the third hour, and partly at the ninth hour of the night. There was great loss of life here. [It was] on 19 Iyyar of the year 674 of the kingdom of Alexander the Greek.’ (Brock 1977).
‘I heard (and the entire city testifies to this) that when the seas overran the shores of the whole world during my childhood, the walls of a certain Areopolis collapsed on the same night.’ (Hieron. Hist. Comment. ad Ess. 185/168).
‘And although he (Julian) weighed every possible variety of events with anxious thought, and pushed on with burning zeal the many preparations for his campaign, yet turning his activity to every part, and eager to extend the memory of his reign by great works, he planned at vast cost to restore the once splendid temple at Jerusalem, which after many mortal combats during the siege by Vespasian and later by Titus, had barely been stormed. He had entrusted the speedy performance of this work to Alypius of Antioch, who had once been vice-prefect of Britain. But, though this Alypius pushed the work on with vigour, aided by the governor of the province, terrifying balls of flame kept bursting forth near the foundations of the temple, and made the place inaccessible to the workmen, some of whom were burned to death; and since in this way the element persistently resisted them, Julian gave up the attempt.’ (Ammian. XXIII. i. 2–3/LCL. ii. 310).
‘For the Jews were friendly towards [the Greeks] and shared their eagerness, as they suspected that they would be able to succeed in their undertaking and thus spread lies against the words of Christ, and they put their heads together and concluded that it was the right time to rebuild the temple. When they had pulled down and gathered up the remains of the first building, and had cleared the ground, the next day it is said, when they were about to lay the first foundations, there was a great earthquake, and the stones were cast forth by a shock from the depths of the earth, and the Jews who were in charge of the work were killed and reached their destination (i.e. their deserts) at the sight of this earthquake. For the houses and public colonnades which were near the temple, and in which the Jews died, all collapsed together. And of the many who were trapped, some were killed, others were found half-dead with their legs or hands amputated, and others had lost some other parts of their bodies.’ (Sozomen v. 22).
‘And in another way the Emperor, being keen to hurt the Christians, disproved his own religion. For as he was fond of sacrifices, not only did he rejoice in blood himself, but he ordered that others who did not make [sacrifices] be punished. And when he had found out a few such people, he sent for the Jews. And when he had found out, from them, for his pleasure, that the Mosaic Law commands sacrifices, they went away. Since they said that they could not do this anywhere except in Jerusalem, he ordered them to build Solomon’s Temple quickly. He, meanwhile, advanced against the Persians. The Jews had for a long time been keen to know when the right time was for them to rebuild the Temple in order to offer sacrifices, and then they were keen to get to work. They showed themselves frightened by the Christians, and swaggered to them, threatening that they would do the things which they had once suffered at the hands of the Romans. Since the Emperor had ordered that the cost be borne by public funds, everything was made ready . . . Then Cyril, the bishop of Jerusalem, recalled the words of the prophet Daniel, which Christ confirmed in the ancient Gospels, and he said to many, that now was the time when “not a stone would remain on a stone”, but that the words of the Saviour would be fulfilled. Thus spoke the bishop. And during the night a great earthquake shattered the old foundation-stones of the temple, and scattered them together with the nearby dwellings . . . And when there were many people there, another portent occurred. For fire fell down from heaven and destroyed the workmen’s tools . . .’ (Socr. Sch. iii. 20).
‘But when they began to pile together thousands of measures of gypsum and stones, suddenly great winds arose, and whirlwinds, hurricanes and storms together shattered everything. And when they carried on their madness, and did not come to their senses through divine patience, first a massive earthquake happened, which of all divine phenomena was enough to inspire terror in the most brute creatures; and as this did not terrify them a fire came up from the depths of the foundations and devoured most of the builders and put the rest to flight. At night the building collapsed, crushing those who were in the neighbouring colonnade, asleep. The same night, the saving Cross appeared as a glowing sign in the sky, and the clothes of the Jews appeared not bright, but stained with a dark colour.’ (Theod. HE III. xv/1112ff.).
