October 11, 1138 Earthquake: Aleppo, Harim, Zaranda, Athareb, Shih, Syria

Reference #9116:

AD 1138 Oct 11, Atharib. A long series of damaging shocks occurred in northern Syria, continuing for three months between October and December 1138. The main shock occurred on 11 October 1138 and it was followed by many aftershocks .

The date given in this entry for this event follows the order of al-Qalanisi, with the main shock occurring on 10–11 October 1138, a date supported by other sources (Kem. al-Din, C, 679; al-Umari f. 72r; Ibn al-Athir, C. 433, xi. 47). The earthquake occurred in what was, at the time, the frontier territory between Moslems and Christians, an area that had already suffered from the ravages of warfare and previous earthquakes.

The worst-hit area was that delimited by Harim, Zaranda, Athareb and Shih.

In Aleppo, a large city with a population of a few tens of thousands, the earthquake caused considerable damage.

Many sources, such as al-Suyuti, say briefly that Aleppo was destroyed, without giving any details regarding the loss of life, repairs or tax relief. However, not all sources agree that the shock reached its maximum at Aleppo and in the surrounding towns. Kemal’s record shows that the damage to Aleppo was not great, the worst being the collapse of the nearby Atharib.

In Azrab, north of Aleppo on the edge of the Kuros Mountains, the ground opened in the middle of the village and later collapsed totally, most probably as a result of a landslide triggered by the earthquake. At Bizaah the earthquake brought down towers from the walls. All that is known about Tell Khalid and Tell Amar is that they, according to Kemal, suffered some unspecified damage. The earthquake and some of its aftershocks were perceptible in Damascus but not in Jerusalem (Chron. 1234, 280).

Later writers conflate this earthquake with the earthquakes of November 1137 in Jazira and the large event of 30 September 1139 in Ganjak. For instance, the fifteenth-century author Taghri Birdi reports a loss of 230 000 lives in the earthquake, which he claims was worst at Aleppo. In fact these losses were due to the earthquake of 29 September 1139 in Ganjak, in Georgia.

Reference #10420:

1138 October 11 - 1139 June. Mount Quros [northern Syria]. Between October 1138 and June the following year, there was a destructive seismic sequence in the present-day border territories between Turkey and Syria. The most seriously damaged area was in the region of Aleppo (Halab) in north-east Syria and the southern part of the Edessa (now Urfa) area in present-day south-east Turkey. The sources tell of the collapse of a number of places, of which six are explicitly identified: in the Aleppo area: Atharib (AI-Atarib), where there were 600 victims; Azrab, a village near Mt. Quros; Tall Ahmar on the left bank of the Euphrates near Jarabulus, and Zaradna (Sardona for the Latins, Zardana); Shaykh al Hadid; and in the Edessa area: Tall Halid (also called Trihalet). Perhaps it is worth pointing out that the castles mentioned were very strongly built military structures, all situated on higher ground - a circumstance that could increase shaking effects. Houses collapsed over a wide area at Aleppo, the city walls were damaged, and the citadel as well Towers collapsed at Biza'ah, and a church collapsed at Harim, a town in northern Syria, now near the Turkish frontier.

Note: 600 deaths listed, however, that number is likely significantly higher