The AD 17 Lydia earthquake caused the destruction of at least twelve cities in the region of

Lydia Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...

in the Roman province of Asia in Asia Minor (now part of Turkey). The earthquake was recorded by the Roman historians Tacitus and Pliny the Elder, and the Greek historians

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

and Eusebius. Pliny called it "the greatest earthquake in human memory" (Nat. Hist. 2:86 §200). The city of Sardis, the former capital of the Lydian Empire, was the most affected and never completely recovered from the destruction.

Damage

Historical records list up to fifteen towns and cities that were destroyed or damaged by the earthquake: Sardis, Magnesia,

Temnos Temnos or Temnus ( grc, Τῆμνος; grc-x-aeolic, Τᾶμνος) was a small Greek ''polis'' (city-state) of ancient Aeolis, later incorporated in the Roman province of Asia, on the western coast of Anatolia. Its bishopric was a suffragan of ...

, Philadelphia, Aegae, Apollonis,

Mostene Mostene (Μοστήνη), also called Mosteni or Mostenoi (Μοστηνοί), or Mostina (Μόστινα), or Mustene or Moustene (Μουστήνη), is a Roman and Byzantine era city in the Hyrcanian plain of ancient Lydia. The town minted its ow ...

, Hyrkanis,

Hierapolis Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classica ...

, Myrina, Cyme, Tmolus, Pergamon,

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

and Kibyra. Of these, Pergamon, Ephesus and Kibyra are not mentioned by Tacitus. The record of damage at both Ephesus and Kibyra may refer instead to an earthquake in AD 23. In Pergamon the Heroon of Diodoros Pasparos was remodelled after the earthquake.

Earthquake

There are very few extant details for this earthquake. It is known that it occurred during the night, in AD 17 and that it affected a series of cities. A variety of epicenters have been used in catalogues, near Ephesus in the

NGDC The United States National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) provided scientific stewardship, products and services for geophysical data describing the solid earth, marine, and solar-terrestrial environment, as well as earth observations from spac ...

database, at Sardis in the CFTI4MED database and near Magnesia in the IISEE catalogue.

Aftermath

The Roman Emperor, Tiberius, agreed to waive all taxes due from Sardis and the other cities for a period of five years after the earthquake. He further sent Sardis ten million

sesterces The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The na ...

and appointed Marcus Ateius, an ex- Praetor, to assess their needs. In recognition of the aid received and the tributes that were waived, twelve of the cities raised a colossal statue in Tiberius' honour in

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

's Forum in Rome, with each of the cities represented by a recognisable figure. Two additional figures were added later, representing Kibyra and Ephesus as they had also received aid from Tiberius. A copy of this statue, with the figures transferred to a frieze around the base, was erected in Puteoli where it can still be seen. A statue was raised in Tiberius' honour at Sardis in AD 43, with an inscription calling him the "founder of the city". Another incomplete inscription, found at Sardis, is thought to have been a copy of a formal document from the cities to the emperor expressing their gratitude. The surviving part includes signatories from representatives of eight of the cities. Commemorative coins were struck in AD 22–23 in Rome, showing Tiberius with the inscription "CIVITATIBVS ASIAE RESTITVTIS" (RPC I.2.48) or "cities of Asia restored". Provincial coins were also struck, including one from the city of Magnesia, bearing the inscription "ΤΙΒΕΡΙΟΝ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΝ ΚΤΙΣΤΗΝ" or "Tiberius Augustus Founder". Some of the cities changed their names in honour of the emperor. Hieracome became Hierocaesarea, Kibyra added Caesarea after its name, Philadelphia was renamed Neocaesarea, and Sardis added "Caesarea" briefly to its name.W. M. Ramsay, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia, p. 214.

References

{{Earthquakes in Turkey 17 10s in the Roman Empire 1st-century earthquakes 1st-century natural disasters 0017 Lydia Lydia Articles on pre-1900 earthquakes Earthquakes in the Roman Empire

Damage

Earthquake

Aftermath

See also

References