December 29, 1408 Tsunami: Antioch, Turkey

Name: December 29, 1408 Tsunami: Antioch, Turkey
Start: 1408-12-29
Location: Antioch, Turkey

December 29, 1408 · Deaths: many · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake and a landslide began at Antioch, Turkey on December 29, 1408. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.

Where the waves reached

The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.

Under 1 m
1 to 3 m
3 to 10 m
10 to 30 m
30 m and more
Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: December 29, 1408
Source: Antioch, Turkey
Cause: Earthquake and landslide
Earthquake: Magnitude 7.4
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 36.200° N, 36.100° E

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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.

1408. Latakia [Syria]: Sea wave. (reference #1222)

Local tsunami, near Mt. Cassius. Event reliability 4 (reference #10416)

Landslide in Sfuhen and tsunami in Lattakia; tsunami threw the boats onto the shore; strong tsunami in Syrian coasts. Event reliability 3-4 (reference #9275)

Snow was seen on the top of Jabal Aqra’ [Jebel Akra, 1759 m], and the sea receded for 10 farsakhs [about 60 km, sic .] and then returned. Ships at sea touched the bottom before the water returned to normal, without hurting anyone .’ […] The wording of al-Maqrizi's text is that (part of) the mountain fell into the sea, and it was this that caused the retreat of the sea by 10 farsakhs (sic.) from the mountain. The extension of the earthquake destruction into Cyprus also emphasises the southwesterly trend of damage, and is consistent with reported effects in Latakia and Jeble on the coast. The sea wave could have been associated with the collapse of the mountain side or submarine slumping. (reference #9116)

The earthquake also gave rise to a tsunami, perhaps in the stretch of sea opposite or to the south of Mt. Cassius [north of Laodicea (Latakia)]…. The tsunami threw boats out of the sea on to the shore. A high tide stretched over 10 parasangs [64 km]. Sailors said that boats at sea were pushed on to the land by the tide; when the sea fell back, nothing proved to have been damaged (reference #10420)

1408 Dec 29. Definite tsunami. (reference #11164, v.2)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

Where	Country	Km from source	Water height, m	Inland, m	Measured by	First wave, UTC	Deaths
Latakia	Syria	81			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1408 The 1400s Tsunamis of Turkey The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts in force

Sources

Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 3565.