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Chronicle by Michael the Syrian

Background and Biography
Background and Biography

Excerpts
English from Chabot (1899-1910)

Meanwhile there was an earthquake at Damascus1 which lasted for days and shook her like leaves on trees. In Beit Qoubayê2 (?), there was a fortress that had been built at great expense by Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. It was overthrown from top to bottom and more than 80 people suffocated inside. Many in the city itself perished. Myriads of people died in Ghautah and Dareya3. Bosrah, Nawa4, Der'at, and Ba'albek were swallowed up completely . The water in the springs of Baalbek turned to blood. It returned to normal after much prayer and repentance by the townsfolk.

There was an extraordinary storm in the Sea. Its waves rose to the sky. The waves surged with a terrifying and horrid noise like a cauldron boiling from the flames of a fire. The sea overflowed and breached its banks destroying many towns and villages on its shores.

In the land of Balqa5, that is to say Moab, there was a fortress on the shore of the sea, where the Yemenite Taiyayê tribe lived. It was struck by the sea's waves, the foundations were torn out, and it was deposited three miles away.

This earthquake destroyed the city of Tiberius except for house of a man named 'Isa. It overthrew thirty synagogues and wonderful natural things. The thermal baths - that wonderful building - built by Solomon the son of David, collapsed and was destroyed. There was a spring with purgative water and amazing constructions above it, surrounded by hotels6 (inns) for the sick who sought to be healed. There were clay pots artistically made and arranged. On each pot was written how many times it purged the bowels of those who drank from it. Each person chose a pot according to how much they wanted to drink. All these buildings are gone.

A village near Mount Tabor moved four miles from its place with all its homes and buildings intact. Neither a stone nor a small mud brick fell. Nor did [467] any person or animal die - not even a chicken!

The spring next to Jericho moved six miles from its original location.

In Mabboug, the quake struck during mass. People and animals died because the great churches and walls collapsed.7

In Constantinople, the statues of the emperors fell as well as most of the buildings. The same thing happened in Nicaea and in the other cities.8

Around this time, Const[antinus] drove out Germanus, their patriarch, from the church, and installed Anasta[si]us.9
Footnotes

1. Cf. Theoph., Ad ann. 741.

2. The Arabic version omits these two words. | |

3. Ar.: | |. I believe the first name should be read | |

4. Ar.: | |, like our ms. Correct | |

5, Ar.: | |

6. The word translated as hotels (inns) is corrupt. Arabic appears to have been read | | and translated | |" and the necessary things”. But, from the letters, it is likely that the original text was a transcription of the Greek | |

7. Cf. Ps.-Denys, ad ann. 1059 (trans., P. 42).

8. THEOPH., Ad ann. 732.

9. It was Leo III who forced Germanus to renounce the Patriarchy of Constantinople; cf. THEOPH., Ad ann. 721.

English Translation by Bedrosian (1870-1871) of an Armenian version of Michael the Syrian

Background
Background

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. An Armenian translation to English is included below because it contains some celestial observations which might assist with deciphering the true chronology. The excerpt below was translated into English from Classical Armenian editions found in Jerusalem by Robert Bedrosian in the years 1870 and 1871.

[ 142 ]

Taking auxiliaries, Constantine came to Constantinople, blinded and exiled Artawazd, and established himself [on the throne]. He had a son whom he called Leo after his father. The Byzantines ceased their warfare with the Arabs. This was even more so for the Armenians.

In this period very great signs appeared from the month of March to the end of April. The air was full of dirt and dust to the point that day seemed like night. Then there appeared in the north three columns of fiery clouds [visible] for three days. These arose and descended. After this there appeared [g344] an unknown star, the size of the moon. Each day it rose in the east and travelled to the west, being visible to people for the entire day. There were flashes of the stars all night which flew against the Milky Way.

After this there was a severe earthquake and, [in places] where the earth was torn asunder, fountains arose, the color of blood. After this there was a huge churning in the Great Sea [the Mediterranean] with waves rising to the heavens one would think, and [seemingly] boiling down to its depths. Many people and animals near the shores died from the thunderbolts. A fortress which belonged to the children of Ammon which had been built in the midst of the sea was torn from its foundations. The great tower which had been built with great care by Solomon over a fountain he had discovered in the water collapsed and sank.

Following this there was a great famine and a plague accompanied by sore throats which killed 20,000 people a day in Basra. It is said that monkeys in the country of the Midianites became enraged and caused great damage by attacking people and animals. When Caliph Marwan of Damascus, who had moved his capital to Harran, saw all of this he repented [g345], seeing his death before him, and wrote [edicts] to all his realm [urging] repentance.

