The 31 BC Judea earthquake is mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. It affected the

Herodian Kingdom of Judea The Herodian kingdom was a client state of the Roman Republic, later Roman Empire, ruled from 37 to 4 BCE by Herod the Great, who was appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate. When Herod died, the kingdom was divided among his sons into ...

in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778

Josephus' narrative

The main source on the earthquake is a passage in ''

Antiquities of the Jews ''Antiquities of the Jews'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'' by

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

. It dates the earthquake to the time of the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...

(31 BC) between the forces of

Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

and

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

. It also dates the earthquake to the 7th

regnal year A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

(reigned 37–4 BC). According to Josephus, the earthquake brought destruction to Judea's cattle. He estimates that about 10,000 men perished due to

debris Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded waste, garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can ref ...

from falling houses.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The army of Judea reportedly suffered no harm, as it "lodged in the field" at the time of the earthquake. Arabians hostile to the Jews heard reports of the earthquake, and exaggerated the tale further to the point of reporting that Judea had fallen and that its men "were utterly destroyed". A number of Jewish ambassadors were slain by the Arabians, who believed that Judea could no longer oppose their army.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Josephus himself gives a similar account of the earthquake in ''

The Jewish War ''The Jewish War'' is a work of Jewish history written by Josephus, a first-century Roman-Jewish historian. It has been described by the biblical historian Steve Mason as "perhaps the most influential non-biblical text of Western history". ...

'', but there he claims that 30,000 people were casualties of the earthquake.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Josephus does not mention any destroyed or damaged localities. He claims that the army was spared the disaster by being out in the open, but the cattle were destroyed. But in Judea, the herds were either left in the open field or kept in "primitive pens". The army's survival may be explained by its distance from the earthquake's epicentre.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Josephus connects the earthquake narrative to an Arab invasion from the east. According to his narrative, the Arab forces did not experience the earthquake first-hand and suffered no casualties. This suggests that the Arab army was also at a great enough distance from the epicentre to be unaffected.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Josephus' narrative does not identify the exact locations of the two opposing armies. But the earthquake narrative in the ''Antiquities'' follows the narrative of Herod's victory at Dion and Herod's defeat at Kanatha. Following these two battles, the Judean forces had retreated to either the mountains of

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

or the mountains of

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

. From there the Judean forces waged a successful

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

campaign against their Arab opponents.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Kanatha was located about east of

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

. There are two possible locations of Dion. One location is halfway between Kanatha and Tiberias, the other location is in the modern country of

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, about northeast of

Pella, Jordan Pella (, ) was an ancient city in what is now northwest Jordan, and contains ruins from the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Canaanite, Hellenistic and Islamic periods. It is located near a rich water source within the eastern foot ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The "Judea" of Josephus' account may be equated with the relatively small area of the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

, rather than the larger realm Herod had inherited from the

Hasmonean dynasty The Hasmonean dynasty (; ''Ḥašmōnāʾīm''; ) was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period (part of classical antiquity), from BC to 37 BC. Between and BC the dynasty rule ...

. According to both Josephus and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, the Judea known to the Romans had expanded to include Galilee, Samaria,

Perea Perea or Peraea (Greek: Περαία, " the country beyond") was the term used mainly during the early Roman period for part of ancient Transjordan. It lay broadly east of Judea and Samaria, which were situated on the western side of the Jorda ...

Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomites appear in several written sources relating to the ...

, and

Golan Golan (; ) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village eas ...

. Josephus uses the term Judea in both a narrow and a wider sense.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 It is unclear from the narrative whether the earthquake affected the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

and

Arabah The Arabah/Araba () or Aravah/Arava () is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert, south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use ...

, sparsely populated areas where even a major impact might have escaped the notice of contemporaries.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 In 30 BC, a year later, the victorious Octavian advanced across

Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, who had become the protector of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria. ...

and the region of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

to reach the

Ptolemaic Kingdom The Ptolemaic Kingdom (; , ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a Diadochi, ...

in Egypt. Neither Josephus, nor other ancient sources mention Octavian encountering the devastation left by a major earthquake. Herod offered a "lavish reception" to Octavian, and provided supplies to the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

both in their journey towards Egypt, and in their return journey from Egypt, which suggests that Judea was far from devastated by this earthquake.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778

John Malalas' narrative

Among Roman and Byzantine historians, the only one to mention this earthquake was

John Malalas John Malalas (; ; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch in Asia Minor. Life Of Syrian descent, Malalas was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in his life. The name ''Malalas'' probably derive ...

(6th century). In his narrative, the earthquake affected the city of "Salamine" in Israel. He dates the earthquake to the reign of Augustus (Octavian), and reports that Augustus rebuilt the city. Augustus reportedly renamed the city to "Diospolis".Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The location of the city in the narrative is unclear. There were two cities called "Diospolis" in ancient Palestine. One was Dion (either the one in Golan or the one in Jordan), which was renamed following the conquest

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

in 64/63 BC. The other Diospolis was the modern city of

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

, which received its Roman name by order of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

in 199 AD. Malalas may have used a latter-day source for the name. However, neither city is called "Salamin" in ancient sources, and neither had known connections to Augustus.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Malalas may have confused the name of the city, giving a Greek name to various locations of the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

called "Salem" or "Salam". An example is

Dayr Abu Salama Dayr Abu Salama (Arabic: دير ابو سلامة) was a small Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, located 8 km northeast of Ramla. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 13, 1948, in the first phase of ...

