January 18, 746 Earthquake: Teverya (Tiberias), Ariha (Jericho), Israel

Considerable confusion surrounds the dating of earthquakes in the Middle East during the middle of the eight century, a period during which a series of major earthquakes occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean region and in the Middle East.

We ought to explain, however, why one is inclined to think that, regardless of whether the dates of the events are exact, there should have been at least three sizable earthquakes, if not more, during the period of AD 746-757.

(all above from reference #9116)

After an earthquake on AD 18 January 746 or 749, which affected Palestine, Jordan and Syria...(reference #11391)

morning of 18 January 749. In the mid-8th century, a powerful earthquake struck Palestine, inflicting serious damage at Jerusalem and Tiberias, and causing a landslide at a village near Mt.Tabor […] Because they use different dating styles, the sources themselves are in apparent disagreement over the matter, to the extent that one is tempted to suppose that there was a whole series of tremors rather than a single earthquake. Even the modern scholars who have tackled the problem from time to time are not in agreement […] The 13th-14th century Arab historian al-Dhahabi dates the earthquake to the year 130 of the Hegira and states that the worst damage occurred at Jerusalem: "[In that year] there was a strong earthquake in Syria [...]. When the Province of Syria was struck by earthquakes in the year 130 [of the Hegira = 11 September 747 - 30 August 748 AD ], the strongest shocks occurred in Jerusalem, causing the death of many conquering troops and others". (reference #9285)