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Aleppo

Citadel at Aleppo Citadel at Aleppo Left

Plate 7.14 - Citadel, mainly late 12th to early 13th century, Aleppo, Syria

(Creswell Photographic Archive, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, neg. C. 5682)

Hillenbrand (2000)

Right

Citadel at Aleppo

Wikipedia - Memorino - CC BY-SA 3.0


Names
Transliterated Name Source Name
Aleppo English
Alep French
Halab Arabic ﺣَﻠَﺐ
ash-Shahbaa Arabic nickname الشهباء
Khalibon Antiquity
Khalpe Antiquity
Beroea Ancient Greek Βέροια
Beroea Latin
Aram-Zobah Rabbinic usage
Ha-lam Ebla tablets
Hadad 3rd millennium BCE
Halab Old Babylonian Empire
Halab Old Assyrian Empire
Introduction
Introduction

Aleppo in Northern Syria has been occupied since remote antiquity and although its fortunes have waxed and waned with numerous constructions and destructions in its past, it appears to have been occupied continuously. Aleppo came under Muslim control in 636 CE. A major mosque was built in the early 8th century CE which has not survived due to various destructions and fire visited on the city ( Wayne T. Pitard in Meyers et al, 1997). A Byzantine Cathedral just south of this mosque, however, has survived and currently exists as a madrassa. A few vestiges of the Great Synagogue built during this period by Aleppo's then large and prosperous Jewish community have also survived. Because the city has been continuously occupied for millennia, little archaeological work has been done ( Wayne T. Pitard in Meyers et al, 1997). From the mid-eighth until the mid-twelfth century, Aleppo suffered a significant decline. Repairs were made to the major structures of earlier periods, but little new development took place in the city ( Wayne T. Pitard in Meyers et al, 1997).

Maps, Aerial Views, Illustrations, and Plans
Maps, Aerial Views, Illustrations, and Plans

Maps

Normal Size

  • Plan of Aleppo city
    Figure 2

    Plan of Aleppo city and its environs prepared during the period 1811-1818. The plan first established in 181by Vincent Germain, a European resident in Aleppo who was in the consul of France, then completed in 1818 by Jean-Baptist Rousseau (1780-1831), the French consul of Aleppo in 1814 (Raymond, 2010). The broken, bold line between the gates represents rests of the wall of the old city. (modified after Barbié du Bocage, 1825: 218-244).

    Darawchech et al. (2022)
    and its environs 1811-1818 from Darawcheh et al. (2022)
  • Map of Byzantine Aleppo
    Aleppo (Beroea) in the Byzantine era

    Source: Jean Sauvaget, Alep 1941

    Zureick and Moaz (2019-2020)
    from Zureick and Moaz (2019-2020)

Magnified

  • Plan of Aleppo city
    Figure 2

    Plan of Aleppo city and its environs prepared during the period 1811-1818. The plan first established in 181by Vincent Germain, a European resident in Aleppo who was in the consul of France, then completed in 1818 by Jean-Baptist Rousseau (1780-1831), the French consul of Aleppo in 1814 (Raymond, 2010). The broken, bold line between the gates represents rests of the wall of the old city. (modified after Barbié du Bocage, 1825: 218-244).

    Darawchech et al. (2022)
    and its environs 1811-1818 from Darawcheh et al. (2022)
  • Map of Byzantine Aleppo
    Aleppo (Beroea) in the Byzantine era

    Source: Jean Sauvaget, Alep 1941

    Zureick and Moaz (2019-2020)
    from Zureick and Moaz (2019-2020)

Aerial Views

  • Citadel of Aleppo in Google Earth
    Citadel of Aleppo in Google Earth

    click on image to explore this site on a new tab in Google Earth

Illustrations

  • Mainly 13th century citadel
    Fig. 7.59

    Citadel, mainly 13th century, Aleppo, Syria

    Hillenbrand (2000)
    at Aleppo from Hillenbrand (2000)

Plans

Citadel

Site Plans

Normal Size

  • Mainly 13th century
    Fig. 7.60

    Citadel plan, mainly 13th century, Aleppo, Syria

    Hillenbrand (2000)
    citadel plan at Aleppo from Hillenbrand (2000)

Magnified

  • Mainly 13th century
    Fig. 7.60

    Citadel plan, mainly 13th century, Aleppo, Syria

    Hillenbrand (2000)
    citadel plan at Aleppo from Hillenbrand (2000)

Textual Chronology
7th century CE earthquake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

References
Gonella's Excavations

Gonnella (2006:168-169) reports that excavations in the Citadel at Aleppo uncovered Byzantine Umayyad remains and that a textual source (Ibn al-Shibna, al-Durr al-muntakhab. 40) wrote that Muslim conquerors rebuilt the walls of the citadel after they were ruined by an earthquake. Initial Muslim conquest of Aleppo occurred in 636 CE. Gonnella's (2006:168-169) reports on Pre-Ayyubid [before 1171 CE] remains is repeated below:

The Pre-Ayyubid Architecture

Pre-Ayyubid remains proved to be very few. Only some wall remnants on the west side of the mound halfway down the hill obviously belong to an earlier period (Fig. 3). It is tempting to associate these walls with the Zangid [1127-1250 CE] fortification, that according to literary sources must have been at a lower level, at least the entrance situation, which explicitly was destroyed by Ghàzi [Ayyubid Emir of Aleppo from 1186-1216 CE] and replaced by his massive entrance tower only to be reached by the bridge. It is interesting to note that the treatment of the stones of these walls is very close to a pre-Ayyubid building with a staircase discovered in the excavations, which, however, is not yet dated with certainty.

It is extremely unfortunate that no time was given to document a survey carried out by the engineers of the university of Aleppo in 1998 that studied the stability of the citadel mound. For this, they systematically drilled 115 different size soundings all around the present ring wall, half way up the citadel mound and also in die ditch. In some of the soundings at the southern and eastern side of the citadel steep walls appeared which we believe to be Ayyubid foundation walls rather than older walls but it would have been interesting to analyse them more closely.