, where remnants of Greek inscriptions have been located. Another example is Tell Shalem/Salumnia, where a Roman military settlement has been located.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 It is considered improbable that Malalas made a geographic error and described more distant locations as cities in Palestine.

Salamiyah file:Hama qalat shmemis salamiyyah syria 1995.jpg, A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamiyah (; also transliterated ''Salamiyya'', ''Salamieh'' or ''Salamya'') is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is ...

was located about away from Dion-Golan. The Diopolis to the north of Laodicea was located about away.

Salamis, Cyprus Salamis (; ; ) was an ancient Greek city-state on the east coast of Cyprus, at the mouth of the river Pedieos, 6 km north of modern Famagusta. According to tradition, the founder of Salamis was Teucer, son of Telamon, king of the Greek is ...

was destroyed by an earthquake during the reign of

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as Caesar (title), ''caesar'' ...

(reigned 293–306), but it is considered unlikely that Malalas confused Cyprus with Palestine.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Another account by Malalas may suggest that the earthquake affected locations outside of Palestine. He reports that

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the B ...

visited

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

c. 15 BC. Agrippa found that collapse rubble from old earthquakes had accumulated in the city's

hippodrome Hippodrome is a term sometimes used for public entertainment venues of various types. A modern example is the Hippodrome which opened in London in 1900 "combining circus, hippodrome, and stage performances". The term hippodroming refers to fr ...

, and ordered its removal.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Pompey had orchestrated repairs in Antioch following the

64 BC Syria earthquake The 64 BC Syria earthquake is mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. It affected the region of Syria and may have caused structural damage in the city of Jerusalem.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Sources The earthquake is mentioned in an epito ...

. The rubble which Agrippa found indicates that either Pompey's repairs were incomplete, or Antioch had suffered a second earthquake at some point between 64 and 15 BC.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 A connection between the 31 BC earthquake and the damages in Antioch is possible, though not supported by primary sources.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 There are only three known earthquakes in the late 1st century BC. The 31 BC earthquake in Palestine, a 27 BC earthquake in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

, and a 17 BC earthquake in

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 ...

. None of them is known to have affected Antioch.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778

Other primary sources

Descriptions of this earthquake may have influenced earthquake accounts in

Biblical apocrypha The Biblical apocrypha () denotes the collection of ancient books, some of which are believed by some to be of doubtful origin, thought to have been written some time between 200 BC and 100 AD. The Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Ori ...

and

pseudepigrapha A pseudepigraph (also :wikt:anglicized, anglicized as "pseudepigraphon") is a false attribution, falsely attributed work, a text whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. Th ...

. Earthquake narratives in

4 Ezra 2 Esdras, also called 4 Esdras, Latin Esdras, or Latin Ezra, is an apocalyptic book in some English versions of the Bible. Tradition ascribes it to Ezra, a scribe and priest of the fifth century BC, whom the book identifies with the sixth-ce ...

2 Baruch 2 Baruch is a Jewish apocryphal text thought to have been written in the late 1st century CE or early 2nd century CE, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It is attributed to the biblical figure Baruch ben Neriah (c. 6th century BC) ...

, and the Book of Shem have all been suggested to describe the earthquake. But they do not give explicit descriptions, and they lack "distinct historic clues".Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 It is likely that these books used earthquakes as a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The Megillah also contains an earthquake narrative which has been connected to the 31 BC earthquake. The narrative reports that

Jonathan ben Uzziel Jonathan ben Uzziel () was one of the 80 ''tannaim'' who studied under Hillel the Elder during the time of Roman-ruled Judea. Jonathan ben Uzziel is mentioned several times in the Talmud. Jonathan rendered an Aramaic translation (targum) of the ...

used the prophets

Haggai Haggai or Aggeus (; – ''Ḥaggay''; ; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; ) was a Hebrew prophet active during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the author or subject of the ...

, Zechariah, and

Malachi Malachi or Malachias (; ) is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh. It is possible that ''Malachi'' is not a proper name, because it means "messenger"; ...

as sources for a

targum A targum (, ''interpretation'', ''translation'', ''version''; plural: targumim) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ) that a professional translator ( ''mǝṯurgǝmān'') would give in the common language o ...

. But this resulted in a great earthquake as

divine punishment Divine retribution is supernatural punishment of a person, a group of people, or everyone by a deity in response to some action. Many cultures have a story about how a deity imposed punishment on previous inhabitants of their land, causing th ...

