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Tiberias Landslide Quake

850 - 854 CE

by Jefferson Williams









Introduction & Summary

An earthquake is reported to have struck at night. In Tiberias there was a rockslide and/or a landslide and many people died. Ambraseys (2009) dates the earthquake to 850-854 CE while Guidoboni et al (1994) date it to A.H.239 (12 June 853 - 1 June 854 CE) which is the year supplied by As-Suyuti.

Textual Evidence

Text (with hotlink) Original Language Biographical Info Religion Date of Composition Location Composed Notes
Ibn al-Jawzi Arabic
Biography

Hanbali Sunni Muslim 2nd half of the 12th c. CE Baghdad Ambraseys (2009) found a reference to this earthquake in Ibn al-Jauzi, Sedhut. I85a who, he says repeats the same information as as-Suyuti and Ibn al'Imad. Ambraseys (2009) did not provide an excerpt.
as-Suyuti Arabic
Biography

Sufi Muslim 15th c. CE Cairo States that there was an earthquake in Tiberias in A.H. 239 (12 June 853 - 1 June 854 CE)
Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali Arabic
Biography

Hanbali Sunni Muslim 1670 CE Damascus Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali reports that during the night, the earth shook at Tiberias. The mountains shook, and then a big rock — eighty cubits by fifty — split open, and so... many people died.
Text (with hotlink) Original Language Biographical Info Religion Date of Composition Location Composed Notes
Sedhut. I85a by Ibn al-Jawzi

by ابن الجوزي

Aliases

Aliases Arabic
Ibn al-Jawzi ابن الجوزي
al-Jauzi ابن ال
Jamaladdin Abul-Faraj 'Abdarrahman ibn abil-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jauzi al-Qurashi at-Taymi al-Bakri
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Abu 'l-Faras̲h̲ b. al-Jawzī
Background and Biography
Background and Biography

Excerpts
Characterization from Ambraseys (2009)

Ambraseys (2009) found a reference to this earthquake in Ibn al-Jauzi, Sedhut. I85a who, he says repeats the same information as as-Suyuti and Ibn al'Imad. Ambraseys (2009) did not provide an excerpt.

Locations Sources
Sources

Online Versions and Further Reading
References

Notes
Ibn al-Jawzi vs. Sibt Ibn al-Jawzi

Clearing up the Description of Earthquakes by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti

كتاب كشف الصلصلة عن وصف الزلزلة by عبد الرحمن بن كمال الدين أبي بكر بن محمد سابق الدين خضر الخضيري الأسيوطي

Aliases

Aliases Arabic
Al-Suyuti
As-Suyuti
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti
Abu 'l-Fadl 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakr ibn Muhammad Djalal al_Din al-Khudayri
Background and Biography
Background and Biography

Excerpts
English from Sprenger (1843)

239. At Tiberias.

English from Sprenger (1843) - embedded



Original Document

  • The Noor book courtesy of Najib Abou Karaki (personal correspondence, 2022)



























Chronology
Year Reference Corrections Notes
12 June 853 - 1 June 854 CE A.H.239 none Calculated using CHRONOS
Locations Notes and Further Reading
References

Fragments of Gold in the Accounts of Those Who Have Departed by Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali

(شذرات الذهب في أخبار من ذهب) by عبد الحي بن أحمد بن محمد ابن العماد العكري الحنبلي أبو الفلاح

Aliases

Aliases Aliases
Ibn al-ʿImād إبن العماد
Abd al-Ḥayy bin Aḥmad bin Muḥammad ibn al-ʿImād al-ʿAkarī al-Ḥanbalī Abū al-Falāḥ عبد الحي بن أحمد بن محمد ابن العماد العكري الحنبلي أبو الفلاح
Background and Biography
Background and Biography

Excerpts
English from Guidoboni et al (1994)

During the night, the earth shook at Tiberias. The mountains shook, and then a big rock — eighty cubits by fifty — split open, and so... Many people died

English chracterization from Taher (1996)

239/854 : the earth trembles in Tiberias during the night; a rock 80 cubits long and 50 wide breaks away from the mountain causing numerous victims73.
Footnotes

