Earth changes in the Roman Empire from 100 AD to 200 AD105 -
Earthquake in the Gulf of Edremit and Greece The towns of Cyme,
Myrina, Elaeae and Pitane, all within a radius of 10 km around the
Gulf of Edremit, were destroyed by an earthquake as well as two
cities in Greece. Orosius and Michael the Syrian syncretise this
earthquake with the later event in Galatia and the lightning on the
Pantheon in 110. An inscription found at Ulucak, near Magnesia
records repairs of the road from Smyrna to the north, round the
western end of Mount Yamanlar, carried out sometime between 10
December 102 and 13 May 105, probably in the aftermath of this
earthquake[footnoteRef:2]. [2: Ambraseys, Earthquakes in the
Mediterranean and Middle East, 2009, p. 121]
Jerome Chronicle, p. 278:Four cities of Asia overthrown in an
earthquake: Elaea, Myrrhina, Pytanae, and Cymae: and two in Greece,
Opuntis and Oritos.Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the
Pagans, 7.12.5:Four cities in Asia, Elea, Myrina, Pitane, and Cyme
along with two in Greece, those of the Opuntii and Oriti, were
destroyed by an earthquake that also ruined three cities in
Galatia. At Rome, the Pantheon was struck by lightning and burnt
down, while an earthquake in Antioch almost levelled the entire
city.Michael the Syrian, Chronique, 6.4 p. 174:At the same time,
there was a very violent earthquake in which many cities were
overthrown: (among others) four cities in Asia: Elea, Myrina,
Pytane and Cyme in Greece Opyntis and Myrrin and three towns in
Galatia. The temple of the Pantheon, i.e. of all the Gods, was
destroyed by lightning. 107-108 - Extreme weather in ItalyPliny the
Younger, in a letter to his friend Minucius Macrinus, describes
extreme weather in Rome, namely severe storms, violent floods of
the Tiber and of the Aniene River, tornados and heavy rains. Though
difficult to date as most of Pliny's letters, this one seems to
have been written around 107-108[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Aldrete,
Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome, p. 29]
Pliny the Younger, Letters, Translated by William Melmoth, Book
8. letter 17 p. 143-144:Is the weather in your parts as rude and
boisterous as it is with us ? All here is tempest and inundation.
The Tiber has overflowed its channel, and deeply flooded its lower
banks. Though drained by a dyke, which the Emperor providently had
cut, it submerges the valleys, swims along the fields, and entirely
overspreads the flats. The streams which it ordinarily receives and
carries down commingled to the sea, it now forcibly checks in their
course, by, so to speak, advancing to meet them ; and thus deluges
with borrowed waters lands it cannot reach itself. That most
delightful of rivers, the Anio, which seems invited and detained by
the villas upon its banks, has destroyed and carried away much of
the woods that shade its brink. It has undermined mountains, and
its channel being-blocked by the resulting landslides, it has
wrecked houses in the endeavour to regain its course, and surges
high above the ruins.
Dwellers in the uplands, who were out of reach of this fearful
inundation, have seen, here the household gear and heavy furniture
of lordly mansions, there instruments of husbandry, elsewhere
ploughs and oxen with their drivers, elsewhere again herds of
cattle let loose and astray, together with trunks of trees, or
beams and gables of the neighbouring villas all floatinc about far
and wide. Nor indeed have even these uplands, to which the river
did not rise, escaped calamity. For long torrential rains, and
waterspouts hurled down from the clouds, have destroyed all the
enclosures on the valuable farms, and shaken, and even overturned,
public buildings.
Numbers have been maimed, crushed, or buried by such accidents,
and loss of property has been aggravated by bereavements.
110 - Earthquake in Galatia See above.Jerome, Chronicle p.
279:110Three cities of Galatia wiped out by an earthquake.The
Pantheon in Rome burned down by lightning.115 - Juvenals cometWhile
describing the gossiping woman who knows everything that is going
on, Juvenal (6.407-412) is the only source for this comet that
preceded the 115 Antioch earthquake. Barrett[footnoteRef:4] thinks
that it is solely a reference to comets in general, whereas
Ramsey[footnoteRef:5] postulates that this is the Chinese comet of
January 117. [4: Barrett, A. A., Observations of Comets in Greek
and Roman Sources Before A.D. 410, Journal of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 72, 1978, p.81] [5: Ramsey
J.T., A Catalogue of Greco-Roman Comets from 500 B.C. to A.D. 400,
Journal for the History of Astronomy 28 (2007), 175-97.]
Juvenal, The Satires of Juvenal, p. 57-58:She (the gossiping
woman) is the first to see the comet that menaces the Armenian and
Parthian king; and she intercepts at the gates the reports and
freshest news. Some she invents as well. That Niphates (a mountain
in Armenia) has overwhelmed whole nations, and that the whole
country is there laid under water by a great deluge; that cities
are tottering, the earth sinking down - this she tells in every
place of resort to everyone she meets.118 Solar eclipseThe Fasti
Vindobonenses Priores correctly dates a total solar eclipse on 3
September 118. The rough track of totality runs from the Atlantic
to Southeast Asia with noon point in the Black Sea. The eclipse was
the greatest one visible in Europe around the time
indicated[footnoteRef:6]. [6: Schove, Chronology of Eclipses and
Comets AD 1-1000, 1987, p. 24]
The Fasti Vindobonenses Priores, MGH AA 9 p. 285:118Hadrian and
Salinator. Under theses consuls, there was an eclipse of the sun.
120 Earthquake in Bithynia About 120 a major earthquake in Bithynia
destroyed its capital Nicomedia as well as the greater part of
Nicaea. A funerary inscription from Nicomedia is connected with
this event, since it commemorates the death of two children and a
slave in an earthquake and dates from about this time. The city of
Nicomedia was rebuilt and given the title Hadrian to commemorate
Hadrians having been there; and some coins were also minted in
which Hadrian is described as Restitutor Nicomediae. The Chronicon
Paschale dates the earthquake to 128 and adds that
Aoria[footnoteRef:7] in Bithynia was damaged. Michael the Syrian
dates it after the death of Euphrates the Stoic in 118. [7: The
location of Aoria is problematic. If Aoria is meant for Aorata, the
latter has been generally recognised as situated near Hiera Germe,
near where modern Kirmasti Kassaba is located, south of Cyzicus.
The Aoria earthquake is otherwise unrecorded.]
