THE GREAT ANTIOCH EARTHQUAKE
29 May 526 AD:
It was a warm, clear afternoon in the capital. The bustle of metropolitan commerce and tourism filled the streets. Small sailing vessels dotted the sheltered waters within sight of the government buildings, riding on a soft southerly breeze. The Sun sparkled on the gentle swells and wakes, lending a luminous glow to the poppies and tulips nodding in the parks along the water's edge. All was in order.
But suddenly, the sky brightened as if with a second, more brilliant Sun. A second set of shadows appeared; at first long and faint, they shortened and sharpened rapidly. A strange hissing, humming sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. Thousands craned their necks and looked upwards, searching the sky for the new Sun. Above them a tremendous white fireball blossomed, like the unfolding of a vast paper flower, but now blindingly bright. For several seconds the fierce fireball dominated the sky, shaming the Sun. The sky burned white-hot, then slowly faded through yellow and orange to a glowering copper-red. The awful hissing ceased. The onlookers, blinded by the flash, burned by its searing heat, covered their eyes and cringed in terror. Occupants of offices and apartments rushed to their windows, searching the sky for the source of the brilliant flare that had lit their rooms. A great blanket of turbulent, coppery cloud filled half the sky overhead. For a dozen heartbeats the city was awestruck, numbed and silent.
Then, without warning, a tremendous blast smote the city, knocking pedestrians to the ground. Shuttered doors and windows blew out; fences, walls, and roofs groaned and cracked. A shock wave raced across the city and its waterways, knocking sailboats flat in the water. A hot, sulfurous wind like an open door into hell, the breath of a cosmic iron-maker's furnace, pressed downward from the sky, filled with the endless reverberation of invisible landslides. Then the hot breath slowed and paused; the normal breeze resumed with renewed vigor, and cool air blew across the city from the south. The sky overhead now faded to dark gray, then to a portentous black. A turbulent black cloud like a rumpled sheet seemed to descend from heaven. Fine black dust began to fall, slowly, gently, suspended and swirled by the breeze. For an hour or more the black dust fell, until, dissipated and dispersed by the breeze, the cloud faded from view.
Many thought it was the end of the world...
The above passage is a reconstruction of events in Antioch, AD 526, described in the book, RAIN OF IRON AND ICE (1996), by John S. Lewis who is Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. His idea is that, very often, small impactors exploding in the atmosphere have devastating local effects similar to that of a multi-megaton nuclear airburst and may be recorded in history as a particularly strange earthquake. Contemporary accounts indicate strongly that this was no normal earthquake.
...those caught in the earth beneath the buildings were incinerated and sparks of fire appeared out of the air and burned everyone they struck like lightning. The surface of the earth boiled and foundations of buildings were struck by thunderbolts thrown up by the earthquakes and were burned to ashes by fire... it was a tremendous and incredible marvel with fire belching out rain, rain falling from tremendous furnaces, flames dissolving into showers ... as a result Antioch became desolate ... in this terror up to 250,000 people perished. (John Malalas quoted by Jeffreys, E., Jeffreys, M. and Scott, R. 1986, "The Chronicle of John Malalas", Byzantina Australiensia, Australian Assoc. Byzantine Studies 4, Melbourne. Emphases, mine.)
In Constantinople, Justin I reportedly reacted to the news of the earthquake by removing his diadem and crimson chlamys (short cloak). He entered the church without these symbols of his rank and publicly lamented the destruction of Antioch. He arranged for ambassadors to be sent to the city with sufficient money for both immediate relief and to start Antioch's reconstruction. Many of the buildings erected after the earthquake were said to have been destroyed by
another major earthquake in November 528, although there were far fewer casualties.
{Lewis gives an incorrect date and even moves the earthquake to Constantinople evidencing some confusion on his part. Nevertheless, his ideas appear to be reasonable. There was a great earthquake in Constantinople in 557, but it occurred during the night of December 14. It is said it almost completely destroyed the city, but the death toll was considerably less than the Antioch event 31 years earlier.}
...There is some confusion in dating the Great Antioch Earthquake. NOAA has it as 29 May 525, but some sources (Wikipedia, for one) list it as occurring in 526. NOAA includes the following notation:
Display listing of nearby significant earthquakes: September 525 to May 29, 526, Very disastrous followed by five shocks, intensity IX.; May 29, 526 or 525, Lat. 36.25–Long: 36.10, Antakya, Samandag, 250,000 -300,000 deaths, intensity IX, magnitude 7.
I’m going to try for consistency here and put all accounts of this event in the year 525 in accordance with the scientific convention.
