October 26, 1156 Earthquake: Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria

Name: October 26, 1156 Earthquake: Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria
Start: 1156-10-26
Location: Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria

October 26, 1156 · 2,000 deaths

An earthquake struck Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria on October 26, 1156. It killed 2,000 people.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date: October 26, 1156
Place: Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 36.200° N, 37.200° E
Country: Syria

The toll

Deaths: 2,000
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000)

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

October 26, 1156, for 14 months, Syria, between Aleppo and Malatich, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts.

(reference #1055)

Between 1155 and 1157, Antioch, Damascus, and Tripoli, 2000 persons killed. (reference #521)

May 16 - December 8, 1156 (AH 551 Rabi-I 25 - Shawwal 20). During this period many earthquakes shook Syria. On the 19th of May about forty shocks took place at Aleppo and Hamat and many other places; the shaking was tremendous. Aleppo was shaken again on the 23rd. Other shocks occurred on the 18, 20 to 30 of October and continued until 8 of December. (reference #1098)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1156 The 1100s Recent earthquakes near here This day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 413.