Guidoboni amalgamates this event with the earthquake at Cyzicus
reported by Malalas, and adds a tsunami and dates it to
120-128[footnoteRef:8]. [8: Guidoboni, Catalogue of ancient
earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to the 10th century, 1994,
p. Ambraseys, Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East,
2009, p. 125-126]
Jerome, Chronicle, p. 282:120After an earthquake had happened,
Nicomedia lay in ruins, and many things were overturned in the city
of Nicaea: for the reconstruction of which, Hadrian generously gave
funds from the public treasury.Michael the Syrian, Chronique, 6.4,
p. 175-176:At this time, there was an earthquake, in which
Nicomedia was totally destroyed, and most of Nicaea. Chronicon
Paschale, PG 92 p. 618During their consulship, Nicomedia and Aoria
in Bithynia were overturned by an earthquake.123 - Earthquake in
CyzicusThe capital of the province of the Hellespont, Cyzicus, was
ruined by a large earthquake. Malalas dates it to 10 November in an
unspecified year during the reign of Hadrian. Ambraseys connects
Malalas earthquake with a passage from the Chronicon Paschale (PG
92, p. 615) which does not mention the earthquake, but only
Hadrians construction programme in Nicomedia, Nicaea and Cyzicus,
which is dated to 123. The construction programme of Hadrian began
soon after his progress through Asia Minor in 124. According to
Ambraseys, to have merited imperial assistance, Cyzicus must have
been struck by the earthquake only shortly before, so probably on
10 November 123.Guidoboni, who syncretises this event with the one
in Nicomedia in 120, links it with a passage from the Sibylline
Oracles mentioning a tsunami and an earthquake affecting both
Cyzicus and Baris, about 30 km west of the
latter.http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/sib/Cyzicus, also thy vast
wealth the seaShall break off.125 to 136 Ptolemys lunar eclipsesIn
his Almagest, Ptolemy records four lunar eclipses from 125 to 136.
All the eclipses were observed from Alexandria by him, though
Toomer notes that the eclipse of 125 may have been observed by the
mathematician Theon who transmitted several planetary observations
to Ptolemy. Ptolemy used his own chronology throughout the
Almagest. This commenced with the beginning of the reign of
Nabonassar (equivalent to 26 February 747 BC).He also uses the
Egyptian year of twelve 30 day months followed by 5 extra days,
making a total of 365 days. This system, which allows accurate day
counts to be made with ease, is probably due to Hipparchus. In
addition, when discussing observations made during the night,
Ptolemy often gives a double date to avoid
confusion[footnoteRef:9]. [9: Steele J.M., A Re-analysis of the
Eclipse Observations in Ptolemys Almagest, Centaurus, vol. 42,
2000, p. 89-108]
Ptolemy, Almagest, p.206The second eclipse we used is the one
observed in Alexandria in the ninth year of Hadrian. Pachon [IX]
17/18 in the Egyptian calendar. 3 3/5 equinoctial hours before
midnight. At this eclipse too the moon was obscured 1/6th of its
diameter from the south[footnoteRef:10]. [10: 5 April 125.]
Ptolemy, Almagest, p 198Let us now turn to the three eclipses
which we have selected from those very carefully observed by us in
Alexandria.The first [eclipse] occurred in the seventeenth year of
Hadrian, Pauni [X] 20/21 in the Egyptian calendar. We computed the
exact time of mid-eclipse as 3/4 of an equinoctial hour before
midnight. It was total[footnoteRef:11]. [11: 20 October 134.]
Ptolemy, Almagest, p 198The second occurred in the nineteenth
year of Hadrian. Choiak [IV] 2/3 in the Eyptian calendar. We
computed that mid-eclipse occurred 1 equinoctial hour before
midnight. [The moon] was eclipsed 5/6 of its diameter from the
north.Ptolemy, Almagest, p 198The third eclipse occurred in the
twentieth year of Hadrian, Pharmouthi [VIII] 19/20 in the Egyptian
calendar. We computed that mid-eclipse occurred 4 equinoctial hours
after midnight. [The moon] was eclipsed half of its diameter from
the north[footnoteRef:12]. [12: 5 May 136.]
129 Earthquake in Nicopolis and CaesareaAn earthquake affected
both Caesarea and Nicopolis in Palestine about 129[footnoteRef:13].
According to Russell, this earthquake is the only explanation for
structural damage or rebuilding, early in the second century, in
Caesarea[footnoteRef:14]. [13: Ambraseys proposes that the cities
affected were not in Palestine but in northeastern Anatolia in the
province of Pontus. As such, the sites would have been Niksar
(Neocaesarea) and Susehri (Nikopolis) located about 110 km apart on
the Anatolian fault zone and linked by a major Roman road:
Ambraseys, Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 2009,
p. 126-127.] [14: Russell, K. W., The earthquake chronology of
Palestine and Northwest Arabia from the 2nd through the mid-8th
century AD, BASOR, 260, 1985, p. 3759.]
Elias of Nisibis, La Chronographie d'lie Bar inaya Mtropolitain
de Nisibe, p 57:Year 438 (126-127). In which there was an
earthquake; Nicopolis and Caesarea were overthrown (Chronological
Canon of Andronicus).Jerome, Chronicle, p 284:129
Nicopolis and Caesarea were ruined in an earthquake.
132 - Star of AntinousIn 130, Antinous, the lover and favorite
of the Emperors Hadrian, died while saving the Emperor from
drowning in the Nile. It is said that after his drowning a comet
was seen shining in the sky. Since the 18th century, it has been
assumed that the comet was the one witnessed by the Chinese in
January 132 (Pingr, p. 291-292). In his memory, Hadrian created the
constellation Antinous, now obsolete, near the Eagle. Ptolemy
alludes to it in his Almagest (p. 357). For Newman[footnoteRef:15]
and Ramsey[footnoteRef:16], this comet was the star depicted on the
coins of Shimon Bar Kosiba, better known as Bar Kokhba (i.e. Son of
the Star), the leader of a Jewish revolt during Hadrians reign from
132 to 135. His coins represent a star above the facade of the
Temple in Jerusalem. Since the comet was observed five months
before the Bar Kokhba revolt, for Ramsey it was the catalyst for
his surname "Son of the star and the star on his coinage
reinforcing Jewish messianic hopes (Ramsey). On the other hand,
Newman underlines that the coins of the revolt were similar to the
one minted by Hadrian in honor to his lover Antinous. [15: Newman
H., The Star of Bar Kochba, in: H. Eshel and B. Zissu (eds.), New
Studies on the Bar Kochba Revolt , Ramat Gan (Bar-Ilan University),
2001, pp. 95-99 (in Hebrew).] [16: Ramsey J., The Jewish Revolt of
Bar Kokhba (AD 132-135) and the Star of Antinous. delivered at the
Annual Meeting of the American Philological Association in San
Antonio, 8 January 2011.]
