The 1641 Tabriz earthquake occurred on the night of 5 February in present-day

East Azerbaijan province East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Azerbaijan (Iran), Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil pro ...

, Iran. The earthquake had an estimated

surface-wave magnitude The surface wave magnitude (M_s) scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements of Rayleigh surface waves that travel along the uppermost layers of the Earth. This mag ...

of 6.8 and an

epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

between

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

and the city of

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

. It was one of the most destructive earthquakes in the region, resulting in the loss of up to 30,000 lives.

Tectonic setting

Iran is situated on an active convergent boundary zone where the Arabian and Eurasian plates collide. The convergence occurs along the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

where it is accommodated by an active

fold and thrust belt A fold and thrust belt is a series of mountainous foothills adjacent to an orogenic belt, which forms due to contractional tectonics. Fold and thrust belts commonly form in the forelands adjacent to major orogens as deformation propagates outwards ...

. The convergence is also accommodated within central Iran by strike-slip faults. At Tabriz, the rate of convergence is estimated to be about 20 mm/yr. The city is located near a

triple junction A triple junction is the point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet. At the triple junction each of the three boundaries will be one of three types – a ridge (R), trench (T) or transform fault (F) – and triple junctions can be ...

of the Arabian, Anatolian and Eurasian plates. The oblique convergence results in continental collision beneath the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and right-lateral strike-slip tectonics around Tabriz. One of the most prominent fault is the North Tabriz Fault, a WNW–ESE-trending, fault. The fault produced devastating earthquakes in 1721, 1780, and 1786.

Earthquake

The 6.8 earthquake ruptured a fault structure located south of the North Tabriz Fault. The North Tabriz Fault itself did not rupture during the quake. The plausible location of the earthquake is along the Dehkhargan Fault, a left-lateral fault. Normal fault features are a common occurrence in the earthquake area. It strikes NE–SW between the cities of

Osku Osku () is a city in the Central District of Osku County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 1 ...

and

Azarshahr Azarshahr () is a city in Howmeh District of Azarshahr County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, ...

. The fault is located at the western base of

Sahand Sahand (), is a massive, heavily eroded stratovolcano in East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran. At , it is the highest mountain in the province of East Azerbaijan. Sahand is one of the highest mountains in Iranian Azerbaijan, in addition ...

, a volcano, where a measured offset of was recorded.

Damage

Researchers

Nicholas Ambraseys Nicholas Neocles Ambraseys (19 January 1929 – 28 December 2012) was a Greek engineering seismologist. He was emeritus professor of engineering seismology and senior research fellow at Imperial College London. For many years Ambraseys was consi ...

and Charles P. Melville reported that the earthquake occurred on a Friday night. The communities of

Khosrowshah Khosrowshah () is a city in, and the capital of, Khosrowshah District in Tabriz County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Etymology The city's name is derived from Khusrau Shah, king of the Justanids during the 10th century. The words " Khos ...

, Osku and what is now present-day Azarshahr were completely devastated. Nearly all houses and public infrastructures, including historical monuments in Tabriz were razed to the ground. Many

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

and

caravansaries A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a variety of names incl ...

were destroyed. A building in the city collapsed and buried many animals that were taking shelter from the winter season. Two important structures, the Masjid-i Ustad-Shagird and

Arg of Tabriz The Arg of Tabriz (), and also known as the ''Arg-e Alishah'', the Arch of Alishah, the Arg Citadel, and ''Masjid Ali-Shāh'', is the remnants of a large acropolis fortification (whence the metathetic name or plus ), city wall and mosque, loca ...

suffered heavy damage. A large number of mosques experienced serious damage to their domes and minarets. The shock was also felt in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. On Sahand, a rockslide was triggered, destroying a village and killing many. Fissures appeared in the ground and erupted water. The earthquake was misdated to the years 1441, 1049, 1639, 1642, 1646, and 1651. Efforts to recover personal belongings and the dead continued for a month.

Aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...

s were felt for six months. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, many survivors resided outside the ruins of their homes. Some residents returned to their homes but were killed due to collapses during the aftershocks. During the first two months after the earthquake, up to seven aftershocks were felt in a day.

References

{{Earthquakes in Iran 1640s earthquakes 1641 disasters History of Tabriz 1641 in Asia Earthquakes in Iran History of East Azerbaijan province

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Damage

See also

References