• from ChatGPT 5.5, 31 July 2026
• sources: Wikipedia – Ghouta

Ghouta (Arabic: الغوطة; al-Ghūṭa, "the Garden") is not a single city but a broad, fertile oasis and countryside region surrounding Damascus along its eastern and southern margins. Formed by the Barada River and its seven tributaries, Ghouta occupies a naturally irrigated plain lying immediately east of Mount Qasioun and the old city of Damascus. Historically, it consisted of numerous villages, orchards, vineyards, gardens, and agricultural estates rather than a single urban center, serving as the principal agricultural hinterland of Damascus for more than two millennia. To the east and south it grades into the Marj Plain and, farther south, the Hauran Plain, while the Anti-Lebanon Mountains rise to the west.

Because Ghouta is a geographical region rather than a city, historical references to earthquakes often mention individual villages, monasteries, canals, or estates within the oasis instead of "Ghouta" itself. Earthquake effects described in medieval chronicles for Damascus frequently extended into the surrounding oasis, making Ghouta an important geographical setting for reconstructing the seismic history of southwestern Syria. Throughout the Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, and later Islamic periods, the oasis remained closely linked to the economic life and water supply of Damascus.

Discussion

Effect	Location	Image(s)	Description
Collapsed Walls Fatalities (due to collapsed walls)	Ghouta		"Meanwhile there was an earthquake at Damascus 'which lasted for days and shook her like leaves on trees'. In Beit Qoubayê (?), 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 Dareya. Bosrah, Nawa, Der'at, and Ba'albek were swallowed up completely." – Michael the Syrian "On the insurrections and ruin which happened at this time in the West, and the fall of the city of Ghouta. For in the year 1060 of the Greeks, 134 of the Arabs, great upheaval afflicted the world. And there was an earthquake at Damascus and in the whole surrounding area, which lasted for days, and in which the area trembled and was shaken. It also [affected] Beth Cubaye, a citadel which had been built by Hagag the son of Joseph with much effort and at great expense. This was overturned and was destroyed down to its foundations, and more than eighty people were killed and buried in the middle of it. And in the same city many people died. Likewise in Gutah [a suburb] of Dareya, countless people died in this earthquake. Bosra and Neve (sic.) were razed to their foundations. And a great part of Baalbek collapsed, and the springs of water there became like blood." – Chronicon Ad Annum 1234

• 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)

Effect	Location	Image(s)	Description	Intensity
Collapsed Walls Fatalities (due to collapsed walls)	Ghouta		"Meanwhile there was an earthquake at Damascus 'which lasted for days and shook her like leaves on trees'. In Beit Qoubayê (?), 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 Dareya. Bosrah, Nawa, Der'at, and Ba'albek were swallowed up completely." – Michael the Syrian "On the insurrections and ruin which happened at this time in the West, and the fall of the city of Ghouta. For in the year 1060 of the Greeks, 134 of the Arabs, great upheaval afflicted the world. And there was an earthquake at Damascus and in the whole surrounding area, which lasted for days, and in which the area trembled and was shaken. It also [affected] Beth Cubaye, a citadel which had been built by Hagag the son of Joseph with much effort and at great expense. This was overturned and was destroyed down to its foundations, and more than eighty people were killed and buried in the middle of it. And in the same city many people died. Likewise in Gutah [a suburb] of Dareya, countless people died in this earthquake. Bosra and Neve (sic.) were razed to their foundations. And a great part of Baalbek collapsed, and the springs of water there became like blood." – Chronicon Ad Annum 1234	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).