January 8, 1780 Earthquake: Tabriz, Iran

January 8, 1780, Iran, 38.2N, 46E, magnitude 7.7. Preceded by a strong foreshock, a catastrophic earthquake on the night of Friday to Saturday 29 Dhu 'l-Hijja 1193 to I Muharram 1194 (7-8 January 1780) in the region of Tabriz almost totally destroyed the city and devastated about 400 villages, including Marand, Tasuj and Iranaq. In Tabriz itself, all major buildings, weakened by previous shocks, were ruined and all private houses, as well as the fort and walls of the city were totally destroyed, the radius of destruction being variously given as 72 or 120 km from Tabriz. Outside this distance, in Khuy, Salmas, Urmiyeh and Gunayi (?), buildings were damaged but there was no loss of life. Vast numbers of people perished in this earthquake, estimates ranging to over 200,000. The number was probably somewhere around 50,000. Among these were the son of the ruler of Tabriz, Fazl'ali Beg Dunbuli, along with some 700 retainers who were killed when the palace collapsed. The earthquake was responsible for the destruction of all the historical buildings in Tabriz. Among those which were restored afterwards and still exist today (in greatly altered form) we may note the Friday mosque in the bazaar, work on which was begun by Ahmad Khan Dunbuli immediately after the earthquake. The Sahib alAmr mosque was restored in 1208/1794 by Ja'far Khan Dunbuli in a complex immediately north of the Mihran-rud, that includes the Thiqat al-Islam mosque. Both these complexes include other buildings named as having been severely affected by the earthquake, for example the Talibiyyeh madraseh adjoining the Friday mosque, which was originally a Safavid foundation (built in 1087/1676), and the Hasan Padshah mosque and madraseh adjoining the Sahib al-Amr (originally built by Uzun Hasan (d. 882/1478). The Sadiqiyyeh madraseh, also a Safavid foundation, still survives in the bazaar area, and the shrine and madraseh of Sayyid Hamza (d. 714/1314) are in the Surkhab quarter to the north. The mosque of 'Alishah is now reduced to the ruins known as the Arg, and the Ustadc-Shagird mosque and the Dal-o-Zal mosque have also survived to the present day. (reference #1117)

January 8, 1780, 38N, 46.2E, Tabriz, Iran, 200,000 deaths, severe damage. (reference #1217)

January 17, 1780, 22:15 UTC, 38.2N, 46.2E, depth 20 km, magnitude 6.7, intensity 9, much destruction and high death toll in Tebriz and Merendi. (reference #223)

February-March 3, 1780, Persia, Tabriz, intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)

1780, Tabriz (Tauris), Iran, 100,000 deaths, severe damage. (references #1051)

1780, at Tauris; 15,000 houses thrown down and multitudes buried. (reference #1073)