The only other Pre-Ayyubid traces are non-military and were found in the course of the recent excavations. A larger building complex with a kitchen can be dated to the Byzantine-Umayyad (building period 5) period8 with two large pithoi (Fig. 4) and a steatite vessel on four legs among the more attractive small finds. The glorious Hamdanid period [890-1004 CE] is only documented by contemporary pottery: particularly attractive is a rather splendid 10th century splashed ware bowl: an import brought from Basra to Aleppo. Rather interesting are also parts of a major building constructed of mixed stone and bricklayers with a well-built canal, that we attribute to the Mirdasid period [1024-1080 CE] (building period 4). A section of this canal was covered with reused altar railings. According to textual evidence, the Mirdasids reigning in Aleppo in the eleventh century built rather splendid palaces on the citadel and converted the two churches into mosques and for sure, these stone railings were part of the former church inventory.
Footnotes

8 From historical sources we know that the Muslim conquerors rebuilt the walls of the citadel after they were ruined by an earthquake, see for example Ibn al-Shibna, al-Durr al-muntakhab. 40.

Earthquake Catalogs

Ambraseys (2009)

AD 638 Aleppo

An earthquake in northern Syria severely damaged Aleppo, bringing the citadel and the walls down. These were rebuilt after the Muslim conquest of the city.

The date of this earthquake, for which there are no contemporary sources, is problematic. Ibn Shaddad, a thirteenth-century writer, says that before Abu ‘Ubayda conquered Aleppo in the a.H. 15 (14 February 636 to 1 February 637) there was a severe earthquake, which caused the citadel and the walls to collapse. Kemal al-Din says, however, that, when Abu Obeidah took Aleppo, the walls of the city, as well as those of the citadel, had to be repaired and in parts rebuilt, having been thrown to the ground before the conquest of the city (Ibn Habib, Durr. 31). Abu Obeidah captured Aleppo in the spring or summer of AD 638 after considerable efforts had been made to scale the fortifications of the citadel, which were impregnable (Blochet 1895, 548). It seems, therefore, unlikely that the earthquake occurred before the conquest of the city. Ibn Shaddad places the fall of Aleppo to 15 a.H. (14 February 636 to 1 February 637; Ibn Shaddad: al-A’laq. i. 1.23). Also see Mich. Syr. (CH ii. 419).

Guidoboni et al. place this event in AD 634 at the same time as the Palestinian earthquake, although, since they state that the two events were possibly distinct owing to the distance, the date seems hard to justify (Guidoboni et al. 1994, 356). I can find little evidence in the text that the earthquake took place then.

Note

‘When Abu ‘Ubayda captured Aleppo [in a.H. 15] the walls of the citadel were decaying because of an earthquake that had occurred before the conquests [of Syria]. The walls of the town and the citadel were destroyed and the repairs were not solid. He moved [there] after that and (re)built it(?).’ (Ibn Shaddad I/i. 23)

References

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

Guidoboni et al (1994)

(237) 634 •Aleppo

sources

  • Ibn Shaddad, A'laq 1.23
literature
  • Taher (1979)
catalogues
  • Poirier et al. (1980)
  • Poirier and Taher (1980)
The Arab geographer Ibn Shaddad records the rebuilding of the walls of Aleppo two years after the tremors mentioned by al-Makin - see entry 236 [Sword in the Sky Quake]:
When Abir`Ubayda conquered the city of Aleppo [in the year 15 of the Hegira = 14 February 636 - 1 February 637 A.D.], the walls and the citadel were restored, for an earthquake before the conquest had destroyed them. The work of restoration was not carried out skillfully, so there was a new collapse, and [the walls and the citadel] were rebuilt.
Although the tremors which struck Jerusalem and Aleppo presumably occurred in the same year (634 A.D.), there may have been two separate earthquakes, since the two cities are a great distance apart.

References

Guidoboni, E., et al. (1994). Catalogue of Ancient Earthquakes in the Mediterranean Area up to the 10th Century. Rome, Istituto nazionale di geofisica.

1114 CE Marash Quake

Discussion

Discussion

1138 CE Aleppo Quake

Discussion

Discussion

13 October 1156 CE Hama, Apamea, and Aleppo Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

9 December 1156 CE Aleppo Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

April 1157 CE Hama Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

July 1157 CE Shaizar Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

August to September 1157 CE Hama and Shaizar Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

1170 CE Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

1202 CE Quake(s)

Discussion

Discussion

1822 CE earthquake

Discussion

Discussion

Textual Seismic Effects
7th century CE earthquake(s)

Effect Location Image(s) Description
  • City Walls Collapse
  • Citadel Collapse
 Aleppo
  • Ibn Shaddad (late 12th/early 13th c. CE; Mosul, Aleppo) ‐ Guidoboni et al. (1994:356) quote Ibn Shaddad (1145–1234 CE), who lived in Aleppo for nearly forty years, as stating that “before Abu ‘Ubayda conquered Aleppo (in A.H. 15 – 14 Feb. 636 to 1 Feb. 637 – verified with CHRONOS) there was a severe earthquake, which caused the citadel and the walls to collapse.””

  • Kemal ad-Din (before 1260 CE; Aleppo or Cairo) ‐ Ambraseys (2009:115–116) records that Aleppo native Kemal ad-Din (1193-1262 CE) wrote that “when Abu Obeidah took Aleppo, the walls of the city, as well as those of the citadel, had to be repaired and in parts rebuilt, having been thrown to the ground before the conquest of the city (Ibn Habib, Durr. 31).”

  • Ibn al-Shihna (late 14th/early 15th centuries; Aleppo) ‐ Gonnella (2006:168–169) cites Ibn al-Shibna (al-Durr al-muntakhab, 40), who wrote that Muslim conquerors rebuilt the citadel walls after they had been ruined by an earthquake. ”

1114 CE Marash Quake

Effect Location Image(s) Description
  • damage was not very serious
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Sunday 28th of latter Jumada of 508 [27 November 1114], a terrible earthquake laid waste the districts of Aleppo, Harran, Antioch, Mar’ash and the Syrian borders. The tower of the north gate of Antioch and a few houses in the high quarter [Akabah] collapsed and there were numerous victims. As the fort of A’zaz was no more than a ruin, the governor went to seek asylum at Aleppo, but when he arrived he was put to death by order of Lulu, with whom he was at logger heads; Lulu charged another governor to re-populate and repair the fort. The damage was not very serious in Aleppo, but other places, like el-Athareb and Zerdanah, were almost completely destroyed. (Kemal al-Din C Chron. Ale, ad ann. 508/RHC 607) ” - Kemal ad-Din (aka Ibn Al-Adim)