Procopius’ account of this event begins with a reference to a previous “portent” which is curious in itself, occurring during the reign of Anastasius, the emperor just prior to Justin who took the purple in 518:
Thus, then, the portent which had come to the citizens of Antioch in the reign of Anastasius reached this final fulfilment for them. For at that time a violent wind suddenly fell upon the suburb of Daphne, and some of the cypresses which were there of extraordinary height were overturned from the extremities of their roots and fell to the earth--trees which the law forbade absolutely to be cut down. [526 A.D.] Accordingly, a little later, when Justinus was ruling over the Romans, the place was visited by an exceedingly violent earthquake, which shook down the whole city and straightway brought to the ground the most and the finest of the buildings, and it is said that at that time three hundred thousand of the population of Antioch perished. And finally in this capture the whole city, as has been said, was destroyed. Such, then, was the calamity which befell the men of Antioch. ~(Procopius, HISTORY OF THE WARS of Justinian, Book II, XIV)
And a year afterwards, in the year four, Antioch was overthrown by a great earthquake of unwonted severity, and countless myriads of people perished in it. For it was summer time and, while they were feasting, and their food was in their mouth, their houses were thrown down upon them…(Pseudo-Zachariah (PZ))
In the seventh year of his [Justin’s] reign, in the month of May, Antioch the Great suffered its fifth calamity from the wrath of God… Great was the fear of God that occurred then, in that those caught in the earth beneath the buildings were incinerated and sparks of fire appeared out of the air and burned anyone they struck like lightning.
The surface of the earth boiled and foundations of buildings were struck by thunderbolts thrown up by the earthquakes and were burned to ashes by fire, so that even those who fled were met by flames. It was a tremendous and incredible marvel with fire belching out rain, rain falling from tremendous furnaces, flame dissolving into showers, and showers kindling like flames consumed even those in the earth who were crying out.
As a result Antioch became desolate, for nothing remained apart from some buildings beside the mountain. No holy chapel nor monastery nor any other holy place remained which had not been torn apart. Everything had been utterly destroyed. The great church of Antioch, which had been built by the emperor Constantine the Great, (420) stood for seven days after this tremendous threat from God, when everything else had collapsed to the ground during the wrath of God. Then it too was overcome by fire and razed to the ground. Likewise other houses which had not collapsed through the divine calamity were destroyed to their foundations by fire. In this terror up to 250,000 people perished. …
During the wrath of god it became clear what a great number of citizens there was. Many of those who had been buried by earth survived to be brought up alive but then died. … Other mysteries of God’s love for man were also revealed. For pregnant women who had been buried for 20 or even 30 days were brought up from the rubble in good health. Many, who gave birth underground beneath the rubble, were brought up unharmed with their babies and survived together with the children to whom they had given birth. Equally, other children were brought out alive after 30 days. Many even more tremendous things occurred.
On the third day after the collapse the Holy Cross appeared in the sky in the clouds above the northern district of the city, and all who saw it stayed weeping and praying for an hour. After the collapse of the city many other earthquakes occurred during the next 18 months. Buildings collapsed too at Seleukeia and at Daphne over a distance of some 20 miles. (John Malalas)
… there was a sudden fire all over Antioch. Most of the city suddenly caught fire, as if as a result of God’s wrath, after He had given warning by the sign about the collapse and the destruction which threatened. Thus in every locality in the city the fire kept breaking out all of a sudden for six months. A multitude of souls perished in it as well as many of its buildings. The people did not succeed in learning whence the fire came, as it started to burn from the highest – fifth and sixth- storeys and, thus kindled, it devastated all the people in its vicinity. (Zuqnin)
There is a second account of the Antioch fire/earthquake in the
Zuqnin Chronicle separated by about 20 pages of descriptions of religious persecution and the flood of Edessa. It varies enough to include it.
In the seventh year of Justin… Antioch the Great was also overthrown, (this being) its fifth collapse, at the seventh hour of the day. (It was) a terrible and distressing collapse, impossible for anyone to recount. Such was the violent and harsh disaster, which was (sent) from heaven, that fire set alight and consumed those who had escaped from the terrible vehemence of the cataclysm of the earthquake and the collapse: the sparks flew and set fire to everything on which they settled. The earth itself from below, from within the soil, surged, seethed and burned everything which was there. Thus the foundations as well, together with all the storeys above them, were lifted up, heaved up and down and burst apart, collapsed, fell and burned with fire. Those who had saved themselves (so far) and (now) tried to escape were met by fire, which set them alight, and burnt them up. They burned like wood and the tongues of flame blazed terribly and grievously by (God’s) mighty wrath. And now, like rain from the sky, flames rained down and so the whole city blazed like a burning furnace, while it collapsed completely, fell, was ruined and burnt with fire, except only for a few houses which remained at the foot of the mountain above (the city), although even these were damaged and ready to fall. Every day these too collapsed (one by one), setting fire to those which (still remained. (In the end) no house or church or building of any kind remained, not even the garden fences, which had not be torn asunder or damaged, or had not disintegrated and fallen. The rest burned, crumbled away and became like an extended putrefaction. And underground the earth seethed and humid dust rose up. The odour of a stinking sea and (something) like watery moisture appeared, so that also sea drops rose with the bubbling dust.