‘. . . he [Julian] persuaded the Jews . . . and they put their minds to rebuilding the Temple, and they worked very hard on this task with hand and mind . . .When of a sudden they were driven back by a savage whirlwind and an earthquake (brasmou ges), some rushed to the nearest temple in order to pray, others, as is accustomed to happen in such events, used whatever means were available for help, while still others rushed together in this disaster, and ran about hither and thither. There are those who say that they could not get into the Temple, but that when they approached the gates, which were open, it happened that they were closed by some unseen and unknown power, which worked wonders for the consternation of the unbelievers and well-being of the faithful. And they all say and believe that, while the injured were fighting each other to get out [of the Temple], a fire arose from the temple in their way, which consumed and destroyed some of them (which is similar to what happened to the Sodomites . . . ), while others had their extremities burned off in mortal places . . . And it was indeed this, and let no one deny it, nothing other than the powers of God. But, which was more extraordinary and revelatory than this, a brilliant light in the shape of the Cross shone in the sky, and as the earlier [portent] had reproached on earth the godless, now a shape and a name in the sky was an equal revelation, and was a divine emblem of victory over the unbelievers, higher than all [other] emblems.’ (Greg. Naz. Contr. Iul. ii. 149/668–669).
‘a.674: Julian urged the Jews to sacrifice, and indeed sacrifice they did. And they petitioned him to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. And he allowed them to rebuild it, and paid for it out of the public exchequer. For this reason, everything was quickly made ready: stones, tools, planks, line for the clay, and the other things which are needed for construction. However St Cyril, the Bishop of Jerusalem, when he saw these things, prophesied and said that the time had come in which the words of the Saviour would be fulfilled: A stone will not be left upon a stone here. And so St Cyril predicted these things. And at night there was a great earthquake so that the stones of the old foundations of the Temple were cast up and were scattered by the violence of this shock; and the houses nearby were overturned. And the story of this upheaval spread over the whole world. And again on the following day fire came down from heaven, and it consumed all the works of the architects and builders, together with the rest of their tools. The flames could be seen to consume hammers, tongs, axes and trowels; indeed all the day the fire burned up the tools. The Jews, however, were thrown into great terror; reluctantly they confessed that Christ was God, but they did not comply with their wills, nor did the third prodigy which happened among them lead them to faith. For on the following night, glowing signs of the cross appeared marked on their clothes, and at daybreak, when they saw this sign, they tried to scrub and wash it off by every means, but they were not able to.’ (Ps.Dion. 178/i. 132).
‘And the Jews, when they were blamed by Julian for neglecting their sacrifices, cunningly requested him, “As it is our law that we are not allowed to sacrifice outside the Temple of Jerusalem, grant that we may rebuild our Temple, if you want us to make sacrifices.”. He approved this and they began to build. Scarcely were the foundations laid, than fire sprang up from them; and it killed those who were there and consumed and destroyed the buildings. When Julian heard this he stopped urging them to build or sacrifice.’ (Chron. 846, 199).
‘And in the 52nd year of the peace granted to the Churches, Julian acceded to the Universal Imperium of the Romans, and he renewed the persecution against the Christians, and ordered the temples of idols to be opened and their altars to be rebuilt, the idols restored, and their cult to be re-established. He stole the treasures of the Churches; and he ordered synagogues of false teachings to be set up, and sent bishops into exile from their sees.’ (Chron. 724, 133/103–104).
‘a.674: At the same time, the Lord grew angry against the cities of the pagans and of the Jews and the Samaritans and the cities of false teaching in the south, which had taken part in the madness of the pagan Julian. And anger came from the Lord, and he began to destroy the unclean and pagan cities over the heads of their inhabitants, because they had polluted them with the blood which they unjustly caused to flow there, and He began to destroy 221 cities of which some were overthrown, others collapsed and others held out, in the month Iyar of the year 674.’ (Chron. 724, 133/104).
Felt Area for the 18-19 May 363 CE Earthquakes from
Guidoboni et al (1994)
(153) the night of 18-19 May 363
Immediately fleeing before both the furious storm and the earthquake, at the nearby temples J and everyone tells or claims that while the injured were fighting with one another to reach the exit, fire broke out in the temple, burning them and casting them out [...] But the most striking and miraculous thing of all was a light which rose up in the sky in the form of a cross 1...].This kind of account makes it seem likely that many details were passed on orally (see Brock 1977, p.267). In his Ecclesiastical History, Socrates describes what happened as follows:
"and on a night following, a mighty earthquake tore up the stones of the old foundations of the temple, and dispersed them all together with the adjacent ediiices. This circumstance exceedingly terrified the Jews; and the report of it brought many to the spot who resided at a great distance. When, therefore, a vast multitude was assembled, another prodigy took place. Fire came down from heaven and consumed all the builders' tools".The accounts of Sozomen, Theodoret and Philostorgius are on similar lines.
