1157 Hama earthquake

1157 Hama earthquake
Local date	12 August 1157
Magnitude	7.4 Ms
Epicenter	35°06′N36°30′E / 35.1°N 36.5°E
Areas affected	Syria (region)
Total damage	Extreme
Max. intensity	MMI VIII (Severe) – MMI IX (Violent)
Casualties	8,000

Last updated December 22, 2025

After a year of foreshocks, an earthquake occurred on 12 August 1157 near the city of Hama, in west-central Syria (then under the Seljuk rule), where the most casualties were sustained.^[2] In eastern Syria, near the Euphrates, the quake destroyed the predecessor of the citadel al-Rahba, subsequently rebuilt on the same strategic site. The earthquake also affected Christian monasteries and churches in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

References

↑ Sbeinati, M.R.; Darawcheh R.; Mouty M (2005). "The historical earthquakes of Syria: an analysis of large and moderate earthquakes from 1365 B.C. to 1900 A.D." Annals of Geophysics. 48 (3): 347–435. doi: 10.4401/ag-3206 .
1 2 Ambraseys, Nicholas N. (2004). "The 12th century seismic paroxysm in the Middle East: a historical perspective" (PDF). Annals of Geophysics. 47 (2–3): 733, 738, 745, 750.
1 2 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972), Significant Earthquake Information, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

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[Sbeinati-1] Sbeinati, M.R.; Darawcheh R.; Mouty M (2005). "The historical earthquakes of Syria: an analysis of large and moderate earthquakes from 1365 B.C. to 1900 A.D." Annals of Geophysics. 48 (3): 347–435. doi: 10.4401/ag-3206 .

[Ambraseys-2] 1 2 Ambraseys, Nicholas N. (2004). "The 12th century seismic paroxysm in the Middle East: a historical perspective" (PDF). Annals of Geophysics. 47 (2–3): 733, 738, 745, 750.

[NGDC-3] 1 2 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) (1972), Significant Earthquake Information, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

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v t e Historical earthquakes (1000 AD–1500 AD)
11th-century	1026 Manju 1033 Jordan Valley 1038 Dingxiang 1068 Near East 1088 Tmogvi 1096 Eichō
12th-century	1114 Marash 1117 Verona 1138 Aleppo 1139 Ganja 1157 Hama 1169 Sicily 1170 Syria 1185 East Midlands
13th-century	1202 Syria 1222 Brescia 1222 Cyprus 1269 Cilicia 1275 British 1290 Zhili 1293 Kamakura
14th-century	1303 Crete 1303 Hongdong 1343 Naples 1348 Friuli 1349 Apennine 1356 Basel 1361 Shōhei 1382 Dover Straits
15th-century	1420 Caldera 1428 Catalonia 1456 Central Italy Haowhenua 1461 L'Aquila 1475 Tenochtitlan 1481 Rhodes 1491 Cyprus 1498 Meiō
16th-century	1505 Lo Mustang 1509 Constantinople 1511 Idrija 1513 Marash 1522 Almería 1522 Vila Franca 1536 Xichang 1531 Lisbon 1555 Kashmir 1556 Shaanxi 1570 Concepción 1570 Ferrara 1575 San Salvador 1575 Valdivia 1580 Dover Straits 1582 Ancuancu 1584 Aigle 1585 Aleutian Islands 1586 Tenshō 1586 Lima–Callao 1596 Keichō–Fushimi 1590 Neulengbach

v t e Earthquakes in the Levant
Classic era	115 Antioch earthquake 363 Galilee 526 Antioch earthquake 528 Antioch earthquake 551 Beirut earthquake
Middle ages	749 Galilee 847 Damascus 859 Syrian coast 1033 Jordan Valley 1068 Near East 1138 Aleppo 1157 Hama 1170 Syria 1202 Syria 1344 Syria
Ottoman era	1759 Near East 1796 Latakia 1822 Aleppo 1834 Jerusalem 1837 Galilee 1856 Heraklion 1872 Amik
Contemporary	1927 Jericho 1955 Alexandria 1956 Chim 1969 Sharm El Sheikh 1995 Gulf of Aqaba 2023 Turkey–Syria

1157 Hama earthquake

See also

References