1138 Aleppo Quakes

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Collapsed Houses (collapsed walls)
  • Cracked Walls (penetrative fractures)
  • Shaking of the walls of the citadel
  • Earthquakes experienced over several nights
  • Aftershocks (80-100 in one night)
  • Inhabitants evacuated to the countryside
  • Stones dislodged from walls (displaced masonry blocks)
  • Stones fell into the street (due to displaced masonry blocks)
  • debris/ruins (due to collapsed walls)
  • Destroyed City Wall
  • Destroyed Towers of the Citadel
 Aleppo
  • "We have from trustworthy people the description of this series in the North of the country (Syria). It was the worst in Aleppo and surrounding areas, collapsing houses in large numbers, cracking the walls, and shaking the walls of the citadel. The people of Aleppo evacuated their homes in the disaster. There were 100 shocks according to those who exaggerate and 80 according to the most precise witnesses. God knows what is true and what is false.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "In the year 1450, in the month of Tesrin I (Oct.), a red sign was seen in the sky, in the northern part. — In the same month, there was an earthquake and towers were destroyed in Biza'ah and Aleppo.” - Michael the Syrian - Harrak's 2019 does not include Aleppo while other translations do include Aleppo

  • "In Ṣafar [October 1138] there were many frightening earth tremors in Syria, the Jazīra and many lands. The worst were in Syria. There was a series of them over several nights, with a number of tremors every night. Much of the country was ruined, especially Aleppo. The people there, when the tremors became too much for them, left their homes and went out into open country. In a single night they counted eighty tremors. In Syria they experienced earthquakes from 4 Ṣafar until the 19th [11-26 October], accompanied by a roaring and terrible shocks” - Ibn al‑Athir

  • "On Thursday 13 çafar a prodigious earthquake occurred, followed by other shocks, the catastrophe continued; people evacuated their homes in Aleppo to reach the countryside. The stones broke away from the walls and fell into the street and people heard a terrible noise. There the citadel of al-Atharib collapsed killing 600 Muslims. The governor (Emad ad-Din) was rescued with a few men.

    ... 'Emad ad-Din had decided in 32 [A.H. 532 ?] to seize the properties that the Allepons had illegally occupied since the time of Radwan until the times of Ilghazi. He levied a tax of 10,000 dinars and took 1,000 dinars worth of loot. Then came this earthquake which made Al At-Tâbik flee barefoot outside the citadel. This was the end of the tax." - Kemal ad-Din (also known as Ibn al-ʿAdīm)

  • "There were continual earthquakes in Syria, and many towns, especially Aleppo, were reduced to ruins. The inhabitants of Aleppo were obliged to abandon their houses and to camp out in the country” - Abu'l-Fida

  • "In that year (a.H. 533) earthquakes occurred in succession in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, whose inhabitants decamped to the open country from 4th to 19th Safar.’ (Ibn al-Shihna, a.H. 533).” - Ibn Al Shihna

  • "‘([5]33) The inhabitants of Aleppo were affected by 80 earthquake shocks in one night. Abu Ya’la Ibn al-Qalanisi said: “The entire world was affected by these earthquakes; only those which occurred at H’alab were more violent: they destroyed the wall of this town as well as the towers of the citadel.”’ (al-Suyuti 76/24).” - as‑Suyūṭī

13 October 1156 CE Hama, Apamea, and Aleppo Quake(s)

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • heavy damage
 Aleppo
  • "In the night of Saturday 25th of the same month [551 Shaban] the earthquake again filled people with terror until the end of the day. Then it ceased by the grace of God, who unleashed it and then made it stop. Reports were received from Aleppo and Hamat, where heavy damage had been sustained; one of the towers of Afmya collapsed as a result of this shock.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

9 December 1156 CE Aleppo Quake(s)

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Houses destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Deaths (due to collapsed walls)
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Sunday 23 Shawwal [9 December 1156], there was a tremendous earthquake which disturbed men's spirits. Other earthquakes followed — too frequent to number. God spared Damascus and its districts from this terror, displaying his mercy to the inhabitants, all praise and thanks be to Him, But news from Aleppo, not to mention Shayzar, spoke of many houses destroyed [at Aleppo], falling in on their inhabitants and so causing many deaths.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

April 1157 CE Hama Quake(s)

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Affected
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Wednesday 19 Safar in the year 552 [H. = 2 April 1157], towards dawn, there was a tremendous earthquake which caused great terror; but He who had brought it about then allayed it through. His goodness and mercy towards His servants. There was another, weaker shock during the night of the following Thursday, and another the next day, at the time of midday prayer. News came from the north about the effects of these earthquakes; first of all came news from the towns of Shayzar, Hamat, Kafar Tab and Afamiyya and their districts, and then from the area around Aleppo. [...] and God the Most High, the Holy, the Merciful, knows more.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

July 1157 CE Shaizar Quake(s)

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Affected
  • Scared People
  • fatalities (due to collapsed walls)
 Aleppo
  • "on the eve of Sunday, 4th Latter Jumada (14th July) repeated earthquake shocks occurred. Reports arrived from the north that these earthquakes were felt in Aleppo and likewise in Hims with a violence which terrified and distressed their inhabitants, and that several places were destroyed in them, and in Hamah, Kafr Tab, and Afamiya.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "In A.H. 552 [February 13, 1157/February 1, 1158], a very violent event occurred in Shâm ; only God knows the total number of victims, it affected the greater part of the cities of Aleppo, Hamât [Hama], Shaizar, H'ims [Homs], Kafart'âb, Hisn al-Akrâd, Latakia, al-Ma'arra, Antioch, and T'arabullus [Tripoli].” - as‑Suyūṭī

August to September 1157 CE Hama and Shaizar Quake(s)

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Some buildings destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Towers of the fortress collapsed (collapsed walls)
  • Fatalities (due to collapsed walls)
  • People evacuated town
 Aleppo
  • "At Aleppo some of the buildings were destroyed, and its people left the town.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "Syrian territories in the month of Rajab [August — September 1157], and had destroyed thirteen towns, eight in Muslim territory and five in that of the pagans [the Franks]. The Muslim towns were Aleppo. ... There were a hundred victims at Aleppo” - Ibn al‑Jawzi

  • "As for Aleppo, some of its houses were destroyed, and its people left.” - Abu Yala

  • "the people of Aleppo went out and stayed several days outside the city, and they were saved. Their houses were knocked down, and only five hundred people perished there.” - Michael the Syrian

  • "the people of Aleppo fled from the city, and sat down outside it for days and were delivered, and their houses were thrown down, but only five hundred souls perished in it.” - Bar Hebraeus