"3. At the digging of the foundations of Jerusalem, which had been ruined because of the killing of the Lord, the land shook considerably, and there were great tremors in the towns round about. [...] 5. We have not written to you at length, beyond the earthquake that took place at God's (behest). For many Christians living in these regions, as well as the majority of the Jews, also perished in that scourge — and not just in the earthquake, but also as a result of fire and in the heavy rain they had. 6. At the outset, when they wanted to lay the foundations of the Temple on the Sunday previous to the earthquake, there were strong winds and storms, with the result that they were unable to lay the Temple's foundations that day. It was on that very night that the great earthquake occurred, and we were all in the church of the Confessors. [...] 11. Now we should like to write down for you the names of the towns which were destroyed: more than half of Beit Gubrin; part of Baishan, the whole of Sebastia and its territory, the whole of Nicopolis and its territory; more than half of Lydda and its territory; about half of Ascalon, the whole of Antipatr is and its territory; part of Caesarea, more than half of Samaria; part of NSL', a third of Paneas, half of Azotus, part of Gophna, more than half of Petra (NINA); more than half of Hada, a suburb of the city (Jerusalem); more than half of Jerusalem. And fire came forth and consumed the teachers of the Jews. Part of Tiberias too, and its territory, more than half of Areopolis (RDQLY'), the whole of Sepphoris (swpRyx) and its territory, 'Aina d-Gader; Haifa (au) flowed with blood for three days; the whole of Japho (vwp-v) perished, (and) part of 'D'NWS. 12. This event took place on Monday at the third hour, and partly at the ninth hour of the night. There was great loss of life here. (It was) on 19 Iyyar of the year 674 [May 363] of the kingdom of Alexander the Greek [...]".It is also worth recording the evidence provided by Jerome in his Commentary on Isaiah. He refers to the seismic sea-wave of 21 July 365 (see entry ( 154 )) and relates it to an earthquake at Areopolis, on the border between Arabia and Palestine:
"I heard from an inhabitant of Areopolis — but the whole city witnessed the event — that a great earthquake occurred when I was a child, and the sea swept in over the shores of the whole world, and the city walls collapsed that same night".As Jacques and Bousquet (1984, p.446ff.) have pointed out, Jerome is bringing together two occurrences, one in 363 and the other in 365, but the nature of Jerome's evidence does not oblige us to date the Areopolis earthquake to 365, for it occurred in an area close to Palestine (east of the Dead Sea), but was perhaps too far from the area of the patriarchate of Jerusalem for Cyril to mention it in his letter. In our view, there are palaeographic reasons for suggesting that the debated 'RDQLY in Cyril's letter may be a reference to Areopolis rather than Archelais. Jacques and Bousquet (1984, p.447) rightly conclude that Jerome had something to gain by bringing the two events together, for Isaiah had prophesied (15.1) that Areopolis (Moab) would be destroyed in an earthquake, and by relating that event to the great "universal" earthquake of 365, Jerome enhanced the evidence he provided.
Audivi quemdam Aerapolitem, sed et omnis civitas testis est, motu terrae magno in mea infantia, quando totius orbis litus transgressa sunt maria, eadem nocte muros urbis istius corruisse.
"So they began to build. They built from morning to night. When they returned in the morning they found that what they had built [the previous day] had been destroyed, but not by the hand of man".Russell (1980, p.52) refers to possible obscure allusions in the Talmud. In Amiran's catalogue (1950-51, p.225), it was wrongly taken to be the 365 earthquake (see entry (154 )). The collapse of some buildings, for which there is archaeological evidence, has been attributed to this earthquake. See the bibliography in Russell (1980, pp.55-7). Grumel (1958, p.477) does not give an exact date for the earthquake, simply placing it during the reign of Julian. The exact date is in fact May 363, very probably on the 19th (see Brock 1977, p.268).