141 Lycia Earthquake Strong earthquakes affected a large area in
southwest Turkey and the Dodecanese Islands. Damage extended from
the island of Cos and Rhodes to the Gulf of Antalya and to Cine in
the north, an area of radius 90 km. From Pausanias' account and
epigraphic evidence, Ambraseys infers that the region was affected
by two separate earthquakes. The first shock occurred between
autumn 141 to February 142, and the second shock probably happened
in late winter-spring 142. Aelius Aristides, in an oration composed
in the aftermath of the earthquake, adds that a tsunami destroyed
Rhodes and the Island of Cos. Aristides was in Egypt, and visited
the island soon afterwards[footnoteRef:17]. The Historia Augusta
mentions the earthquake in Rhodes among other disasters. Oddly, no
church historian records the earthquake. [17: Franco C. Aelius
Aristides and Rhodes: Concord and Consolation, in Harris W.V. and
Holmes B. (eds), Aelius Aristides between Greece, Rome, and the
Gods, Leiden - Boston 2008, p. 217-250]
Numerous inscriptions from Lycia mention by name the 28 towns
which were affected, expressing their gratitude for the assistance
received for repairs and for the reconstruction of public
buildings. The repairs were made by Opraomas, a philanthropist from
Rhodiapolis. Two inscriptions coming from Stratonicea commemorate
the fact that Leo, an elder of the city, had gone to Rome to seek
the help of Antoninus Pius, who subsequently gave 250000 denarii.
The other inscription is dedicated to the Emperor and the
fatherland by some citizens of Stratonicea who escaped unharmed
from a series of violent earthquakes. Other inscriptions come from
Rhodes and Lindos[footnoteRef:18]. [18: Ambraseys, Earthquakes in
the Mediterranean and Middle East, 2009, p. 128-131; Guidoboni,
Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to
the 10th century, p. 235-236]
The earthquake was so strong, that tectonic subsidence over the
Dalmatian type coasts of the Island of Kekova are visible even
today[footnoteRef:19]. [19: Erel T.L. and Adatepe F., "Traces of
Historical earthquakes in the ancient city life at the
Mediterranean region". Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean
Environment, 13, 2007, p. 241252.]
Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.43.4:The cities of Lycia and
of Caria, along with Cos and Rhodes, were overthrown by a violent
earthquake that smote them. These cities also were restored by the
emperor Antoninus, who was keenly anxious to rebuild them, and
devoted vast sums to this task.Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Vol
I, Translation by David Magie,p. 121-123:"Life of Antoninus PiusThe
following misfortunes and prodigies occurred in his reign: the
famine, which we have just mentioned, (during the reign of Hadrian)
the collapse of the Circus (c. 140, it is said that 1112 persons
were killed) an earthquake whereby towns of Rhodes and of Asia were
destroyed all of which, however, the Emperor restored in splendid
fashion , and a fire at Rome which consumed three hundred and forty
tenements and dwellings.The town of Narbonne, the city of Antioch,
and the forum of Carthage also burned.Aelius Aristides, Oration 25,
in The Complete Works, Volume 2 Orations XVII-LIII, Translated by
Behr, , 19-28, p. 61-63:Who would still behave with moderation when
he remembered that wretched noon hour, in which the evil rst began
and fell upon you, when the sea stood still awaiting what was to
come, as it were expecting some other great and deadly storm, and
all the air was silent, as it were in anticipation of what shall
be, and the birds and all else remained quiet for that which was to
come. The city was being prepared for such a catastrophe and the
whole force of the earthquake was being readied against it. The sun
for the last time then shone upon his city.And suddenly every
terror was at hand at once. The sea drew back, and all the interior
of the harbours was laid bare, and the houses were thrown upwards,
and the tombs broken open, and the towers collapsed upon the
harbours, and the storage sheds upon the triremes, and the temples
upon the altars, and the offering upon the statues, and men upon
men, and everything upon one another. In the time that it took for
a man to raise anchor to sail off, when he turned around, he could
no longer see the city, but everything was jumbled together, the
harbours on dry land, the city in the dust, empty streets in place
of the houses from avenue to avenue, death at every house, at the
temples, doors, and gates. The tombs cast out their contents,
within the new dead lay concealed. Like votive offerings, there
were seen upon the tops of the walls the hands of some, the feet of
others, and of others different remains. And it was impossible to
guess to whom each of these remnants belonged. And some in eeing
their own houses perished in those of others, others transxed by
fear perished in their own, some overtaken while running out;
others left behind half alive, unable to emerge or save themselves,
starved in addition to their other miseries, and proting only to
the extent of knowing that their country did not exist, they
perished. Others bodies were sundered by chance, half left within
doors, half left exposed without. And in addition other bodies fell
upon them, and household implements, and stones, and whatever the
earthquake carried off and tossed upon each.Some waited, some were
searching for their relatives, others did not know whether to mourn
themselves or their families. Some bewailed their city, others were
consumed in ames when the roofs and hearths crashed together. Some
were overtaken in the very act of snatching away their children,
others committed suicide. [ . . . ] Everything happened at once:
the earthquake from the sea, the cloud, the noise, the cries, and
the crash of the ruins, the heaving of the earth. I think that
neither the cataracts south of Egypt nor the surf of the outer
ocean nor ery thunderbolts nor whatever sounds the loudest among
men can be compared with that evil and din then, which arose as a
combination of everything, forming an unexpected and unpleasing
symphony in which Rhodes rose up in destruction. And there were
thrown together corpses and altars, ceilings and dust, blood and
utensils, roofs and foundations, slaves and masters, the limbs of
bodies and statues, sacrices at tombs and dinners. [ ] The city was
overthrown and fell quicker than ever a sinking ship. The ensuing
days and nights revealed those who were alive, at least who were
breathing, to be wounded and those who had already died to be
rotting, and without any limbs intact, but however the ruin had
worked its amputations and its grafting on each. Unaccustomed pyres
burned both night and day, in contrast to the former sacred months.