. A mysterious voice asked who dared to reveal such secrets to mankind.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Jonathan was a historical figure, who lived in the 1st to 2nd centuries AD. Haggai and Zechariah's works contain explicit references to earthquakes. Malachi's works contain veiled references to earthquakes. But the narrative in Megilla may not describe a historical earthquake. It is a

cautionary tale A cautionary tale or moral tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a Risk, danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is ...

about the dangers caused by the disclosure of holy texts to non-Jews.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The Book of Shem contains a prediction about a severe earthquake which would affect Galilee, when the year stars in

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

. This gives an astrological reference to an earthquake taking place between September 24 and October 23. While it has been suggested that the text is describing the 31 BC earthquake, this seems far-fetched.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...

also contain several references to earthquakes. Scholars have identified 16 explicit references to earthquakes, 6 literary allusions to earthquakes, and 5 instructions about constructing building foundations which will survive an earthquake. While some modern scholars have suggested a connection between these texts and the 31 BC earthquake, the texts never indicate any dated earthquake event. The writers of the scrolls may have simply recorded information about earthquakes in their

collective memory Collective memory is the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity. The English phrase "collective memory" and the equivalent French phrase "la mémoire collect ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 This is not enough evidence to suggest that the writers had traumatic experiences in an earthquake.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Archaeologists have located possible signs of earthquake damage at

Qumran Qumran (; ; ') is an archaeological site in the West Bank managed by Israel's Qumran National Park. It is located on a dry marl plateau about from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about south of the historic city of Jericho, and adjac ...

. These include an earthquake fault across one of the ritual baths, the fallen ceiling of a pantry, damage to the main tower, and collapse of rooms in the southeastern part of the site. It has been suggested that Qumran was abandoned following an earthquake, and there have been correlations with the 31 BC earthquake as described by Josephus.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 However, the same damage may be attributed to human-caused damage to Qumran. Various theories suggest that Qumran may have been attacked by

Aristobulus II Aristobulus II (, ''Aristóboulos'') was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea, 66 BCE to 63 BCE, from the Hasmonean dynasty. Family Aristobulus was the younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Salome Alexandra. After ...

Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos''; died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of J ...

between 67 and 63 BC, attacked by

Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius ( – 48 or 47 BC) was a politician and general of the Roman Republic. He had an important career, culminating with a consulship in 58 BC, mainly thanks to the patronage of Pompey. His name is mostly associated with the '' le ...

in 57 BC, attacked by the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

in 40/39 BC, and attacked by

Antigonus II Mattathias Antigonus II Mattathias ( ''Antígonos''; , ''Mattīṯyāhū''), also known as Antigonus the Hasmonean (died 37 BCE) was the last Hasmonean dynasty, Hasmonean king of Judea. He was the son of King Aristobulus II of Judea. In 37 BCE Herod the Grea ...

between 40 and 37 BC.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 Archaeologists have searched for damage caused by the 31 BC earthquake at

Masada Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising ov ...

and

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

, at Agappias (identified with Anthedon), at

Ashkelon Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The modern city i ...

, at

Antipatris Antipatris (, ) was a city built during the first century BC by Herod the Great, who named it in honour of his father, Antipater. The site, now a national park in central Israel, was inhabited from the Chalcolithic period to the Late Ro ...

, and at

. It has been assumed that some of the intense building activities of Herod the Great may have been motivated by a need for post-earthquake repairs.Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 So far, much of the search for archaeological evidence for this earthquake has been fruitless. The search in Tiberias may have been misguided, as the city was not even built at the time of the earthquake. The city was constructed by

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

in 18 AD, and named after then-reigning Roman emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

(reigned 14–37 AD).Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778 The lack of archaeological evidence suggests that this was a relatively modest earthquake in the range of 6–6.5

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

, and not a "major catastrophe".Karcz, 2004, p. 774-778

Geological evidence

Seismite {{Earthquakes Seismites are sedimentary beds and structures deformed by seismic shaking. The German paleontologist Adolf Seilacher first used the term in 1969 to describe earthquake-deformed layers. Today, the term is applied to both sedimentar ...

s have been examined within the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

lacustrine A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

Ze'elim Formation in the Dead Sea basin that has become exposed due to retreat of the sea over the last 60 years. The seismites take the form of soft sediment deformation structures, thought to be the result of significant earthquake-related shaking of unconsolidated sediment close to the sediment-lake interface. At the Ze'elim Terrace a series of seismites are recognised that have been dated using

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, C or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic matter is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

techniques from organic detritus included in the sequence. The second oldest seismite at the location has been correlated with the 31 BC earthquake. A seismite of the same estimated age has been described from the Darga fan delta site further north in the basin. A possible surface rupture along the Jericho Fault associated with the 31 BC event has also reported near the city of Jericho.

References

Bibliography

* {{citation, last=Karcz, first=Iaakov, year=2004, title=Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy Land, url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.393.3596&rep=rep1&type=pdf, journal= Annals of Geophysics, volume=47, pages=759–792, citeseerx=10.1.1.393.3596, access-date=2020-04-02 31 BC 1st-century BC natural disasters 1st-millennium BC earthquakes Herodian kingdom