  • "The towers of the fortress of Aleppo and of other towns collapsed.” - Ibn Taghri Birdi

1170 CE Quake(s)

Effect                                                        Location Image(s) Description
  • City collapsed (collapsed walls)
  • Walls and houses reduced to rubble (collapsed walls)
  • Citadel ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Ramparts overthrown (collapsed walls)
  • City walls ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Walls of Fortresses Damaged (displaced walls)
  • Markets ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Cracks and Fissures
  • Numerous Fatalities and the Stench of Death
  • Survivors in a state of panic
  • People fled to the countryside
  • Aftershocks
  • Reconstruction of damaged mosques, town walls, and houses
 Aleppo
  • "The coastal towns of Gabulum [Gabala] and Laodicea in the same province were also destroyed, as well as other inland towns held by the enemy: Verea - also called Halapia [Aleppo] ...” – William of Tyre

  • "there was a terrible earthquake in Outremer, in which the city of Tripolis, a part of Damascus, the most of Antioch collapsed. The Arabs were not spared for Halapre [Aleppo], which is the capital of the kingdom of Loradin, and some other states of the Saracens did not escape this plague.” – Robert of Torigni

  • "In this earthquake, the city of Berotha, that is to say Aleppo, collapsed in ruins... And those who said that God could not save or deliver the prisoners from their hands [i.e. from the Arabs], were suddenly heaped up in piles by the earthquake: their walls and their houses were reduced to ruins, and the air and the water became infected by (the bodies of) the suffocated. The whole city was rent asunder and became a series of cracks and fissures. The black ones (?) went up on them. The whole city became a heap of ruins. And what shows most clearly that the sword of anger had been drawn against it, is that nowhere else was there such horror. The seaward wall of Antioch collapsed, and the great church of the Greeks collapsed completely. The sanctuary of the great church of St.Peter collapsed, as well as houses and churches in various places. About fifty souls died in Antioch. Jabala completely collapsed. And in Tripoli a large part (of the city) and the great church similarly collapsed. And in the other coastal cities, and at Damascus, Homs and Hama, and in all the other towns and villages, the earthquake caused major disasters; but nowhere else had a disaster similar to that which had happened to Aleppo been seen or heard of [...] Although the whole town of Aleppo collapsed, our church was preserved and not a single stone fell from it. And in Antioch three churches were saved for us: that is to say, the church of the Mother of God, and those of St.George, and St.Barsauma. In Jabala, too, the little church we had was preserved, and the same is true of the churches in Laodicea and Tripoli.” – Michael the Syrian

  • "there was very serious damage at Damascus, Ba'alabik, Hims, Hamat, Shayzar, Ba`rin, Aleppo and elsewhere; walls and citadels were destroyed everywhere; the walls of houses fell on to the inhabitants, who were killed in great numbers. When Nur al-Din heard about the earthquake, he came to Ba'alabik to rebuild the ruined walls and citadel, unaware that the earthquake had brought destruction to other places as well. When he arrived, he was told of the situation in the rest of the country: town walls destroyed and inhabitants scattered. When he had put someone in charge of reconstruction and defence at Ba'alabik, Nur al-Din made his way to Hims, in order to guarantee protection to its people; then he went to Hamat, and then to Ba`rin. The whole country was in severe danger from the Franks, especially the citadel of Ba`rin, which was near their positions and had lost all its surrounding walls. So he left part of his army there under the command of a general, so that reconstruction work could be carried out night and day. Then he went to Aleppo, where the effects of the earthquake were beyond comparison with what had happened at other towns. The survivors were still in a state of panic, which kept them from returning to places that had not been damaged, for fear of further shocks. Moreover, they were terrified at the idea of remaining in the countryside near Aleppo, because there was the danger that the Franks might attack. When Nur al-Din saw the effects of the earthquake on the town and its inhabitants, he camped outside Aleppo and directed the work of reconstruction himself, overseeing the work of the labourers and masons until the town walls, mosques and houses had been rebuilt. The cost of the work was enormous.” – Ibn al-Athir

  • "The earthquakes which struck Aleppo were even stronger: half of its citadel collapsed, and there was severe damage in the city; 80,000 people are reckoned to have died in the ruins. The walls of all the fortresses were damaged, and the people fled into the countryside. Hisn al-Akrad collapsed, and no trace of its walls was left. The same thing happened at Hamat and Hims. When Nur al-Din came to Aleppo, he was worried that the collapse of its walls would expose it to enemy attack.” – Sibt ibn al-Jawzi

  • "news came to him [Nûr-ad-Din] of the earthquakes which had occurred in Syria, which had wreaked havoc in Aleppo, whose population had fled. These earthquakes had repeated themselves several times over several days. This happened on the 12th Shawwal of this year, on Monday at sunrise. More than five thousand people perished there, men and women. The mosque Djâmi` of Aleppo had already been destroyed by flames, as well as the markets which surrounded it, at an earlier time, in the year 564. Nûr-ad-Din hastened to have it rebuilt and to have the markets rebuilt. It was said that it was the Ismailis who set it on fire. He also learned in this place of the death of Majd-ad-Din-ibn-ad-Dayah, his foster brother, which had occurred in the month of Ramadan of the year 565: Nûr-ad-Din then returned to Aleppo and saw that the city walls and its markets were ruined. He camped outside the city and gave orders to rebuild the whole walled enclosure and also to build a second enclosure, concentric around the city, which formed a double fortification. His lieutenants restored the citadels and fortresses which had been ruined.” – Kemal ad-Din (aka Ibn Al-Adim)

  • " during that earthquake the walls of ALEPPO, and BA`ELBAK, and HAMATH, and EMESA, and SHAIZAR, and BAGHRAS and of their fortresses and great buildings fell down upon their inhabitants. The whole of the great church of the GREEKS which was in ANTIOCH fell down, and the altar of the church of KUSYANA of the FRANKS. As for us, that is to say the remnant of our people, He rendered us great help, having consideration of our feebleness, for there was among us neither king nor governor. Whilst all else in ALEPPO fell down, one church was protected.” – Bar Hebraeus

  • "This earthquake came to be known as the earthquake of Aleppo and its region, just as that of the year 552 was the earthquake of Hamat” – Ibn Wasil

  • "(a.Arm. 619) On 19th June a violent earthquake was felt which overthrew the ramparts of Antioch and Aleppo.” – Chronicle of Smbat Sparapet

