Chronographia Tripartita by Anastasius Bibliothecarius
Background and Biography Background and Biography
Excerpts, Chronology, Seismic Effects, and Locations Holy Desert Quake
Excerpts English from Niebuhr (1828)Anno Mundi 6238, divine incarnation year 738. In the 6th year of Constantine there was a powerful earthquake in Palestine, by the Jordan, and in all of Syria in January, at the 4th hour. Thousands died, an innumerable multitude perished, churches and monasteries collapsed, and it was worst in the desert of the Holy City.
Latin from Niebuhr (1828)Mundi anno 6238, divinae incarnationis anno 738, anno vero imperii Constantinl sexto factus est terrae motus magnus in Palaestina et circa lordanem et totam Syriara mense lanuario, hora quarta, et multa milia, quin et innumcrabllla mortua sunt, eccleslaeque ac monasteria corruerunt, et maxime penes eremum sanctae civitatls.
Latin from Niebuhr (1828) - embeddedChronology
Because Anastasius Bibliothecarius apparently copied from an earlier version of Theophanes, the same corrections applied to Theophanes' dates are applied to Anastasius' dates.
Year(s) Year Reference Corrections Notes 25 Mar. 745 to 24 Mar. 747 CE A.M.a 6238 extra year added in case Anastasius' A.M.a is a year too low
- calculated using CHRONOS
25 March 746 to 24 March 747 CE divine incarnation year 738 none
- Calculated using CHRONOS
18 June 746 to 17 June 747 CE In the 6th year of Constantine none
- calculated using CHRONOS
- reign started 18 June 741 CE
Time and Date Time and Date Reference Corrections Notes ~10 am in January none
- 4th hour refers to the 4th hour of daylight
Seismic Effects
- there was a powerful earthquake in Palestine, by the Jordan, and in all of Syria
- Thousands died, an innumerable multitude perished
- churches and monasteries collapsed
- it was worst in the desert of the Holy City
Locations
- Palestine
- by the Jordan
- all of Syria
- the wilderness of the Holy City (Jerusalem)
Talking Mule Quake
Excerpts English from Niebuhr (1828)Emperor Constantines 9th year
... That year there was an earthquake in Syria, a terrible calamity. Many died. A spring [moved?]. In another place in the mountains, a village moved with its walls and homes intact for 6 Roman miles. Finally in Mesopotamia, the earth split two thousand feet and out of the chasm came a white sandy soil and a spotless mule which spoke in a human voice and prophesied that the Arab lands would be invaded by a foreign army. And this prophecy came true.Latin from Niebuhr (1828)Anno imperii Constantini 9
... Anno vero eodem factus est terrae motus in Syria, et ingens ac terribilis casus, unde civitatum aliae quidem penitus exterminatae sunt, aiiae vero mediocriter, aliae autera a montanis ad subiecta campestria cum muris et habitationibus suis integrae migraverunt et salvae quasl ad miliaria sex vel etiam modicum quid ultra. denique asseveraverunt hi qui propriis visibus terram Mesopotamiae contemplati sunl, in iongitudinem diruptam fuisse ad miliaria duo, ct ex profundo eius ascendisse aiiam terram nimis albam et arenosam, de cuius medio ascendit, ut aiunt, animal mulinum incontaminatum, loquens humana voce, et praenuntians gentis incursionem ab eremo adversus Arabes. quod et factum est. Praeterca sequenti anno quartae indictionis, solemnitate sanctae pentecostes , coronavit Constantinus imperator Leoncm filium suum imperatorem per Anastaslum patrlarcham consentaneum suum.Latin from Niebuhr (1828) - embeddedChronology
Year(s) Year Reference Corrections Notes 18 June 749 to 17 June 750 CE Constantine's 9th year none
- calculated using CHRONOS
- reign started 18 June 741 CE
Seismic Effects Despite any possible exaggerations, these describe real secondary effects of an earthquake. As noted by Karcz (2004), the translational landslide and the sand boils would be more likely to occur in the rainy season when water table was higher. Sand boils are a common liquefaction effect and can be used to estimate a minimum intensity. There was also an oracular talking mule which, though only a secondary seismic effect in fiction, may have been the most memorable part of the story to subsequent readers and authors. All the Byzantine authors listed in this catalog who describe the Talking Mule Quake mention the talking mule and by the time we get to Glycas, the talking mule is all that remains in his shortened account. He doesn't even mention the earthquake.
- there was an earthquake in Syria
- Many died
- A spring [moved ?]
- block slide type of landslide - in the mountains, a village moved for about six miles with its walls and homes intact and without any small thing dying.
- Sand boils appeared in an earth fissure - In Mesopotamia, the earth split two thousand [feet?] and out of the chasm came a different soil which was white and sandy.
Locations
- Syria
- Mesopotamia
Sources Sources
Online Versions and Further Reading References
Notes Theophanes' Calendaric Inconsistencies