Still the Great Church, which had been built by Constantine the Victorious, (and) about which it was said that there was nothing comparable in the whole Roman empire, remained, cracked, yet still standing. (But) suddenly on the seventh day it too caught fire from top to bottom, and it fell and crumbled away on the ground. So (it was with) other churches as well. Although they were saved from the collapse in the earthquake, in the end suddenly they burnt with fire by (God’s) great wrath and were razed to the foundations. (Many) souls perished and were destroyed in this city of Antioch, which became like “the wine press of wrath” to all its inhabitants, as John of Antioch wrote. {John Malalas} He (also) wrote this about (the city): how those who were (still) alive could count those who had died and were disinterred and (otherwise) found. They amounted to 250,000. …
On the third day after the collapse which was Sunday, a cross of light appeared in the sky in the western quarter. All who remained alive saw (it) and were moved and cried Kyrie eleison. They kept watching it for about one hour and then it was covered by clouds, while everybody was astounded. Thereafter God’s mercy and grace were shown, in that 30 and 40 days after (the earthquake) people were found (still) alive – men, women, youths and children – amidst all that burning and flaming fire, so that all the people were astonished and praised the abundant mercy of God, who does not withhold His grace from His creation. (Yet), there were earthquakes all these days and nights for one year and a half, constantly, all the time. …
Seleucia in Syria and Daphne, which is above Antioch, were overthrown and destroyed for 20 miles in length and breadth, and were also (a cause of) terror to those who saw it, (althought) not (because of) fire but only because of the earthquake. (Zuqnin)
The first account of this earthquake included in Michael the Syrian’s chronicle is rather short and all he mentions is fire falling on the city:
When Saint Severus left, the fire fell on Antioch and burnt most of the city. For 6 months the fire caught all around the city and no one knew how it had started and how to stop it. (MtS, Book IX – Chapter XII – Page 169)
The second account is longer and one wonders about the “7th year of its impiety” since the earthquake is said, in the previous sources, to have occurred in the 7th year of the reign of Justin. But here, it is said to have happened in the 9th year of the reign of Justin. However, the description is exactly that of the 525 earthquake. MtS makes the remark that he is copying the account from John of Ephesus:
Like Paul the Jew, Euphrosius persecuted the faithful. The justice (of God) couldn’t bear it. It shook the city with an earthquake and turned it upside down, the wrath (of God) reached the city on the 7th year of its impiety.
In year 9 of Justinian (Justin) which is year 840 for the Greeks, Antioch was overturned a 5th time.
This scourge was so violent that the fire engulfed the bodies of the ones who had escaped the earthquake and it burnt them; sparks were flying around and burnt everything they touched. The ground itself was boiling under the ash, it burnt everything it encountered.
The foundations themselves and the building were thrown into the air, were lifted, were going up and down, and fell back broken. When the ones who had escaped it wanted to flee, the fire engulfed them and burnt them like dry wood. The flames poured down from the sky like rain, and the whole city was a furnace. Except a few houses full of cracks and ready to collapse that still stood on the flank of the mountain, not one single house or church was left, not even a wall that was not torn apart. From underground boiled and came up a humid dust. We could also smell a marine rot, as if it was invaded by the flows of the sea. The great church built by Constantine the great, that was said to be unrivalled in the whole Roman Empire was still standing, cracked; the 7th day the fire attacked it and it collapsed. The same happened to the other churches
According to John’s writings, who was in Antioch, those who remained alive discovered 250000 people who died of suffocation, because it was time for festivities, and there were many foreigners in the city, all of whom were suffocated.
The third day of the disaster, a luminous cross appeared in the northern region. Those who had survived were afraid, and cried: “Kyrie eleison”. They saw the cross for about an hour then it disappeared in a cloud.
After thirty days, were found in the ground men, women, children still alive: it's a miracle due to the goodness of God.
The earthquake did not cease night or day for a year and a half. [sic]
Séleucia in Syria, Daphne, which is next to Antioch, and all their surroundings up to twenty miles long and wide, were completely overturned by this earthquake… At this time, Dyrrhachion, metropolitan city of the [new] province suddenly collapsed. –Also, Corinth, metropolis of Hellas, and Ana Zarba in Cilicia fell in the earthquake. (Mts, Book IX – Chapter XVI – Page 181-182, 183)
Michael includes the following as occurring much later, in the year 574, though it may belong with the 525 Antioch earthquake. There are some problems with Antioch earthquakes because,
according to Zuqnin Chronicle, Antioch was destroyed for a 6th time during the reign of Justinian in 539-40 which turns out to be actually dated to 528! {Witakowski’s note is that the correct date of this earthquake is 29 Nov. 528 as confirmed by other sources. Zuqnin has it placed in the year 539-40.}In any event, the following snip gives one an idea of how things were being interpreted in those days: the Christians were blaming the Pagans and the Pagans were blaming the Christians. What is shocking here is that it was Christians (crypto-Pagans?) being accused of performing human sacrifice.
It was even said that he [Anatolius] testified against Gregorius, the patriarch of Antioch and against Eulogius who went from there to Alexandria, accusing them to have sacrificed a child to Daphne. When they sacrificed the child, the whole city was shaken by an earthquake. (MtS, Book X – Chapter XII – page 319)