  • "he heard of the earthquake in Aleppo which ruined much of the region.” – Ibn Shaddad

  • "(A.H. 565) That year there was a great earthquake in Aleppo, Baalbek, and their environs. Many people were killed. A bottomless fissure opened up in the mountains overlooking Baalbek. Earthquakes lasted for months, sometimes shaking day and night many times. (Ibn al-Dawadari, vii. 44).” – Ibn al-Dawādārī

  • "In A.H. 565 [September 25, 1169/September 13, 1170], a very violent earthquake occurred in Shâm and al-Jazira; it affected the greater part [of the area] of these provinces ; several enclosures were destroyed and many houses collapsed on their inhabitants in Shâm , notably in Damascus, H'ims [Homs], H'amât [Hama] and Aleppo” – as-Suyūṭī

1202 CE Quakes

Effect                            Location Image(s) Description
  • Affected
 Aleppo
  • "The earthquake also spread towards Homs, Hamah and Aleppo, and all the capitals.” – Sibt ibn al-Jawzi

  • "The earthquake reached Hims, Hamat, Aleppo and other towns” – Abu Shama

  • "Homs, Hama, and Aleppo were affected.” – Ibn al-Dawādārī

Textual Intensity Estimates
7th century CE earthquake(s)

Effect Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • City Walls Collapse
  • Citadel Collapse
 Aleppo
  • Ibn Shaddad (late 12th/early 13th c. CE; Mosul, Aleppo) ‐ Guidoboni et al. (1994:356) quote Ibn Shaddad (1145–1234 CE), who lived in Aleppo for nearly forty years, as stating that “before Abu ‘Ubayda conquered Aleppo (in A.H. 15 – 14 Feb. 636 to 1 Feb. 637 – verified with CHRONOS) there was a severe earthquake, which caused the citadel and the walls to collapse.””

  • Kemal ad-Din (before 1260 CE; Aleppo or Cairo) ‐ Ambraseys (2009:115–116) records that Aleppo native Kemal ad-Din (1193-1262 CE) wrote that “when Abu Obeidah took Aleppo, the walls of the city, as well as those of the citadel, had to be repaired and in parts rebuilt, having been thrown to the ground before the conquest of the city (Ibn Habib, Durr. 31).”

  • Ibn al-Shihna (late 14th/early 15th centuries; Aleppo) ‐ Gonnella (2006:168–169) cites Ibn al-Shibna (al-Durr al-muntakhab, 40), who wrote that Muslim conquerors rebuilt the citadel walls after they had been ruined by an earthquake. ”
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

1114 CE Marash Quake

  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
Effect Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • damage was not very serious
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Sunday 28th of latter Jumada of 508 [27 November 1114], a terrible earthquake laid waste the districts of Aleppo, Harran, Antioch, Mar’ash and the Syrian borders. The tower of the north gate of Antioch and a few houses in the high quarter [Akabah] collapsed and there were numerous victims. As the fort of A’zaz was no more than a ruin, the governor went to seek asylum at Aleppo, but when he arrived he was put to death by order of Lulu, with whom he was at logger heads; Lulu charged another governor to re-populate and repair the fort. The damage was not very serious in Aleppo, but other places, like el-Athareb and Zerdanah, were almost completely destroyed. (Kemal al-Din C Chron. Ale, ad ann. 508/RHC 607) ” - Kemal ad-Din (aka Ibn Al-Adim)
  • VI
This evidence suggests an Intensity of VI (6).

1138 Aleppo Quakes

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Collapsed Houses (collapsed walls)
  • Cracked Walls (penetrative fractures)
  • Shaking of the walls of the citadel
  • Earthquakes experienced over several nights
  • Aftershocks (80-100 in one night)
  • Inhabitants evacuated to the countryside
  • Stones dislodged from walls (displaced masonry blocks)
  • Stones fell into the street (due to displaced masonry blocks)
  • debris/ruins (due to collapsed walls)
  • Destroyed City Wall
  • Destroyed Towers of the Citadel
 Aleppo
  • "We have from trustworthy people the description of this series in the North of the country (Syria). It was the worst in Aleppo and surrounding areas, collapsing houses in large numbers, cracking the walls, and shaking the walls of the citadel. The people of Aleppo evacuated their homes in the disaster. There were 100 shocks according to those who exaggerate and 80 according to the most precise witnesses. God knows what is true and what is false.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "In the year 1450, in the month of Tesrin I (Oct.), a red sign was seen in the sky, in the northern part. — In the same month, there was an earthquake and towers were destroyed in Biza'ah and Aleppo.” - Michael the Syrian - Harrak's 2019 does not include Aleppo while other translations do include Aleppo

  • "In Ṣafar [October 1138] there were many frightening earth tremors in Syria, the Jazīra and many lands. The worst were in Syria. There was a series of them over several nights, with a number of tremors every night. Much of the country was ruined, especially Aleppo. The people there, when the tremors became too much for them, left their homes and went out into open country. In a single night they counted eighty tremors. In Syria they experienced earthquakes from 4 Ṣafar until the 19th [11-26 October], accompanied by a roaring and terrible shocks” - Ibn al‑Athir

  • "On Thursday 13 çafar a prodigious earthquake occurred, followed by other shocks, the catastrophe continued; people evacuated their homes in Aleppo to reach the countryside. The stones broke away from the walls and fell into the street and people heard a terrible noise. There the citadel of al-Atharib collapsed killing 600 Muslims. The governor (Emad ad-Din) was rescued with a few men.

    ... 'Emad ad-Din had decided in 32 [A.H. 532 ?] to seize the properties that the Allepons had illegally occupied since the time of Radwan until the times of Ilghazi. He levied a tax of 10,000 dinars and took 1,000 dinars worth of loot. Then came this earthquake which made Al At-Tâbik flee barefoot outside the citadel. This was the end of the tax." - Kemal ad-Din (also known as Ibn al-ʿAdīm)

  • "There were continual earthquakes in Syria, and many towns, especially Aleppo, were reduced to ruins. The inhabitants of Aleppo were obliged to abandon their houses and to camp out in the country” - Abu'l-Fida

  • "In that year (a.H. 533) earthquakes occurred in succession in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, whose inhabitants decamped to the open country from 4th to 19th Safar.’ (Ibn al-Shihna, a.H. 533).” - Ibn Al Shihna

  • "‘([5]33) The inhabitants of Aleppo were affected by 80 earthquake shocks in one night. Abu Ya’la Ibn al-Qalanisi said: “The entire world was affected by these earthquakes; only those which occurred at H’alab were more violent: they destroyed the wall of this town as well as the towers of the citadel.”’ (al-Suyuti 76/24).” - as‑Suyūṭī
  • VIII+
  • VI+
  • VI+
  • ?
  • ?
  • ?
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
Although this evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224), local Intensity was probably IX (9) or higher.