The ground trembled, tears flowed, and everywhere fasts and prayer vigils were undertaken. For they believed that these numerous strange signs were omens of the coming end of the world. Indeed, extraordinary marvels occurred. For example, there was a village at the foot of Mount Tabor which an earthquake moved from its place and transported two miles distant without disturbing any structures and without losing a single chicken. The city of Manbij sank in its place. A third of the city of Constantinople collapsed, while Nicaea was completely demolished. Moreover, many cities in Bithynia were destroyed.

However, the Chalcedonians did not repent or cease their evil doing for those living in Antioch bribed Marwan and established Theophilus — called the son of Mazman [Theophlact Bar Qanbara] as their patriarch. He went to Harran and, again through bribes, took over the church of the Syrian Orthodox. [A monk associated with] Archbishop Theophilus struck the altar with his hand and declared: "O desecrated altar, tomorrow you will be sanctified by Orthodox blessings and mass." As soon as he said this, he caught fire and burned to death and great fear seized the patriarch Theophilus. That night they gathered up the charred bones and fled, and the city remained Orthodox [Monophysite].

French from Chabot (1899-1910)

Au milieu de ces choses, il y eut h Damas un tremblement de terre1 qui dura des jours et qui la secoua comme la feuille des arbres. Il y avait à Beit Qoubayê2 (?), une forteresse qui avait été bâtie par Hadjdjadj, fils de Yousef, et pour laquelle il avait fait de grandes dépenses. Elle fut renversée de fond en comble et plus de 8O personnes y furent suffoquées; dans la ville même, beaucoup périrent. Dans la Ghautah et à Dâreiya4 plusieurs myriades de gens périrent. Boçra, Nawa4, Der'at, Ba'albek furent totalement englouties. Les sources d'eau qui se trouvaient dans cette dernière (ville) furent changées en sang; après la pénitence de ses habitants et de fréquentes rogations, les eaux revinrent à leur état naturel.

Il y eut aussi dans la mer une tempête extraordinaire, telle que ses vagues s'élevaient jusqu'au ciel: ses flots bouillonnaient comme un chaudron bouillonne sous l'action d'une flamme de feu, avec des bruits terribles et épouvantables. Aussi, elle déborda et sortit de ses limites, détruisant beaucoup de villes et de villages sur ses bords.

Dans la région de Balqa5 c'est-à dire de Mo'ab, il y avait une forteresse située sur le rivage de la mer, dans la-quelle habitaientdes Taiyayê yéménites: quand les flots de la mer se heurtèrent contre elle, ils l'arrachèrent de ses fondements, et la projetèrent a trois milles.

Ce tremblement de terre détruisit la ville de Tibériade, à l'exception de la maison d'un homme nommé 'Isa. Il y renversa trente synagogues des Juifs, et de merveilleuses choses naturelles. Les thermes, édifice admirable, bâti par Salomon, fils de David, furent renversés et s'écroulèrent. Il s'y trouvait une source d'eau purgative; il y avait audessus de merveilleuses constructions, et, tout autour, des hôtelleries6 à l'usage de ceux qui y venaient chercher la guérison; il s'y trouvait des cruches de terre rangées avec art, et sur chacune d'elles était écrit combien de fois elle actionnait le ventre de celui qui la buvait, et ainsi chacun choisissait une cruche selon la quantité qu'il désirait. Tous ces édifices ont disparu.

Près du mont Thabor, un village se déplaça de quatre milles, avec ses maisons et ses constructions, sans qu'une pierre ou un peu de pisé tombât de ses bâtisses; et pas un [467] homme n'y périt, ni aucun animal, pas même une poule.

La source d'eau qui était à côté de Jéricho s'éloigna dé sa place de six milles.

A Mabboug, le tremblement survint au moment de l'oblation; les hommes et les bêtes furent tués, car les grandes églises furent renversées ainsi que les murs7.

A Constantinople, les statues des empereurs tombèrent ainsi que la plupart des édifices. Il en fut de même à Nicée et dans les autres villes.8

A cette époque, Const[antinus] chassa de l'église Germanus, leur patriarche, et fit ordonner Anasta[si]us.9
Footnotes

1. Cf. Theoph., Ad ann. 741.

2. The Arabic version omits these two words. | |

3. Ar.: | |. I believe the first name should be read | |

4. Ar.: | |, like our ms. Correct | |

5, Ar.: | |

6. The word translated as hotels (inns) is corrupt. Arabic appears to have been read | | and translated | |" and the necessary things”. But, from the letters, it is likely that the original text was a transcription of the Greek | |

7. Cf. Ps.-Denys, ad ann. 1059 (trans., P. 42).

8. THEOPH., Ad ann. 732.

9. It was Leo III who forced Germanus to renounce the Patriarchy of Constantinople; cf. THEOPH., Ad ann. 721.

English Translation by Bedrosian (1870-1871) of an Armenian version of Michael the Syrian - embedded



