Earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East
A Multidisciplinary Study of Seismicity up to 1900

Reference volume examining historical evidence from the last 4000 years to analyse earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.

Nicholas Ambraseys (Author)

9780521872928, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 October 2009

968 pages, 83 b/w illus. 23 maps
28.3 x 22.3 x 4.9 cm, 2.81 kg

'Helpful is the 'earthquake of Amos', dated ca. 759 BCE (Amos 1:1), for which there seems to be solid archaeological evidence all over the place - from Tel Beersheva to Jerusalem, from Gezer and Shechem to Tell Deir Alia and Megiddo, all listed and documented by the author. One should consider the possibility of Amos's activity being somehow conditioned, if not occasioned, by a mighty earthquake that shook all of Palestine' International Review of Biblical Studies

This book examines historical evidence from the last 2000 years to analyse earthquakes in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Early chapters review techniques of historical seismology, while the main body of the book comprises a catalogue of more than 4000 earthquakes identified from historical sources. Each event is supported by textual evidence extracted from primary sources and translated into English. Covering southern Rumania, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, the book documents past seismic events, places them in a broad tectonic framework, and provides essential information for those attempting to prepare for, and mitigate the effects of, future earthquakes and tsunamis in these countries. This volume is an indispensable reference for researchers studying the seismic history of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, including archaeologists, historians, earth scientists, engineers and earthquake hazard analysts. A parametric catalogue of these seismic events can be downloaded from www.cambridge.org/9780521872928.

Preface
1. Macroseismic information
2. Evaluation of macroseismic data
3. Catalogue of earthquakes
4. Evaluation of instrumental data
5. Long-term seismicity
6. Future challenges
Appendix: Photographs of researchers in the field
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Geophysics [PHVG], Archaeology by period / region [HDD], Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], European history [HBJD]