13 October 1156 CE Hama, Apamea, and Aleppo Quake(s)

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • heavy damage
 Aleppo
  • "In the night of Saturday 25th of the same month [551 Shaban] the earthquake again filled people with terror until the end of the day. Then it ceased by the grace of God, who unleashed it and then made it stop. Reports were received from Aleppo and Hamat, where heavy damage had been sustained; one of the towers of Afmya collapsed as a result of this shock.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi
  • VIII+
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8).

9 December 1156 CE Aleppo Quake(s)

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Houses destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Deaths (due to collapsed walls)
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Sunday 23 Shawwal [9 December 1156], there was a tremendous earthquake which disturbed men's spirits. Other earthquakes followed — too frequent to number. God spared Damascus and its districts from this terror, displaying his mercy to the inhabitants, all praise and thanks be to Him, But news from Aleppo, not to mention Shayzar, spoke of many houses destroyed [at Aleppo], falling in on their inhabitants and so causing many deaths.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

April 1157 CE Hama Quake(s)

  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Affected
 Aleppo
  • "During the night of Wednesday 19 Safar in the year 552 [H. = 2 April 1157], towards dawn, there was a tremendous earthquake which caused great terror; but He who had brought it about then allayed it through. His goodness and mercy towards His servants. There was another, weaker shock during the night of the following Thursday, and another the next day, at the time of midday prayer. News came from the north about the effects of these earthquakes; first of all came news from the towns of Shayzar, Hamat, Kafar Tab and Afamiyya and their districts, and then from the area around Aleppo. [...] and God the Most High, the Holy, the Merciful, knows more.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi
  • V+
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of V (5).

July 1157 CE Shaizar Quake(s)

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Affected
  • Scared People
  • fatalities (due to collapsed walls)
 Aleppo
  • "on the eve of Sunday, 4th Latter Jumada (14th July) repeated earthquake shocks occurred. Reports arrived from the north that these earthquakes were felt in Aleppo and likewise in Hims with a violence which terrified and distressed their inhabitants, and that several places were destroyed in them, and in Hamah, Kafr Tab, and Afamiya.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "In A.H. 552 [February 13, 1157/February 1, 1158], a very violent event occurred in Shâm ; only God knows the total number of victims, it affected the greater part of the cities of Aleppo, Hamât [Hama], Shaizar, H'ims [Homs], Kafart'âb, Hisn al-Akrâd, Latakia, al-Ma'arra, Antioch, and T'arabullus [Tripoli].” - as‑Suyūṭī
  • V+
  • VI+
  • VIII+
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8).

August to September 1157 CE Hama and Shaizar Quake(s)

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Some buildings destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Towers of the fortress collapsed (collapsed walls)
  • Fatalities (due to collapsed walls)
  • People evacuated town
 Aleppo
  • "At Aleppo some of the buildings were destroyed, and its people left the town.” - Ibn al‑Qalanisi

  • "Syrian territories in the month of Rajab [August — September 1157], and had destroyed thirteen towns, eight in Muslim territory and five in that of the pagans [the Franks]. The Muslim towns were Aleppo. ... There were a hundred victims at Aleppo” - Ibn al‑Jawzi

  • "As for Aleppo, some of its houses were destroyed, and its people left.” - Abu Yala

  • "the people of Aleppo went out and stayed several days outside the city, and they were saved. Their houses were knocked down, and only five hundred people perished there.” - Michael the Syrian

  • "the people of Aleppo fled from the city, and sat down outside it for days and were delivered, and their houses were thrown down, but only five hundred souls perished in it.” - Bar Hebraeus

  • "The towers of the fortress of Aleppo and of other towns collapsed.” - Ibn Taghri Birdi
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • ?
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

1170 CE Quake(s)

  • Earthquake Archeological Effects chart
    Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
    of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)
  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
  • Environmental Effects (ESI 2007)
    Graphic Representation of ESI 2007 Intensity

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

  • Synoptic Table of ESI 2007
    Plate I

    Synoptic Table of ESI 2007 Intensity Degrees - The accuracy of the assessment improves in the higher degrees of the scale, in particular in the range of occurrence of primary effects, typically starting from intensity VIII, and with growing resolution for intensity IX, X, XI and XII. Hence, in the yellow group of intensity degrees (XI-XII) they become the most effective tool for intensity assessment.

    click on image to open a higher resolution version in a new tab

    Michetti et al. (2007)
    Intensity Degrees from Michetti et al. (2007)
Effect                                                        Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • City collapsed (collapsed walls)
  • Walls and houses reduced to rubble (collapsed walls)
  • Citadel ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Ramparts overthrown (collapsed walls)
  • City walls ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Walls of Fortresses Damaged (displaced walls)
  • Markets ruined (collapsed walls)
  • Cracks and Fissures
  • Numerous Fatalities and the Stench of Death (due to collapsed walls)
  • Survivors in a state of panic
  • People fled to the countryside
  • Aftershocks
  • Reconstruction of damaged mosques, town walls, and houses
 Aleppo
  • "The coastal towns of Gabulum [Gabala] and Laodicea in the same province were also destroyed, as well as other inland towns held by the enemy: Verea - also called Halapia [Aleppo] ...” – William of Tyre

  • "there was a terrible earthquake in Outremer, in which the city of Tripolis, a part of Damascus, the most of Antioch collapsed. The Arabs were not spared for Halapre [Aleppo], which is the capital of the kingdom of Loradin, and some other states of the Saracens did not escape this plague.” – Robert of Torigni