73 B. al-`Imâd, Shadharat, 2/91.

Chronology

During the night

Seismic Effects Locations Online Versions and Further Reading
References

Archaeoseismic Evidence

Location (with hotlink) Status Intensity Notes
Tiberias - Introduction n/a n/a n/a
Tiberias - Mount Berineke possible Archaeoseismic Evidence from the church on top of Mount Berineke is undated ( Ferrario et al, 2014)
Tiberias - Gane Hammat possible ≥ 8 End of Stratum III destruction layer - ~9th century CE - Onn and Weksler-Bdolah (2016) wrote the following about the end of Phase III
A thin layer of ash covered the tombs. Above it were the remains of walls and pebble floors. This layer represents an Early Islamic habitation that dates from the second half of the eighth century CE, probably after the earthquake of 749 CE, until the first half of the ninth century CE, when it reached its peak. A destruction layer, possibly caused by the earthquake that struck in 853 CE [i.e., Tiberias Landslide Quake], sealed the buildings.
Al-Muwaqqar possible ≥ 8 9th century CE earthquake - Najjar (1989) identified two destruction levels in Area IV at Al-Muwaqqar which he described as follows:
A second architectural phase and occupation was excavated in the Palace. It is obvious from Sq. D5 (W.12), A2 (W.4) and oven (tannur) loc.4, D3 (W.16, 17) and H 14 (W.18, 19) that all these walls belong to a second phase of occupation. It seems that after a partial destruction of the Palace by the earthquake of A.D. 747, the remains of the Palace were used by the local population. The destruction layer was cleared (the walls of the second phase were built directly above the flagstone pavement of the Umayyad Palace) and the Palace and its surrounding area (Sq. H14) were reoccupied.

After one century and probably slightly later the Palace was abandoned after another destruction (earthquake?) later in the 9th century (during this period Jordan was struck by earthquakes three times in 847, 853-54, 859-60)
Location (with hotlink) Status Intensity Notes
Tiberias - Introduction



Tiberias - Mount Berineke



Tiberias - Gane Hammat



Al-Muwaqqar



Landslide Evidence

1 PGA to Intensity conversions use Wald et al (1999).
Location (with hotlink) Status Minimum PGA (g) Likely PGA (g) Likely Intensity1 Comments
Umm el-Qanatir possible 0.36 0.5 8.2 Archeoseismic evidence suggests Intensity ≥ 8
Fishing Dock Landslide possible 0.15 - 0.5 0.5 8.2 undated landslide
Ein Gev Landslide possible 0.37 ? ≥7.7 dated to younger than 5 ka BP
Location (with hotlink) Status Minimum PGA (g) Likely PGA (g) Likely Intensity1 Comments
Umm el-Qanatir



Fishing Dock Landslide



Ein Gev Landslides



Tsunamogenic Evidence

Paleoseismic Evidence

Location (with hotlink) Status Intensity Notes
Jordan Valley - Dir Hagla Trench possible to unlikely ≥ 7 Reches and Hoexter (1981) dated Event B to 700-900 CE.
Dead Sea - Seismite Types n/a n/a n/a
Dead Sea - En Feshka probable 5.8 - 7.5 (104 cm.)
5.7 - 7.1 (110.5 cm.)
8.0 - 8.8 (113 cm.)
Kagan et. al. (2011) identified several seismites from around this time.
Depth (cm.) Thickness (cm.) Seismite Type Modeled Age (± 1σ) Modeled Age (± 2σ) Quake Assignment (Kagan) Quake Assignment (Williams)
104 6 1 912 CE ± 27 894 CE ± 61 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned
110.5 l.5 Questionable 887 CE ± 28 864 CE ± 63 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned
113 3 4 877 CE ± 28 852 CE ± 64 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned
Dead Sea - En Gedi possible 5.6 - 7.0 Migowski et. al. (2004) assigned a 859 CE date to a 0.8 cm. thick linear wave (Type 1) seismite at a depth of 169.8 cm. (1.698 m).
Dead Sea - Nahal Ze 'elim unlikely At site ZA-2, Kagan et. al. (2011) did not find any seismites whose time window encompassed the 850-854 CE Tiberias Landslide Quake.
Araba - Introduction n/a n/a n/a
Araba - Qasr Tilah possible ≥ 7 Haynes et al. (2006) dated Events II and III to between the 7th and 12th centuries CE.
Araba - Taybeh Trench unlikely LeFevre et al. (2018) did not find any seismic events whose time window encompassed the 850-854 CE Tiberias Landslide Quake.
Araba - Qatar Trench possible ≥ 7 Klinger et. al. (2015) dated Event Esupp1 to 925 CE ± 119 (806-1044 CE).
Location (with hotlink) Status Intensity Notes
Dir Hagla Trenches

