Significant earthquakes of 525

May 29, 525 Earthquake: Antakya (Antioch), Samandag, Turkey

May 29, 525 · M7 · 250,000 deaths

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Antakya (Antioch), Samandag, Turkey on May 29, 525. It killed 250,000 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
May 29, 525
Place
Antakya (Antioch), Samandag, Turkey
Magnitude
7 (Ms)
Intensity
IX, violent shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
36.250° N, 36.100° E
Country
Turkey
Region
Middle East

The toll

Deaths
250,000
Damage
Extreme (about $25 million or more)

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.

September 525 to May 29, 526, Very disastrous followed by five shocks, intensity IX. (reference #1222)

May 29, 526 or 525, 36.25-36.10, Antakya, Samandag, 250,000 -300,000 deaths, intensity IX, magnitude 7. (reference #3733)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #3733 Akyuz, H. Serdar , Erhan Altunel, Volkan Karabacak, C. Caglar Yalciner (2006). Historical earthquake activity of the northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone, southern Turkey. Tectonophysics, vol. 426, p. 281-293.
  2. #1222 Alsinawi, S.A., S.G. Baban, and A.S. Issa (1985). Historical seismicity of the Arab region. IASPEI/UNESCO Working Group on Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes, August 27-28, 1985, Tokyo; Preliminary Proceedings, p. 59-84.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 525The 500sRecent earthquakes near hereThis 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 131.