  • "In this earthquake, the city of Berotha, that is to say Aleppo, collapsed in ruins... And those who said that God could not save or deliver the prisoners from their hands [i.e. from the Arabs], were suddenly heaped up in piles by the earthquake: their walls and their houses were reduced to ruins, and the air and the water became infected by (the bodies of) the suffocated. The whole city was rent asunder and became a series of cracks and fissures. The black ones (?) went up on them. The whole city became a heap of ruins. And what shows most clearly that the sword of anger had been drawn against it, is that nowhere else was there such horror. The seaward wall of Antioch collapsed, and the great church of the Greeks collapsed completely. The sanctuary of the great church of St.Peter collapsed, as well as houses and churches in various places. About fifty souls died in Antioch. Jabala completely collapsed. And in Tripoli a large part (of the city) and the great church similarly collapsed. And in the other coastal cities, and at Damascus, Homs and Hama, and in all the other towns and villages, the earthquake caused major disasters; but nowhere else had a disaster similar to that which had happened to Aleppo been seen or heard of [...] Although the whole town of Aleppo collapsed, our church was preserved and not a single stone fell from it. And in Antioch three churches were saved for us: that is to say, the church of the Mother of God, and those of St.George, and St.Barsauma. In Jabala, too, the little church we had was preserved, and the same is true of the churches in Laodicea and Tripoli.” – Michael the Syrian

  • "there was very serious damage at Damascus, Ba'alabik, Hims, Hamat, Shayzar, Ba`rin, Aleppo and elsewhere; walls and citadels were destroyed everywhere; the walls of houses fell on to the inhabitants, who were killed in great numbers. When Nur al-Din heard about the earthquake, he came to Ba'alabik to rebuild the ruined walls and citadel, unaware that the earthquake had brought destruction to other places as well. When he arrived, he was told of the situation in the rest of the country: town walls destroyed and inhabitants scattered. When he had put someone in charge of reconstruction and defence at Ba'alabik, Nur al-Din made his way to Hims, in order to guarantee protection to its people; then he went to Hamat, and then to Ba`rin. The whole country was in severe danger from the Franks, especially the citadel of Ba`rin, which was near their positions and had lost all its surrounding walls. So he left part of his army there under the command of a general, so that reconstruction work could be carried out night and day. Then he went to Aleppo, where the effects of the earthquake were beyond comparison with what had happened at other towns. The survivors were still in a state of panic, which kept them from returning to places that had not been damaged, for fear of further shocks. Moreover, they were terrified at the idea of remaining in the countryside near Aleppo, because there was the danger that the Franks might attack. When Nur al-Din saw the effects of the earthquake on the town and its inhabitants, he camped outside Aleppo and directed the work of reconstruction himself, overseeing the work of the labourers and masons until the town walls, mosques and houses had been rebuilt. The cost of the work was enormous.” – Ibn al-Athir

  • "The earthquakes which struck Aleppo were even stronger: half of its citadel collapsed, and there was severe damage in the city; 80,000 people are reckoned to have died in the ruins. The walls of all the fortresses were damaged, and the people fled into the countryside. Hisn al-Akrad collapsed, and no trace of its walls was left. The same thing happened at Hamat and Hims. When Nur al-Din came to Aleppo, he was worried that the collapse of its walls would expose it to enemy attack.” – Sibt ibn al-Jawzi

  • "news came to him [Nûr-ad-Din] of the earthquakes which had occurred in Syria, which had wreaked havoc in Aleppo, whose population had fled. These earthquakes had repeated themselves several times over several days. This happened on the 12th Shawwal of this year, on Monday at sunrise. More than five thousand people perished there, men and women. The mosque Djâmi` of Aleppo had already been destroyed by flames, as well as the markets which surrounded it, at an earlier time, in the year 564. Nûr-ad-Din hastened to have it rebuilt and to have the markets rebuilt. It was said that it was the Ismailis who set it on fire. He also learned in this place of the death of Majd-ad-Din-ibn-ad-Dayah, his foster brother, which had occurred in the month of Ramadan of the year 565: Nûr-ad-Din then returned to Aleppo and saw that the city walls and its markets were ruined. He camped outside the city and gave orders to rebuild the whole walled enclosure and also to build a second enclosure, concentric around the city, which formed a double fortification. His lieutenants restored the citadels and fortresses which had been ruined.” – Kemal ad-Din (aka Ibn Al-Adim)

  • " during that earthquake the walls of ALEPPO, and BA`ELBAK, and HAMATH, and EMESA, and SHAIZAR, and BAGHRAS and of their fortresses and great buildings fell down upon their inhabitants. The whole of the great church of the GREEKS which was in ANTIOCH fell down, and the altar of the church of KUSYANA of the FRANKS. As for us, that is to say the remnant of our people, He rendered us great help, having consideration of our feebleness, for there was among us neither king nor governor. Whilst all else in ALEPPO fell down, one church was protected.” – Bar Hebraeus

  • "This earthquake came to be known as the earthquake of Aleppo and its region, just as that of the year 552 was the earthquake of Hamat” – Ibn Wasil

  • "(a.Arm. 619) On 19th June a violent earthquake was felt which overthrew the ramparts of Antioch and Aleppo.” – Chronicle of Smbat Sparapet

  • "he heard of the earthquake in Aleppo which ruined much of the region.” – Ibn Shaddad

  • "(A.H. 565) That year there was a great earthquake in Aleppo, Baalbek, and their environs. Many people were killed. A bottomless fissure opened up in the mountains overlooking Baalbek. Earthquakes lasted for months, sometimes shaking day and night many times. (Ibn al-Dawadari, vii. 44).” – Ibn al-Dawādārī

  • "In A.H. 565 [September 25, 1169/September 13, 1170], a very violent earthquake occurred in Shâm and al-Jazira; it affected the greater part [of the area] of these provinces ; several enclosures were destroyed and many houses collapsed on their inhabitants in Shâm , notably in Damascus, H'ims [Homs], H'amât [Hama] and Aleppo” – as-Suyūṭī
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VIII+
  • VII+
  • VIII+
  • VI+
  • VIII+
  • VI+
  • ?
  • ?
  • ?
Although this evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224), local Intensity was probably IX (9) or higher.

1202 CE Quakes

  • Subjective MMI Intensity
    Subjective MMI Intensity Scale

    Click on image to open in a new tab
    Scale
Effect                            Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • Affected
 Aleppo
  • "The earthquake also spread towards Homs, Hamah and Aleppo, and all the capitals.” – Sibt ibn al-Jawzi

  • "The earthquake reached Hims, Hamat, Aleppo and other towns” – Abu Shama

  • "Homs, Hama, and Aleppo were affected.” – Ibn al-Dawādārī
  • V+
This evidence suggests a minimum Intensity of V (5).