. . . now in one day the god of fortune has condemned so many men
to annihilation both within the city and along with the city, and
he has made the city which could not be entered by murderers a
grave for each of the slain.147 Flood of the TiberAmong many
disasters, the Historia Augusta mentions a flood of the Tiber. From
the Fasti Ostienses, a fragmentary marble calendar, the flood
occurred on 20 March 147[footnoteRef:20]. [20: Aldrete, Floods of
the Tiber in Ancient Rome, p. 28.]
Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Vol I, Translation by David
Magie,p. 121-123:"Life of Antoninus PiusBesides, the Tiber flooded
its banks (147), a comet was seen (probably Halley in 141), a
two-headed child was born, and a woman gave birth to
quintuplets.There was seen, moreover, in Arabia, a crested serpent
larger than the usual size, which ate itself from the tail to the
middle; and also in Arabia there was a pestilence, while in Moesia
barley sprouted from the tops of trees. And besides all this, in
Arabia four lions grew tame and of their own accord yielded
themselves to capture."161 Earthquake in LesbosDuring the
proconsulate of Albus, Aelius Aristides, an eyewitness of the
event, writes that there were many frequent earthquakes over
several days. He adds that Mytilene was almost demolished, many
villages were utterly destroyed and there was general terror in
Ephesus and Smyrna.However, the problem of this earthquake lies in
the date of the proconsulate of Albus. Several dates were proposed.
Bowersock[footnoteRef:21] argues a date of 161, whereas
Alfdy[footnoteRef:22] is in favor of 148-149[footnoteRef:23].A date
toward the end of Antoninus reign seems preferable[footnoteRef:24].
Aurelius Victor records the restoration of Ephesus and Nicomedia
under Marcus Aurelius. Furthermore, evidence of rebuilding at
Smyrna appears also in Marcus time in a letter of about 163-164
from the Emperor to Euxenianus Pulius[footnoteRef:25]. [21:
Bowersock G.W., The Proconsulate of Albus, Harv. Stud. Class.
Philol. 72, 1968, p. 289-294] [22: Alfldy G., Konsulat und
Senatorenstand unter den Antoninen, Bonn, 1977, p. 213] [23: ] [24:
See also Behr C.A., Studies on the Biography of Aleius Aristides,
in Hildegard Temporini,Wolfgang Haase Aufstieg U Niedergang D
Roemwelt Teil 2 Bd 34/2, Volume2;Volume32;Volume34, p. 1140-1233]
[25: Guidoboni, Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the
Mediterranean area up to the 10th century, 1994, p. 237]
This earthquake is maybe the same as that mentioned by Dio
Cassius as having occurred at the time of Antoninus Pius in
Cyzicus. Fronto reports the earthquake in a letter to Marcus
Aurelius dated to 162, where he mentions a speech of Marcus to the
Senate.Fronto, The Correspondence, Vol. 2, Edited by Capps E. et
al., Loeb, p. 41-43:() so that not more suddenly or more violently
was the city (Cyzicus) stirred by the earthquake than the minds of
your hearers by your speech.Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus, p.19:()
and many cities were founded, settled, restored or embellished and
in particular Punic Carthage, which fire had terribly ravaged, and
Ephesus in Asia and Nicomedia in Bithynia, which had been levelled
by an earthquake. Aelius Aristides, Oration 44, in The Complete
Works, Volume 2 Orations XVII-LIII, 19-28, Translated by Behr,
38-43, p. 314-315:And later, when Albus was Governor of Asia, there
were many frequent earthquakes, and Mytilene, on the one hand, was
nearly all levelled and, on the other hand, in many other cities
there were many shocks, and some villages were wholly destroyed.
The Ephesians and the Smyrnaeans ran to one another in great
agitation. The series of earthquakes and terrors was extraordinary.
And on the one hand, they sent emissaries to Clarus, and the Oracle
was fought about, and on the other, holding the olive branch of
supplication, they made processions about the altars and the market
places and the circuit of the cities, no one daring to stay at
home. And nally they gave up supplicating [At the gods command
Aristides sacrices an ox to Zeus.] As to what happened next, who
wishes to believe, let him believe, and who does not, to him I say
farewell! For all those earthquakes stopped, and after that day
there was no longer any trouble, through the providence and power
of the gods, and by our necessary ministration. The following is no
less marvellous than this, if not even more. On about the sixth or
seventh day before the earthquakes began, he ordered me to send to
the old hearth, which is at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and to
make sacrices and to establish altars on the crest of the hill of
Atys. And these things were just nished when the earthquake came
and so ravaged all the other land in between that not an inn was
left standing, except some small ruin. But it did not proceed up
the Atys, nor to our Laneion estate at the south of the Atys,
except only to perceive it, and ravaged nothing beyond. And I
became so bold that, almost in the midst of the earthquakes, as I
was returning from the warm springs to the city in accordance with
my dreams and saw men in supplication and distraught, I intended to
say that there was no need to be afraid, for no harm would
befall.162 - Flood of the TiberBetween the date of the accession of
Marcus Aurelius and Verus in March 161 to the departure of Verus
from Rome to lead the war against Parthia during the summer of 162,
a violent flood of the Tiber devastated Rome and lead to a serious
famine[footnoteRef:26]. [26: Aldrete, Floods of the Tiber in
Ancient Rome, p. 30-31]
Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Vol 1, p. 151-153Life of Marcus
Aurelius AntoninusAnd now, after they had assumed the imperial
power, the two emperors (Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus) acted in
so democratic a manner that no one missed the lenient ways of Pius;
for though Marullus, a writer of farces of the time, irritated them
by his jests, he yet went unpunished.They gave funeral games for
their father. And Marcus abandoned himself to philosophy, at the
same time cultivating the good-will of the citizens. But now to
interrupt the emperors happiness and repose, there came the first
flood of the Tiber the severest of their time which ruined many
houses in the city, drowned a great number of animals, and caused a
most severe famine; all these disasters Marcus and Verus relieved
by their own personal care and aid.At this time (162), moreover,
came the Parthian war, which Vologaesus (Vologases IV of Parthia)
planned under Pius (Antoninus Pius) and declared under Marcus and
Verus, after the rout of Attidius Cornelianus, then governor of
Syria. 162 Lucius Verus meteorAt the beginning of the
Roman-Parthian War of 161-166, Lucius Verus, the co-emperor with
Marcus Aurelius, on his way to Antioch, stopped at Athens where he
stayed with the sophist Herodes Atticus and was initiated into the
Mysteries of Eleusis. While he was performing a sacrifice a meteor
was observed crossing the sky[footnoteRef:27]. [27: Barrett, A. A.,
Observations of Comets in Greek and Roman Sources Before A.D. 410,
Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Vol. 72, 1978,
p.81; Anthony Birley, Marcus Aurelius, p. 126]
Cassiodorus, Chronica, MGH AA 11, p. 143While Lucius Caesar was
sacrificing in Athens a fire was seen to be carried in the sky from
west to east.164 Solar Eclipse According to Proclus of Athens in
his Hypotyposis, Sosigenes the Peripatetic, the teacher of
Alexander of Aphrodisias, observed a solar eclipse in Greece.