Reches and Hoexter (1981) dated Event B to 700-900 CE.



Dead Sea - Seismite Types



Dead Sea - En Feshka

Kagan et. al. (2011) identified several seismites from around this time.

Depth (cm.) Thickness (cm.) Seismite Type Modeled Age (± 1σ) Modeled Age (± 2σ) Quake Assignment (Kagan) Quake Assignment (Williams)
104 6 1 912 CE ± 27 894 CE ± 61 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned
110.5 l.5 Questionable 887 CE ± 28 864 CE ± 63 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned
113 3 4 877 CE ± 28 852 CE ± 64 873 A.D., Local Source not assigned


Dead Sea - En Gedi

Migowski et. al. (2004) assigned a 859 CE date to a 0.8 cm. thick linear wave (Type 1) seismite at a depth of 169.8 cm. (1.698 m).



Dead Sea - Nahal Ze 'elim

At site ZA-2, Kagan et. al. (2011) did not find any seismites whose time window encompassed the 850-854 CE Tiberias Landslide Quake.



Araba - Introduction



Araba - Qasr Tilah

Haynes et al. (2006) dated Events II and III to between the 7th and 12th centuries CE.



Araba - Taybeh Trench

LeFevre et al. (2018) did not find any seismic events whose time window encompassed the 850-854 CE Tiberias Landslide Quake.



Araba - Qatar Trench

Klinger et. al. (2015) dated Event Esupp1 to 925 CE ± 119 (806-1044 CE).



Notes

Ambraseys (2009)

AD 850–854 Tiberias

An earthquake in Tiberias caused landslides and the fall of a large rock from the mountain overlooking the town resulted in the deaths of a number of people.

The earthquake occurred during the night in 239 a.H. (12 June 853 to 1 June 854) and it is mentioned by rather late chroniclers, who repeat the same information (Ibn al-Jauzi, Sedhut. I85a; al-Suyuti B and P.21b; Ibn al-‘Imad, Shadh ii. 91), namely that the earthquake happened during the night at Tabariya, causing landslides in the mountains and narrow valleys nearby. A large rock of dimensions about 50 m × 30 m detached itself and landed on the town, killing people, while parts of the town slumped into the ground.

Guidoboni et al (1994)

(267) 12 June 853 -1 June 854 *Tiberias landslide

sources Ibn al-Hanbali, Shadharat al-dhahab 91
literature Taber (1979)
catalogues Amiran (1950-51); Poirier and Taher (1980)

The 17th century Syrian biographer Ibn al-Hanbali reports that there were many victims in an earthquake at Tiberias: "During the night, the earth shook at Tiberias. The mountains shook, and then a big rock — eighty cubits by fifty — split open, and so... Many people died".

Taher (1996)

239/854 : the earth trembles in Tiberias during the night; a rock 80 cubits long and 50 wide breaks away from the mountain causing numerous victims73.
Footnotes

73 B. al-`Imâd, Shadharat, 2/91.

Taher (1979)

239 A.H./854 AD

In Tiberias2, during the night, the earth shook. The mountains collided, a rock 80 cubits long and 50 cubits wide broke away causing numerous casualties.

Footnotes

2 Ibn al 'Emad, 'hadharat, 2/91.

References

Taher, M.A. (1979): Corpus des texts arabes relatifs aux tremblements de terre et autres catastrophes naturelles, de la conquete arabe au XII H/XVIII JC, Ph.D. Thesis (Univ. Paris), 337 pp.

Paleoclimate - Droughts

References