The 557 Constantinople earthquake took place on the night of December 14. This

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, described in the works of

Agathias Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθίας σχολαστικός; Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 23–25582/594), of Myrina (Mysia), an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor (Turkey), was a Greek poet and the principal histo ...

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later ...

, and

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before takin ...

, caused great damage to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, then capital of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

in a region frequently afflicted with earthquakes. More minor quakes had preceded the large event, including two in April and October respectively. The main quake in December was of unparalleled ferocity, and "almost completely razed" the city. It caused damage to the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

which contributed to the collapse of its dome the next year, as well as damaging the

walls of Constantinople The Walls of Constantinople ( el, Τείχη της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the ...

to the extent that

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

invaders were able to penetrate it with ease the following season.

Tectonic setting

The site of Constantinople lies on the northern shore of the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

, which is a

pull-apart basin In geology, a basin is a region where subsidence generates accommodation space for the deposition of sediments. A pull-apart basin is a structural basin where two overlapping (en echelon) strike-slip faults or a fault bend creates an area of cr ...

related to

active fault An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10, ...

ing on a series of segments of the

North Anatolian Fault The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) ( tr, Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. The fault extends westward fro ...

, the boundary between the

Anatolian Plate The Anatolian Plate is a continental tectonic plate comprising most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsula (and the country of Turkey). To the east, the East Anatolian Fault, a left lateral transform fault, forms a boundary with the Arabian Pl ...

and the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

. The fault zone accommodates approximately 24 mm per year of dextral (right lateral) displacement along this boundary and has been responsible for many destructive historical earthquakes, such as those in

1509 __NOTOC__ Year 1509 ( MDIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 21 – The Portuguese first arrive at the Seven Islands of Bombay and ...

and

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * January 14 – Chr ...

Prior events

Earthquakes were relatively frequent during the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(r. 527–565). An earthquake in November 533 had led a crowd to seek refuge at the

Forum of Constantine The Forum of Constantine ( el, Φόρος Κωνσταντίνου, Fóros Konstantínou; la, Forum Constantini) was built at the foundation of Constantinople immediately outside the old city walls of Byzantium. It marked the centre of the new ...

, but there were no real casualties. Minor earthquakes were also reported in 540–541, 545, 547, 551 and 554–555. There were two precursors to the major earthquake of 557. On 16 April 557, the first earthquake of the year had shaken the city. It caused no real damage. On 19 October 557, the second earthquake struck, with a similar lack of damage.

Events

The third and major earthquake struck in December. According to

, Constantinople was "almost completely razed to the ground" by the earthquake. He describes it as unparalleled in magnitude and duration. He notes that it took place during the celebrations of the

Brumalia The Brumalia ( la, Brumalia ) were a winter solstice festival celebrated in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. In Rome there had been the minor holiday of Bruma on November 24, which turned into large scale end of the year festivities in Const ...

(the Festival of Names), shortly before the

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...

and the entry of the Sun to the sign of the Capricorn. He also describes the city as affected by a severe winter prior to the earthquake. Tremors started towards midnight, when most residents of Constantinople were sleeping. The tremors awoke the citizens and as the buildings trembled, "shrieks and lamentations could be heard". The successive tremors were accompanied by

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

-like sounds from the ground. The air reportedly "grew dim with the vaporous exhalations of a smoky

haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification ...

rising from an unknown source, and gleamed with a dull radiance". The panicked residents started evacuating their houses, gathering in streets and alleyways. Agathias observed that the city had precious few "wide open spaces entirely free of obstructions", which meant that residents were not safe from falling debris even outdoors. A shower of sleet soaked those outside and everyone "suffered greatly from the cold". Many sought refuge within the churches of the city. Agathias notes that disorder reigned. A great number of women, both the low-born and the noble, were in the streets. Men and women "mingled freely", an event unusual in itself. Few paid attention to rank and privilege in the rush to avoid injury. Slaves, for example, paid no attention to the orders of their masters. The district of Rhegium, close to the port of Constantinople, suffered the greatest loss of houses. Many other buildings were demolished or suffered structural damage. Agathias notes that "large numbers of ordinary people" perished, while Anatolius was the only casualty among the high-ranking in society. By dawn, the earthquake had ceased. The overjoyed people started seeking those nearest and dearest to them, "kissing and embracing and weeping with delight and surprise".

Aftermath

The

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

of the

was weakened in the earthquake and collapsed completely in May 558. The

were severely damaged. In early 559, attacking

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

managed to pass through damaged areas of the Walls. Various other churches and buildings were damaged. Justinian I started a short period of mourning. He did not wear his crown for the forty days following the earthquake. The earthquake was later commemorated by an annual liturgy of

supplication Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks another party to provide something, either for the party who is doing the supplicating (e.g., "Please spare my life.") or on behalf of someo ...

. Agathias also claimed there was a short-lived effect on the attitude of the population: the wealthy were motivated to charity,

doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertaint ...

ers were motivated to pray, and the vicious were motivated to virtue, all in an apparent effort of

propitiation Propitiation is the act of appeasing or making well-disposed a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution. While some use the term interchangeably with expiation, others draw a sharp distinction between the two. The discus ...

. Agathias reports that soon enough everyone lapsed into their former attitudes.

References

{{Earthquakes in Turkey 550s in the Byzantine Empire 557 6th-century earthquakes 6th century in the Byzantine Empire Constantinople 0557 Constantinople History of Istanbul Lists of earthquakes Earthquakes in the Byzantine Empire

Tectonic setting

Prior events

Events

Aftermath

See also

References