Neugebauer, follows by Schove, identifies this one with the annular
eclipse on 4 September 164 which crossed Central Spain, Italy,
Greece, Western Cyprus, Palestine and Arabia[footnoteRef:28]. [28:
Neugebauer, A History of Ancient Mathematical Astronomy, Vol 1,
Springer-Verlag, New York Heidelberg Berlin, 1975, p. 104; Schove,
Chronology of Eclipses and Comets AD 1-1000, 1987, p. 28]
Proclus of Athens, Procli Diadochi. Hypotyposis Astronomicarum
Positionum, ed Carolus Manitius , Leipzig 1909, 4, 98, p. 130: If
this is correct, it is thus clearly proven, that it is not correct,
what the Peripatetic Sosigenes told in his script On the
retroactive spheres, that the Sun is not seen fully covered if the
eclipse happens close to its perigee, but that the sun protrudes
with its outermost rim above the lunar dish and shines
unobstructed.165 The Antonine PlagueDuring the reign of Marcus
Aurelius, the Roman Empire was struck by a lasting and destructive
epidemic. From the description of the epidemic by the most famous
physician of Antiquity, Galen, who was an eyewitness, scholars have
identified the epidemic as smallpox[footnoteRef:29]. [29: Littman,
R.J. and Littman, M.L. "Galen and the Antonine Plague". The
American Journal of Philology, Vol. 94, No. 3 (Autumn, 1973), p.
243255]
Known as the Antonine Plague or the Plague of Galen, it broke
out in Mesopotamia in 165 or early 166, during Lucius Verus
Parthian campaign. For the ancients, the pestilence was the result
of sacrilege, bringing divine displeasure[footnoteRef:30]. [30:
According to Ammianus, during the sack of Seleucia in 165 by Lucius
Verus, the Temple of Apollo was plundered. In plundering the
temple, the soldiers discovered an ancient tomb, closed by the
magic of the Chaldeans. When they opened it, the pestilence was
released. The Historia Augusta gives a slightly different version.
The pestilence issued forth from a temple in Babylon, also captured
by Verus in 165. A Roman soldier found a golden casket in the
temple of Apollo, and when he broke it open, the pestilence
erupted.]
It spread rst to Parthia, then to Smyrna (165), and was then
disseminated with the Roman army back to the city of Rome (166),
then more widely in Italy (Aquileia attested in 168169), in Dacia
(167), and to Egypt (attested in 168169 and 179), the Rhine, and
Gaul. The two Emperors died of the epidemic: Lucius Verus in 169
and Marcus Aurelius in 180. The disease broke out again in 189,
striking at least Rome and Italy and killing 2000 people in the
Imperial City[footnoteRef:31]. [31: Joseph P. Byrne (ed),
Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics and Plagues, p. 536-537]
Overall the Antonine Plague caused a mortality of at least 10
percent, with armies and urban centers being hit the hardest
(perhaps at 13 to 15 percent) producing a minimum of 10 million
deaths. Several studies suggest that there were pockets of high
incidence (where mortality would reach 2530 percent) and others of
low incidence. For example, papyrological data from Egypt show the
disastrous effects of smallpox on Egyptian society. From the
Arsinoite nome between 33 to 47 % of the population
died[footnoteRef:32].. A study shows that 12 villages out of 20 in
the Nile Delta were abandoned because of the
disease[footnoteRef:33]. [32: Boak A., 1955, The Population of
Roman and Byzantine Karanis, Historia, 4, 1955, p. 157-162; Boak
A., 1959, Egypt and the Plague of Marcus Aurelius, Historia, 8,
1959, p. 248-250] [33: Rathbone D. W., Villages, Land and
Population in Graeco-Roman Egypt, Proceedings of the Cambridge
Philological Society, 36, 1990, p. 103-42.]
The effects on the economic, social and political life were
catastrophic. Scheidel[footnoteRef:34] who based his conclusions on
the works of Duncan-Jones[footnoteRef:35], claims that the effect
of the epidemic were detected in 6 categories of source material,
which enable one to determine its seriousness[footnoteRef:36]: [34:
Scheidel W. A model of demographic and economic change in Roman
Egypt after the Antonine plague, in: Journal of Roman Archaeology
15 (2002), 97-114] [35: Duncan-Jones R. P., "The impact of the
Antonine plague", Journal of Roman Archaeology (=JRA), 1996, p.
108-136] [36: Bruun C., The Antonine plague in Rome and Ostia, JRA,
16, 2003, p. 426-434.]
1 - no dated inscriptions in Rome between 167 and 1802-
comparatively few dated inscriptions in Italy between 160 and 1923
few public buildings financed by privates or towns in Italy between
160 and 1924- no public buildings financed by Emperors in Italy
between 160 and 1925- a reduced volume of brick-production from the
160s onwards6 no marble from the quarries in Phrygia dated to the
years 166-172As the death-rate was between 10 and 30 % during 24
years, the Antonine Plague created a shortage of manpower, leading
to the recruitments of Barbarians in the army and to their
settlement inside Roman Empire[footnoteRef:37]. [37: E Lo Cascio,
Fra equilibrio e crisi, in A Schiavone (ed.), Storia di Roma II.2
Torino 1991, p. 701-731]
At a time when Marcus Aurelius carried out special religious
rites for appeasing divine wrath, the Roman population accused the
Christians as responsible for the disaster. Because of their
failure to honour and worship the gods of Rome, the Emperor
instituted a persecution of the Christians[footnoteRef:38]. [38:
Anthony Birley, Marcus Aurelius, p169]
The Antonine Plague was a significant factor leading to the
collapse of the Western Roman Empire[footnoteRef:39]. From 14 to
164, the Roman population increased from 45 million to 60
million[footnoteRef:40]. With a death rate varying between 10-30%
and killing at least 10 million people, at the end of the epidemic
in 189, the population of the Empire would have been almost
identical as in 14 AD. [39: Rufus Fears J. The plague under Marcus
Aurelius and the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, Infect Dis
Clin N Am 18, 2004, p. 6577] [40: Frier B., Demography, in Bowman
A., Garnsey P. and Rathbone D., The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol.
