September 26, 1091 Earthquake: Antakya (Antioch), Syria, Turkey

1091. Walls of Antioch thrown down, ninety villages destroyed (reference #1222)

1091 Sep 26, Antioch. A locally damaging earthquake in northwestern Syria during the night. It seems that Antioch bore the brunt, suffering considerable damage and casualties. Many houses and the Church of Our Lady collapsed, but there is no evidence that the shock caused great loss of life. A part of the rampart and 70 or 90 of its outer towers were ruined. The worst damage was to the northwest section of the city walls in the plain between the Gate of the Sea (Bab al-Bahr) and the Gate of Persia (Bab-Faris), which lost 32 towers […] some later writers grossly exaggerate the effects of this earthquake, which does not seem to have affected any other urban centre in what was a heavily populated region […] The earliest source for this event is Sawirus, an eeleeventh-century Egyptian Christian writer. He dates thee earthquake to a.Diocl.808, Sunday 8 Babah (6 October 1091), and give numerous details […] Ibn al-Qalanisi dates this event to a.H. 484, the night of Tuesday 9 Shaban (26 September 1091), ten days earlier than the date given by Sawirus. This disparity may be further evidence of destructive aftershocks. (reference #9116)