The northern part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now northern Syria and the

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

of Turkey) was struck by a major earthquake on 13 August 1822. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (''Destructive'') on the

European macroseismic scale The European Macroseismic Scale (EMS) is the basis for evaluation of seismic intensity in European countries and is also used in a number of countries outside Europe. Issued in 1998 as an update of the test version from 1992, the scale is referred ...

(EMS). It may have triggered a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

, affecting nearby coasts. Damaging aftershocks continued for more than two years, with the most destructive being on 5 September 1822. The earthquake was felt over a large area including

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. The total death toll reported for this whole earthquake sequence ranges between 30,000 and 60,000, although 20,000 is regarded as a more likely number.

Tectonic setting

Aleppo is located close to the zone of faulting associated with the

Dead Sea Transform The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, also sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Rift, is a series of Fault (geology), faults that run for about 1,000 km from the Marash triple junction (a junction with the East Anatolian Fault in south ...

, where the Arabian plate is moving northwards relative to the African plate at a rate of about 5 mm per year. The northernmost segment of the fault zone has been the location of many major earthquakes, including the 115 Antioch, 859 Syrian coast, 1138 Aleppo and 1170 Syria events.

Earthquake

The earthquake sequence began with a series of

foreshock A foreshock is an earthquake that occurs before a larger seismic eventthe mainshockand is related to it in both time and space. The designation of an earthquake as ''foreshock'', ''mainshock'' or aftershock is only possible after the full sequenc ...

s starting on 5 August, with the last major one occurring just half an hour before the mainshock on 13 August. The main shock lasted for 40 seconds, with three separate peaks in intensity. 30 aftershocks followed within the first 8 minutes. The aftershocks continued for nearly two and a half years, the most damaging of which occurred on 5 September 1822. The mainshock was felt with an intensity of VII (''damaging'') or greater on the EMS intensity scale over a large area, reaching a maximum of IX (''destructive'') at

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr (, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus (), is a city in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. Situated at an altitude of above sea level on the Orontes rive ...

and Al-Qusayr. Ambraseys found no evidence for a tsunami (seismic sea-wave) associated with this event. However, one source reports a tsunami that affected the coasts of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, the

Gulf of Iskenderun The Gulf of Alexandretta or İskenderun () is a gulf of the eastern Mediterranean or Levantine Sea. It lies beside the southern Turkish provinces of Adana and Hatay. Names The gulf is named for the nearby Turkish city of İskenderun, the cl ...

and

. It has been proposed that the earthquake was caused by left lateral

strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

movement on the 140 km long St. Simeon Fault, which branches off the Missyaf Fault, part of the Dead Sea Transform.

Damage

The earthquake caused severe damage over a large area, extending from

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

in modern Turkey and

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

to Khan Sheikhun in modern Syria. In the northernmost affected area, complete or near complete destruction was reported from the towns of

Kilis Kilis is a city in southernmost Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province and Kilis District. Its population is 112,187 (2022). On 6 February 2023 Kilis was badly affected by the tw ...

, Gaziantep, Araplar,

Burç Burç is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Viranşehir, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called ...

, Kehriz and Sağçe. Further south

Armanaz Armanaz () is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Harem District, in the Idlib Governorate. It is located 20 kilometers northwest of Idlib near the Syrian- Turkish borders.

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

Darkush Darkush (; also spelled Darkoush or Derkush) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib along the Syrian– Turkish borders on the Orontes River. Nearby localities include al-Janudiyah, ...

, Jisr al-Shughur, Khan Shiekhun,

Ariha Ariha (), also called Riha (), is a town in northwest Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located south of Idlib. Nearby localities include Urum al-Jawz to the southwest, Sarjah to the south, Kafr Latah to the southeast, Maar ...

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

and Maarat were similarly affected.

Aftermath

The damage at Aleppo was so severe that many people moved out of the city and most of the old centre was left unrepaired, with some new houses being built using wooden frames outside the ruined walls. The moat became filled with rubble from damaged buildings. The earthquake was one of the reasons that Aleppo became less important as a commercial centre during this period.

References

{{Earthquakes in Syria 1822 earthquakes 1822 in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century disasters in the Ottoman Empire 1820s disasters in Asia August 1822 Earthquakes in Syria Earthquakes in the Levant Strike-slip earthquakes

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Damage

Aftermath

See also

References