XI, 2000, Cambridge Unversity Press, Cambridge, p.787-816.]
62 years later, in the middle of the Crisis of the Third
Century, another smallpox epidemic, the Plague of Cyprian, struck
the remaining population of 50 million people, worsening the
decline of the Empire. Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the
Pagans, 7.15.5-6There followed a plague which swept over most of
Romes provinces and such a great pestilence laid waste to all of
Italy that farms, fields, and towns every where were stripped of
their tillers and inhabitants and turned into ruins and woodland.
It is said that the Roman army and all its legions stationed far
and wide in their winter quarters lost so many men that the
Marcomannic war which broke out at this time could not be have been
waged without the fresh levy of troops which Marcus Antoninus held
at Carnuntium for three years running. Scriptores Historiae
Augustae, Vol 1, p. 223Life of Lucius VerusIt was his fate to seem
to bring a pestilence with him to whatever provinces he traversed
on his return, and finally even to Rome. It is believed that this
pestilence originated in Babylonia, where a pestilential vapour
arose in a temple of Apollo from a golden casket which a soldier
had accidentally cut open, and that it spread thence over Parthia
and the whole world.Eutropius, Brevarium, 8.12, p. 512 () there
occurred so destructive a pestilence, that at Rome, and throughout
Italy and the provinces, the greater part of the inhabitants, and
almost all the troops, sunk under the disease.Ammianus Marcellinus,
The History, 23.6.24When this city (Seleucia) was stormed by the
generals of Verus Caesar (as Ihave related before) (In a lost
book), the statue of Apollo Comaeus was torn from its place and
taken to Rome, where the priests of the gods set it up in the
temple of the Palatine Apollo. And it is said that, after this same
statue had been carried off and the city burned, the soldiers in
ransacking the temple found a narrow crevice; this they widened in
the hope of finding something valuable; but from a kind of shrine,
closed by the occult arts of the Chaldaeans, the germ of that
pestilence burst forth, which after generating the virulence of
incurable diseases, in the time of the same Verus and of Marcus
Antoninus polluted everything with contagion and death, from the
frontiers of Persia all the way to the Rhine and to Gaul172 - The
Rain Miracle From 166 to 180, Marcus Aurelius was engaged in a
series of conflicts against Germanic tribes, known as the
Marcomannic Wars. After the Iazyges and the Marcomanni were
conquered, the Emperor embarked on war against the Quadi in 172.
The legion called XII Fulminata (i.e. the Thundering legion) found
itself in a difficult position, surrounded by a Quadi force,
suffering from the extreme heat, and on the verge of capitulation
owing to a severe shortage of drinking and being outnumbered. But a
sudden divine intervention saved the legion. A shower of rain
followed by hailstorms and thunderbolts gave the victory to the
Roman soldiers and Marcus was saluted imperator for the seventh
time. This episode of the Marcommanic Wars was widely celebrated in
literary, numismatic, epigraphic and artistic sources from the
second century to the Middle Ages. Dio[footnoteRef:41] ascribes
this miracle to Arnuphis, an Egyptian magician, whereas the father
of the Church Tertullian to the prayers of Marcus Christian
soldiers. The Aurelian Column finished around 193 ascribed the Rain
Miracle and the Roman Victory to an unidentifiable
deity[footnoteRef:42], while imperial coinage assigned
Mercury[footnoteRef:43]. [41: This passage from Dio is lost, and it
is only known from the epitome of the Byzantine scholar John
Xiphilinus (11th c.).] [42: The column of Marcus in Rome depicts
two scenes of divine intervention. In scene 11, Marcus himself is
present and he is saved by a thunderbolt that destroys the enemys
war machine. In scene 16, where the Emperor is not present, there
is a depiction of the Rain Miracle. ] [43: For a full treatment of
the Rain Miracle, see Pter Kovcs, Marcus Aurelius Rain Miracle and
the Marcomannic Wars, BRILL, 2008; Israelowich I. The Rain Miracle
of Marcus Aurelius: (Re-) Construction of Consensus, Greece and
Rome (Second Series), 55, 2008, p. 83-102]
Tertullian, To Scapula, Chapter 4. p. 219-220, ANF03:Marcus
Aurelius also, in his expedition to Germany, by the prayers his
Christian soldiers offered to God, got rain in that well-known
thirst.455 When, indeed, have not droughts been put away by our
kneelings and our fastings? At times like these, moreover, the
people crying to the God of gods, the alone Omnipotent, under the
name of Jupiter, have borne witness to our God.Dio Cassius, Roman
History, 71-8-10:So Marcus subdued the Marcomanni and the Iazyges
after many hard struggles and dangers. A great war against the
people called the Quadi also fell to his lot and it was his good
fortune to win an unexpected victory, or rather it was vouchsafed
him by heaven.For when the Romans were in peril in the course of
the battle, the divine power saved them in a most unexpected
manner. The Quadi had surrounded them at a spot favorable for their
purpose and the Romans were fighting valiantly with their shields
locked together; then the barbarians ceased fighting, expecting to
capture them easily as the result of the heat and their thirst. So
they posted guards all about and hemmed them in to prevent their
getting water anywhere; for the barbarians were far superior in
numbers. The Romans, accordingly, were in a terrible plight from
fatigue, wounds, the heat of the sun, and thirst, and so could
neither fight nor retreat, but were standing and the line and at
their several posts, scorched by the heat, when suddenly many
clouds gathered and a mighty rain, not without divine
interposition, burst upon them. Indeed, there is a story to the
effect that Harnuphis, an Egyptian magician, who was a companion of
Marcus, had invoked by means of enchantments various deities and in
particular Mercury, the god of the air, and by this means attracted
the rain.This is what Dio says[footnoteRef:44] about the matter,
but he is apparently in error, whether intentionally or otherwise;
and yet I am inclined to believe his error was chiefly intentional.
