The 1157 Hama earthquake occurred on 12 August after a year of foreshocks. Its name was taken from the city of
Hama
Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial ...
, in west-central
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(then under the
Seljuk rule), where the most casualties were sustained.
In eastern Syria, near the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
, the quake destroyed the predecessor of the citadel
al-Rahba
Al-Rahba (/ ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Ma ...
, subsequently rebuilt on the same strategic site. The earthquake also affected Christian monasteries and churches in the vicinity of Jerusalem.
See also
*
List of historical earthquakes
Historical earthquakes is a list of significant earthquakes known to have occurred prior to the beginning of the 20th century. As the events listed here occurred before routine instrumental recordings, they rely mainly on the analysis of written ...
*
Shaizar
Shaizar or Shayzar ( ar, شيزر; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισα εν Συρία in Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Nearby lo ...
*
Timeline of Hama history
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hama, Syria.
Prior to 7th century
* 11th century BCE – Town is "capital of Aramean kingdom of Hamath."
* 854 BCE – Town taken by Assyrian Shalmaneser II.
* 743 BCE – Assyrians ...
*
Banu Munqidh
References
{{Earthquakes in the Levant
1157 Hama
Hama earthquake
12th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
12th century in the Seljuk Empire
Hama Earthquake, 1157