Notes and Further Reading
References

Articles and Books

T. Allen, Ayyubid Architecture. 6th ed. (Solipsist Press, Occidental, California: Electronic Publication) 1999

Gaube , Heinz, and Eugen Wirth. Aleppo: Historische und geographische Beitrage zur baulichen Gestaltung, zur sozialen Organisation und zur wirtschaftlichen Dynamik einer vorderasiatischen Femhandelsmelropole. Beihefte zum Tubinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients, 58. Wiesbaden, 1984. commentary by Wayne T. Pitard - Excellent study of the city; a very different interpretation of its growth from the Hellenistic through Byzantine periods from that of Sauvaget.

Klengel, Horst. Syria: 3000 to 300 B.C. A Handbook of Political History. Berlin, 1992. commentary by Wayne T. Pitard - A less detailed, but more current study. See especially chapter 2.

Edde, Anne-Marie, Françoise MICHAUD, Sous les murailles d’Alep : assaillants et défenseurs de 351/962 à 658/1260, in: Le combattant au Moyen Âge. Actes de 18e congrès de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement supérieur public à Montpellier 1987, Nantes 1991, pp. 63-72

Gonnella, J. et al (2005). Die Zitadelle von Aleppo und der Tempel des Wettergottes: neue Forschungen und Entdeckungen. Münster, Rhema-Verlag.

Gonella, J. (2007) Introduction to the Citadel of Aleppo, in: S. Bianca (ed.), Syria: Medieval Citadels between East and West, Turin 2007, pp. 103-138

Gonnella, J., 2006. The Citadel of Aleppo: recent studies. In H. Kennedy (ed.), Muslim Military Architecture in Greater Syria. From the Coming of Islam to the Ottoman Period (Leiden: Brill), 165-75. 168-9

Gonnella, J., Guidebook the Citadel of Aleppo

Gonnella, J. (2009). The Citadel of Aleppo: Description, History, Site Plan, and Visitor Tour, Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Herzfeld, E., Matériaux pour un corpus inscriptionum arabicarum. Deuxième partie:Syrie du Nord.Inscriptions et monuments d’Alep. Cairo (1954/55) (MIFAO 36-38).

Klengel, Horst. Geschichte Syriens im 2. Jahrtausend v.u.Z. Teili-Nordsyrien. Berlin, 1965. commentary by Wayne T. Pitard - By far the best (though now somewhat dated) study of the city during its early period of greatness. Chapters 7-1 0 deal with Aleppo during the second millennium BCE.

Korn, L., Ayyubidische Architekturin Ägypten und Syrien. Bautätigkeit im Kontext von Politik und Gesellschaft 564-658/1169-1260,Heidelberg 2004

Meinecke, M., Die mamlukische Architektur in Ägypten und Syrien (648/1250 bis 923/1517). Glåckstadt (1992)

NÚÑEZ, M. Amparo Felipe BUILL, Joaquín REGOT, Andrés DE MESA, Levantamiento arquitectónico de la Puerta de Antioquía (Aleppo). Architectural survey of the Antioch gate (Aleppo), in: Informes de la Construcción 64 (2012), pp. 487-496

Sauvaget, Jean. Alep: Essai sur le diveloppemenl d'une grande ville syrienne, des origines an milieu de XIXe si'ecle. Paris, 1941. commentary by Wayne T. Pitard - Classic study of the city, which should now be read in conjunction with the volume by Gaube and Wirth. Because of the meager evidence for the early periods, Sauvaget depends heavily on parallels from other Syrian cities.

Tabbaa, Y. Constructions of Power and Piety in Medieval Aleppo. Philadelphia (1997) Gonnella, J. (2009). The Citadel of Aleppo: Description, History, Site Plan, and Visitor Tour, Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

Zureick, Souraya and Moaz, Abdalrazzaq (2019-2020) Suwayqat Ali of Aleppo “REVISITED” Documentation and analysis study

1822 CE Aleppo Quake

Abdul-Wahed, M. K., et al. (2019). Simulation of 1822 Aleppo historical earthquake. The 34th annual conference for the History of Arabic Science At: Institute for the History of Arabic Science, Aleppo University, Syria, 23-25 April 2019 - in Arabic

Ambraseys, N. N. (1989). "Temporary seismic quiescence: SE Turkey." Geophysical Journal International 96(2): 311-331.

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2019). The 13th-August-1822 Aleppo Earthquake: Implications for the Seismic Hazard Assessment at the Antakia Triple Junction, Cham , Springer International Publishing.

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2019b). The 13 August 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New Historical Documents on the Seismic Destruction. The 34th annual conference for the History of Arabic Science At: Institute for the History of Arabic Science, Aleppo University, Syria, 23-25 April 2019 - in Arabic

Darawcheh, R., et al. (2022). "The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New Historical Sources and Strong Ground Motion Simulation." Geofísica Internacional 61: 201-228. - in English, lots of sources and analysis, open access

Knost, S. (2011). Chapter 9 Shaping the City Aleppo's Foreigner Community and the Earthquake of 1822. Historical Disasters in Context Science, Religion, and Politics G. S. Andrea JANKU, and Franz Mauelshagen. New York, Routledge: 21.

Historical Sources

Blochet, E. (1895), ‘L’histoire d’Alep de Kemal-al Din’, Revuede l’Orient Latin, 3, sub ann.

Ibn Habib, Durrat al-aslak fi dauilat al-trak, II Cairo MS 22962, f. 333; ed. P. Leander, Le monde oriental, vol. 7, Uppsala, 1907.

Ibn Shaddad, al-Nawadir al-sultaniyya wa’l-nahasin al-Yusufiyya, Cairo, 1928.

Kemal al-Din (C), Extraits de la Chronique d’Alep par Kemal ´ad-Din, RHC H. Or., vol. 3, 1884.

Kemal al-Din (Zubd., A), Zubdat al-halab-min tarikh Halab, ROL, vol. 3, 1896, pp. 509–565.

Kemal al-Din (R), Die Sahne der Geschichte Halebs, in R. Rohricht, part 3, pp. 209–346

Excavation Reports

J. Gonnella, "Excavations on the Citadel of Aleppo: the Islamic Layers", Archéologie Islamique

Websites

Webpage on The Citadel of Aleppo and the Temple of the Weather God with list of publications and description of excavations

Photos of Citadel at Aleppo

Wikipedia pages

The Citadel of Aleppo



The Citadel of Aleppo (in German)

  • from wikipedia - click link to open page in a separate tab and then use your browser to translate the page