It surely must be so, for he was not ignorant of the division of
soldiers that bore the special name of the Thundering legion -
indeed he mentions it in the list along with the others (Book
45.23), - a title which was given it for no other reason (for no
other is reported) than because of the incident that occurred in
this very war. It was precisely this incident that saved the Romans
on this occasion and brought destruction upon the barbarians, and
not Harnuphis, the magician; for Marcus is not reported to have
taken pleasure in the company of magicians or in witchcraft. Now
the incident I have reference to is this: Marcus had a division of
soldiers (the Romans call a division a legion) from Melitene; and
these people are all worshippers of Christ. Now it is stated that
in this battle, when Marcus found himself at a loss what to do in
the circumstances and feared for his whole army, the prefect
approached him and told him that those who are called Christians
can accomplish anything whatever by their prayers and that in the
army there chanced to a whole division of this sect. Marcus on
hearing this appealed to them to pray to their God; and when they
had prayed, their God immediately gave ear and smote the enemy with
a thunderbolt and comforted the Romans with a shower of rain.
Marcus was greatly astonished at this and not only honored the
Christians by an official decree but also named the legion the
thundering legion. It is also reported that there is a letter of
Marcus extant on the subject. But the Greeks, though they know that
the division was called the thundering legion and themselves bear
witness to the fact, nevertheless make no statement whatever about
the reason for its name. [44: This passage is Xiphilinus comment
advocating the Christian version and confronting Dio's views.]
Dio goes on to say that when the rain poured down, at first all
turned their faces upwards and received the water in their mouths;
then some held out their shields and some their helmets to catch
it, and they not only took deep draughts themselves but also gave
their horses to drink. And when the barbarians now charged upon
them, they drank and fought at the same time; and some, becoming
wounded, actually gulped down the blood that flowed into their
helmets, along with the water. So intent, indeed, were most of them
on drinking that they would have suffered severely from the enemys
onset, had not a violent hail-storm and numerous thunderbolts
fallen upon the ranks of the foe. Thus in one and the same place
one might have beheld water and fire descending from the sky
simultaneously; so that while those on the one side were being
consumed by fire and dying; and while the fire, on the one hand,
did not touch the Romans, but, if it fell anywhere among them, was
immediately extinguished, the shower, on the other hand, did the
barbarians no good, but, like so much oil, actually fed the flames
that were consuming them, and they had to search for water even
while being drenched with rain. Some wounded themselves in order to
quench the fire with their blood, and others rushed over to the
side of the Romans, convinced that they alone had the saving water;
in any case Marcus took pity on them. He was now saluted Imperator
by the soldiers, for the seventh time; and although he was not wont
to accept any such honor before the Senate voted it, nevertheless
this time he took it as a gift from heaven, and he sent a dispatch
to the senate.178 179 Earthquake in SmyrnaBetween 178-179, an
earthquake struck Smyrna, the modern Izmir in Turkey. The event is
chiefly known from a letter of Aelius to the Emperor Marcus
Aurelius and his son Commodus, who was governor of Asia Minor. The
earthquake occurred shortly after Aelius departure from the city.
After receiving the news, he wrote a letter to the Emperor
describing what had happened and imploring them to supply the funds
needed for the restoration of the city, whereupon Marcus Aurelius
immediately decided to undertake the work of
restoration.Philostratus celebrates the actions of Aelius for the
rebuilding of the city describing him as a new founder. Jerome,
Chronicle, p. 292179Smyrna, a city of Asia, was destroyed by an
earthquake; for the reconstruction of which, a ten-year moratorium
on its tribute was granted.Chronicon Paschale, PG 92 p. 639178
Smyrna in Asia collapsed in an earthquake.Aelius Aristides, Oration
19, in The Complete Works, Volume 2 Orations XVII-LIII, Translated
by Behr, 1-7, p. 10-11A letter to the emperors concerning Smyrna.
To the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and the
Emperor Caesar Lucius Aurelius Commodus Augustus, Aelius Aristides
sends greetings.In the past, O Emperors most high, I sent you
pieces from oratorical contests, lectures, and such things. But now
the god of fortune has given another subject. Smyrna, the ornament
of Asia, the jewel of your empire, has fallen, crushed by re and
earthquake. In the name of god offer a helping hand, and one such
as bets you. Smyrna, which was the most fortunate city of
present-day Greece through the efforts of the gods and you emperors
past and present, as well as the Senate, has now suffered the
greatest misfortune in our memory. Still even in these
circumstances the god of fortune preserved one thing for it, almost
like a token of salvation. You saw the city. You know the loss ()
All now lies in dust. The harbour, which you saw, has closed its
eyes, the beauty of the market place is gone, the adornments of the
streets have disappeared, the gymnasiums together with the men and
boys who used them are destroyed, some of the temples have fallen,
some sunk beneath the ground. That which was the most beautiful
city to behold and bore the title of fair among all mankind has
been made the most unpleasant of spectacles, a hill of ruins and
corpses.() A few days before the event the god moved me and brought
me to a certain estate of mine, and ordered me to remain there. And
while I was staying there, I learned what had happened. When I
learned of it, I could not remain quiet. Nothing else was left for
me, I think, other than to call on the gods and you. For this
reason I did not wait for a public embassy, nor did I feel that I
should take my cue from anothers actions () Others who were
powerful at the courts of kings acquired gifts for their countries
in times of prosperity. But if I have any inuence with you, I ask
and beg that the city receive this favour, not to be thrown away
like a broken utensil, condemned for uselessness, but that it live
again through you.Philostratus, Life of the Sophists, p. 216-217To
say that Aristeides founded Smyrna is no mere boastful eulogy but
most just and true. For when this city had been blotted out by
earthquakes and chasms that opened in the ground, he lamented its
fate to Marcus in such moving words that the Emperor frequently
groaned at other passages in the monody, but when he came to the
words : " She is a desert through which the west winds blow " the
Emperor actually shed tears over the pages, and in accordance with
the impulse inspired by Aristeides, he consented to rebuild the
city.181 Earthquake in NicomediaMalalas is the sole source for this
earthquake in Nicomedia. Malalas simply gives the day and month in
an unspecified year in the reign of Commodus (180-192).Since he
refers to an event which can be dated to 181 in the paragraph
following the description of this earthquake, it may be that the
Nicomedia earthquake occurred before that, but we cannot be
sure.Malalas, The Chronicle of John Malala, p. 153-154During the
reign of Commodus, Nikomedeia, the metropolis of Bithynia, suffered
from the wrath of God. This was her third calamity and it extended
to Moudoupolis and the river Sangaris and surrounding districts, on
3rd May-Artemisios at daybreak. The emperor gave generously to the
city and restored it.185 SN 185According to the Astrological
Annales of the Houshanshu written by Fan Ye, a guest star was seen
on 7 December 185 and remained during 8 months. It has been
established that this object is the earliest record of a supernova.
