The 64 BC Syria earthquake is mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. It affected the region of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and may have caused structural damage in the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

Sources

The earthquake is mentioned in an

epitome An epitome (; , from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents "to the degree of." A ...

of ''Liber Historiarum Philippicarum'', written by the historian

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

(2nd century).Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Justin reported that a devastating earthquake affected Syria, dating the earthquake to the end of the reign of

Tigranes the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (''Tigran Mets'' in Armenian language, Armenian; 140–55 BC), was a king of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under hi ...

(reigned 95–55 BC) in Syria. The earthquake reportedly caused widespread destruction, and caused the deaths of 170,000 people.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 There are disagreements over when Tigranes stopped reigning over Syria, and when the earthquake took place. Other suggested dates for the earthquake give the year as 65 BC or 69 BC. While Justin used the historian

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfa ...

as his main source, his surviving works indicate that Justin misunderstood this source, resulting in a confusion over the dates of events, and the identities of the characters mentioned.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Another mention of this earthquake is found in ''Historiarum Adversum Paganos'', written by the historian

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

(5th century).Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 The narrative mentions that when the earthquake took place,

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...

was attending a festival of the goddess Ceres in the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

. The text is thought to describe a visit of Mithridates to the Cimmerian Bosporus (modern

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...

), located at the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

and the peninsula of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 The text does not clarify whether Mithridates himself experienced the earthquake, or merely heard news about it.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 ''Chronographia'' by

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 ...

briefly mentions the earthquake. He reports that it caused the

Bouleuterion Bouleuterion (, ''bouleutērion''), also translated as and was a building in ancient Greece which housed the council of citizens (, ''boulē'') of a democratic city state. These representatives assembled at the bouleuterion to confer and de ...

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 ...

to fall down. The destroyed building was eventually rebuilt by

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. ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Modern sources have extrapolated that Antioch suffered extensive structural damage or that the entire city was destroyed by the earthquake. However, Malalas states nothing about such an event.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

Possible Jewish sources

The same earthquake is supposed in modern sources to have affected

, which is located south of Antioch. The earthquake supposedly caused structural damage to Jerusalem's city walls, and to the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

's compound.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 The primary source for such an event is the

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

. The narrative speaks of a struggle for power between the sons of Queen regnant

Salome Alexandra Salome Alexandra, also ''Shlomtzion'', ''Shelamzion'' (; , ''Šəlōmṣīyyōn'', "peace of Zion"; 141–67 BC), was a regnant queen of Judaea, one of only three women in Jewish historical tradition to rule over the country, the other tw ...

(reigned 76-67 BC). Her two sons were

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 ...

and

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 ...

, who were the last kings of 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 ...

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Hyrcanus II allied himself with the

Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arabs, Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Peninsula, Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city o ...

, and they helped him in a siege of Jerusalem. According to the Talmud, the two opposing sides reached an agreement to allow the supply of sacrificial animals to the Second Temple, which was needed for the year's celebration of the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

. The defenders of the city would lower a "big basket" filled with golden coins over the city walls, which the attackers were required to fill. The attackers broke the agreement, and took the gold without fulfilling their end of the bargain. Instead of sending sacrificial animals, they send a pig. The pig struck its claws to the city walls, and suddenly an earthquake struck the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. According to the Talmud, the earthquake shocked areas at a distance of 400

parasang The parasang, also known as a farsakh (from Arabic), is a historical Iranian peoples, Iranian unit of Walking distance measure, walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the ...

s by 400 parasangs. The parasang is a Persian unit of distance, about 4000 yards long.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

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 ...

account of the siege mentions neither an earthquake, nor a pig. In his narrative, the Passover services were both prevented and mocked during the siege.

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 ...

struck in the form of a "storm of wind", that destroyed

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

's fruits. According to Josephus, prices rose due to the destruction. A modius of wheat cost 11 drachmae.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

also mentions the war between the two brothers, without mentioning an earthquake. The Talmud's earthquake may have originated in a story of figurative shock over the "ungodly breach of agreement", and the consequent disruption services.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 This idea seems to be corroborated by the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

's narrative.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

Historical context

In chronological accounts, the 64 BC siege and the earthquake are place after the death of

(d. 67 BC), and before

' s Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC).Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Pompey's siege is known to have taken place shortly after the death of

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Pompey and

were rivals in war until 66 BC, and then Pompey fought against the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

. Pompey's subordinate commander Marcus Aemilius Scaurus is credited with ending the Nabatean siege of Jerusalem. Scaurus was sent from

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

to Judea, where he offered bribes to both sides of the conflict. The siege was lifted, and Scaurus offered his support to

.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 The Passover associated with the siege and earthquake took place in 65 or 64 BC. In narratives of the earthquake, the Passover took place at the same time as a festival of Ceres. This would place the earthquake in springtime, as both these festivities traditionally took place in spring.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 The "fanciful" Talmudic narrative reports on an earthquake, but does not support the idea that Jerusalem's city walls and the Second Temple suffered extensive damage.

' narrative does not mention such a disaster either.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Both Josephus and

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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

mention that Jerusalem's city walls were still robust during Pompey's siege, and that Pompey faced difficulties in capturing the city.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

Modern perspectives

A group of 8 sediment deformation horizons (mixed layers) have been identified among 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 ...

sediments found in the Tze'elim Stream (Nahal Tze'elim) of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

region. The deformations are believed to have a seismic event origin, with each deformation corresponding to a seismic event. The earliest sediment deformation in the group has been dated through

radiometry Radiometry is a set of techniques for measurement, measuring electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. Radiometric techniques in optics characterize the distribution of the radiation's power (physics), power in space, as opposed to phot ...

to a range of dates between 200 BC and 40 BC. One theory associates the sentiment with the 64 BC earthquake.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 In this view, the epicenter of the earthquake was in the Dead Sea. The earthquake would be strong enough to cause structural damage in both Jerusalem and Antioch.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773 Doubts on this view point to the questionable historicity of the Talmudic sources, and the insufficient data from other primary sources.Karcz, 2004, p. 770-773

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 , accessdate=2020-04-02 64 BC 1st-century BC natural disasters 1st-millennium BC earthquakes Ancient Antioch Ancient history of Jerusalem