French from Chabot (1899-1910) - embedded



Syriac from Chabot (1899-1910) - embedded

  • bookmarked to page 467
  • hand copied manuscript which shows some of the original layout
  • appears to be the manuscript which was written for Chabot between 1897 and 1899 CE in Edessa
  • ordered right to left
  • from Chabot (1899-1910)
  • from archive.org


Chronology

Michael the Syrian's account is of limited use for chronology because he doesn't mention a year, he amalgamated several earthquakes into one, and he provides divergent time markers. However, it has great value for Seismic Effects - provided that they are disentangled from the multiple earthquakes he is describing. For an example of Michael's confused chronology regarding years, consider the last line in the excerpt from Chabot (1899-1910) - Around this time, Const[antinus] drove out Germanus, their patriarch, from the church, and installed Anasta[si]us. Germanus was ousted as Patriarch during the reign of Leo III the Isaurian who ruled from 717 to 741 CE. Ambraseys (2009) provided the following discussion on Michael's unreliable chronology:
Michael does not date the events he describes. He inserts the notice between others, which are not arranged within a chronological order: the accession of al-Walid II in AD 743, the earthquake in the Yemen in AD 742, the partial eclipse of the sun in AD 743 and the accession of Theophilactus in AD 721. What is important is that the year of the earthquake, i.e. ASG 1059, is not given by Michael but by the editor of his work, J. B. Chabot.
Like Elias of Nisibis, Michael states that the church in Mabboug collapsed during the day at mass.

Seismic Effects
Seismic Effects Table

A table of seismic effects, in the order described by Michael, is presented below. Michael's account, which explicitly refers to one earthquake rather than multiple earthquakes, appears to amalgamate the Holy Desert Quake, the Talking Mule Quake, possibly the By No Means Mild Quake, and an unrelated earthquake(s) in Anatolia (e.g. one in Constantinople in 740 CE). Ambraseys (2009) suggests the possibility that the account of the destruction of a fortress in Moab where the Yemenite Taiyayê tribe lived may refer to a possible earthquake in Yemen in 742 CE (see Ambraseys et al, 1994:25-26). This table should not be used for developing Intensity Maps.

Location Damage Description Comments
Damascus earthquake lasted for days and shook her like leaves on trees
Beit Qubayeh a fortress that had been built at great expense by Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. It was overthrown from top to bottom and more than 80 people suffocated inside. Many in the city itself perished. location unknown making it hard to identify which earthquake was responsible.
Ghautah and Dareya many died
Bosrah, Nawa, and Daraat (Daraa according to Sbeinati et al (2005) swallowed up completely
Ba'albek swallowed up completely, spring "turned to blood"
Sea There was an extraordinary storm in the Sea. Its waves rose to the sky. The waves surged with a terrifying and horrid noise like a cauldron boiling from the flames of a fire. The sea overflowed and breached its banks destroying many towns and villages on its shores.
In the land of Balqa, that is to say Moab a fortress on the shore of the sea, where the Yemenite Taiyayê tribe lived. It was struck by the sea's waves, the foundations were torn out, and it was deposited three miles away. Balqa' is north of Moab
Tiberias destroyed. overthrew thirty synagogues and wonderful natural things. The thermal baths - that wonderful building - built by Solomon the son of David, collapsed and was destroyed. There was a spring with purgative water and amazing constructions above it, surrounded by hotels. All these buildings are gone. Holy Desert Quake
Village near Mount Tabor (likely mis-located - see Theophilus) Translational Landslide
Jericho The spring next to Jericho moved six miles from its original location. The location of Jericho suggests the Holy Desert Quake however the Byzantine sources associate this with the Talking Mule Quake and did not specify a location for the movement of the spring.
Mabboug Churches and Walls collapsed Talking Mule Quake
Constantinople most buildings and statues fell spurious - damage and destruction caused by a different earthquake
Nicea and other cities most buildings and statues fell spurious - damage and destruction caused by a different earthquake

Locations
  • Damascus
  • Beit Qubayeh - Location unknown
  • Ghautah
  • Dareya
  • Bosrah
  • Nawa
  • Daraat (Daraa according to Sbeinati et al (2005)
  • Ba'albek
  • Sea - which one (Mediterranean Coast, Sea of Galilee, and/or Dead Sea) is not clear
  • Balqa'/Moab1 (Dead Sea or Sea of Galilee)
  • Tiberias
  • Village near Mount Tabor (very likely mis-located)
  • Jericho
  • Mabbug
Note: Constantinople and Nicea omitted because they are clearly in error.
Footnotes

1 Balqa' is north of Moab and encompasses Amman. Thus, when Michael said Balqa' which is in Moab, he introduced some geographical ambiguity such that when describing the effects of a seismic sea wave, the location could be either the Dead Sea or the Sea of Galilee.

Sources
Sources

Online Versions and Further Reading
References