SN 185 (the supernova remnants is called today RWC 86) appeared
near the direction of Alpha Centauri, between the constellations
Circinus and Centaurus According to new findings made with WISE and
Spitzer, the event was a Type la supernova created by the
relatively peaceful death of a star like our sun, which then shrank
into a dense star called a white dwarf. The white dwarf is thought
to have later blown up in a supernova after siphoning matter, or
fuel, from a nearby star[footnoteRef:45]. [45: Zhao FY; Strom RG;
Jiang SY. "The Guest Star of AD185 Must Have Been a Supernova".
Chinese J Astron Astrophys. 6 (5), 2006, p. 635640; NASATelescopes
Help Solve Ancient Supernova Mystery, 10.24.11:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/news/spitzer20111024.html]
Basing his argument on two passages from Herodian and the
Historia Augusta, Stothers[footnoteRef:46] postulates that this
supernova was observed in the Roman Empire. Herodian writes that
stars remained visible during the day. The passage is inserted
among the portents of Commodus reign, after the fall of the
praetorian prefect Cleander (189-190) and before the comet of 191.
Since all of the portents during Commodus' reign were collected by
Herodian in one passage, it is possible that this short passage
refers to SN 185. [46: Stothers, R., Is the supernova of A.D. 185
recorded in ancient Roman literature? Isis, 68, 1977, p.
443-437]
The second reference is better since the Historia Augusta says
that the heavens were ablaze, before the War of the Deserters in
186[footnoteRef:47], suggesting a possible observation of the
supernova. [47: The revolt was headed by a soldier named Maternus
who gathered a band of fellow-soldiers and desperadoes and
plundered Gaul. The Roman troops under Pescennius Niger defeated
and scattered them; whereupon, Maternus himself fled to Italy and
attempted to assassinate Commodus, but was caught and
beheaded.]
Nevertheless, another natural event could be related to these
Chinese and Romans accounts. Around 180, the Taupo erupted in New
Zealand. Known as the Hatepe eruption or the Taupo eruption, it is
considered New Zealand's largest eruption during the last 20,000
years. The eruption ejected some 120km3 (29cumi), a VEI 7 eruption,
of which 30km3 (7.2cumi) was ejected in the space of a few minutes.
This makes it one of the most violent eruptions in the last 5000
years, comparable to the Tianchi eruption of Baekdu at around
1000and the 1815 eruption of Tambora[footnoteRef:48]. [48:
Wikipedia. A study claims that this large eruption created a
worldwide tsunami: Lowe, D.J. and W.P. de Lange,
Volcano-meteorological tsunamis, the c. AD 200 Taupo eruption (New
Zealand) and the possibility of a global tsunami. Holocene 10(3),
May 2000, p. 401-407.]
Wilson et al.[footnoteRef:49] identify the passages from Fan Ye,
Herodian and the Historia Augusta to this large volcanic eruption
which would have been visible from China and Rome. Palaeoclimatic
signals show a period of cooling in central Europe around 150 and
particularly from 200, albeit with some periods of warming around
365. Zabehlicky[footnoteRef:50] argues that the Taupo eruption
caused this cooling period, and detects a cultural response in the
form of warmer uniforms for Roman soldiers (that, as he observes,
at least in part antedate the eruption), and in an increase of the
proportion of villas with central heating. [49: Wilson, C. J. N.;
Ambraseys, N. N.; Bradley, J.; Walker, G. P. L.,"A new date for the
Taupo eruption, New Zealand". Nature 288 (5788), 1980, p. 252253.]
[50: Zabehlicky, H. 1994. Kriegs- oder Klimafolgen in
archologischen Befunden? Markomannenkriege: Ursachen und Wirkungen,
edited by H. Friesinger, J. Tejral, and A. Stuppner, Vienna, 1994
p. 463469.]
Notwithstanding, the date of the eruption has been challenged by
a new study based on radiocarbon dating that claims that the
eruption happened about 233[footnoteRef:51]. [51: Sparks, R. J.;
Melhuish, W. H.; McKee, J. W. A.; Ogden, J.; Palmer, J. G. (1995).
"14C calibration in the Southern Hemisphere and the date of the
last Taupo eruption: evidence from tree-ring sequences".
Radiocarbon 37 (2): 155163.]
Stothers, R., Is the supernova of A.D. 185 recorded in ancient
Roman literature? Isis, 68, 1977, p. 443-437.189 - Last wave of the
Antonine plague Dio Cassius, Roman History, 72.14.3-4Moreover, a
pestilence occurred, the greatest of any of which Ihave knowledge;
for two thousand persons often died in Rome in a single day. Then,
too, many others, not alone in the City, but throughout almost the
entire empire, perished at the hands of criminals who smeared some
deadly drugs on tiny needles and for pay infected people with the
poison by means of these instruments. The same thing had happened
before in the reign of Domitian.200 - Eruption of Jabal Zabib, An
eruption of Jabal Zabib, north of San'a, occurred sometime during
the third century AD. The lava flowed southeast of a small
adventive crater on the east side of the volcano, and stopped after
a flow of 5.5 km near the village of al-Huqqa, where it overlies
loess and recent loams. Inscriptions found here indicate that there
was a large temple of the Moon God Ta'lab Ri'am, of which, however,
no ruins were found, possibly buried under the lava flow. Ruins of
the temple of the Sun Goddess Dhat Ba'dan suggest that the site was
burnt down, probably by this eruption. This temple is located a few
hundred metres southeast of al-Huqqa (Bait al-Haqr) which,
according to an inscription, was still in use in AD 200. Thus, if
the temple was burnt by this eruption, the activity must have taken
place after that year[footnoteRef:52]. [52: Ambraseys et al. The
Seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: a historical review,
p. 21-22]