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Historical Evidence for the 551 CE Tsunami at Akko, Israel

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Historical Evidence for the 551 CE Tsunami at Akko, Israel University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 2015 "A Great and Terrible Event": Historical Evidence for the 551 CE Tsunami at Akko, Israel Emma Heidtman University of Rhode Island, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Heidtman, Emma, ""A Great and Terrible Event": Historical Evidence for the 551 CE Tsunami at Akko, Israel" (2015). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 790. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/790 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “A GREAT AND TERRIBLE EVENT”: HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE 551 CE TSUNAMI AT AKKO, ISRAEL BY EMMA HEIDTMAN A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2015 MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY THESIS OF EMMA HEIDTMAN APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Bridget Buxton Rod Mather Mary Hollinshead Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2015 ABSTRACT In 2001, the Old City of Akko in northern Israel was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. This designationwas based on the Old City’s well-preserved Ottoman and Islamic-era town and the partly subterranean ruins of the once-thriving Crusader port. Five years of excavation, from 2009 to 2014, have uncovered more of Akko’s history as a strategic naval outpost for several iterations of Mediterranean Sea power, particularly during the Hellenistic Age. However, evidence for Akko’s harbor operations during the Byzantine period is still being uncovered. In light of recent discoveries in geoarchaeology, scientists have learned that part of Akko’s Byzantine history includes the tsunami of 551 CE, which struck the port cities of the Levantine coast from as far north as Beirut to the port of Caesarea Maritima, 64 kilometers to the south. This tsunami had substantial and meaningful consequences for Akko’s harbor and the surrounding town, which led to long-term effects on the city following the disaster. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis was only possible through the extraordinary network of support that exists around me. First, I would like to thank Dr. Bridget Buxton for her assistance in completing this massive undertaking, and for the invaluable lessons that I have learned from her since we met four years ago. I am also indebted to Dr. Rod Mather, for his mentorship, friendship and for always taking the time to encourage and support my endeavors in graduate school. I am grateful to Dr. Mary Hollinshead, for her incredible teaching skills and her immovable patience throughout this process. Additionally, I would like to thank Ms. Beth Hott, who has read every sentence of this paper and has been instrumental in the editing process. I would also be remiss if I did not acknowledge Dr. Kris Bovy, who has been an incredible support to me in my years at URI, both as an undergraduate and a graduate student. My final debt of gratitude goes to Debora Heidtman. Her reminder of “look it up and it’s yours,” has inspired me to learn and grow my entire life, and her example of strength and graciousness is all I could ever aspire to be. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………...…………….……….......…….... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………….………………………….....……....iii TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………iv LIST OF FIGURES…………………………….……………………..………….……….v CHAPTER 1……………………………………………………………………………....1 INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………...……………1 CHAPTER 2 ……………………………………………………………………………...5 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND………………………………..…………………….….5 CHAPTER 3 …………………………………………………………………………….23 EVIDENCE FOR THE 551 CE TSUNAMI……………………………………………..23 CHAPTER 4 ………………………………………………………………………….....52 BYZANTINE AKKO……………………………………………………………………52 CHAPTER 5 ………………………………………………………………………….....68 AFTERMATH OF THE 551 CE TSUNAMI ……………………………...……………68 CHAPTER 6……………………………………………...……………………………...81 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………..………………...81 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………..85 iv LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE Figure 1. The epicenter of the 551 CE earthquake. After Elias et al. 2007…………... 1 Figure 2. The harbor at Caesarea today. After Goodman & Dey 2010. ......................13 Figure 3. Map of Akko Harbor with key areas. After Galili 2010. ..............................19 v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In 2001, the Old City of Akko in northern Israel was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. This designation was conferred in recognition of the Old City’s well- preserved Ottoman and Islamic-era town and the partly subterranean ruins of the once- thriving Crusader port. Five years of excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority, from 2009 to 2014, have uncovered more of Akko’s history as a strategic naval outpost, particularly during the Hellenistic Age. However, evidence for Akko’s harbor operations during the Byzantine period is still being uncovered.1 Evidence suggests that this once vital and strategic port diminished in significance sometime after the first century BCE and was no longer being used for military purposes, but simply for local trade.2 In light of recent geoarchaeological discoveries, there is reason to believe that Byzantine Akko was impacted significantly by a tsunami and earthquake event that is attested in 551 CE. No research to date has attempted to examine the specific effects such an event might have had on Akko. This tsunami struck the coastline of what is now modern day Lebanon, and affected Beirut, the 'jewel of Phoenicia', considerably enough 1The final publication of the recent IAA-URI excavations in Akko’s Roman and Hellenistic military harbor is forthcoming, pending pottery and sediment core analyses. For the purposes of this study, the “Byzantine Empire” covers the early period of the Byzantines’ dominion over the Eastern Mediterranean, starting with Constantine I’s reign in 330 CE and ending with Heraclius and the Islamic conquests, who ruled until 641 CE. The Roman period is considered as the years between the establishment of Roman rule in the Near East, approximately 63 BCE, until 285 CE with the establishment of Eastern and Western empires under Diocletian 2An earlier tsunami was probably responsible for Akko’s degradation after the Early Roman period. Pieces of broken coral, one of which has been dated to the 1st century BCE, are indicative of a high energy event which dumped a large amount of biological material into Akko's harbor. (Personal Communication, J. Sharvit) 1 that the law center there had to be moved farther south to the port city Sidon.3 Caesarea Maritima, known for its splendid early Roman harbor built by King Herod the Great of Judea, was also struck by this particular tsunami during the Byzantine Period.4 The purpose of this study is to address the question of how the tsunami impacted Akko based on the available evidence, and consider the broader historical implications of what seems to have been a major regional disaster. This paper will first consider the historical framework of the sixth century, detailing major events of this era. The first chapter will specifically address the two major military offensives fought by the Byzantine Empire against the Sasanian Persians and the established barbarian kingdoms in the West, and the economic implications that accompanied this warfare. The second chapter of this study presents available evidence about the 551 CE tsunami itself, including the extent of its impact, written reports about the event that have survived from the ancient world, and its significance within a larger geological trend known as the Early Byzantine Paroxysm. The third chapter will discuss the historical evidence for the situation in Byzantine Akko before the tsunami of 551 CE, and evidence for an earlier earthquake event attested in the region in 502 CE. In the final chapter, the tsunami’s impact on surrounding cities will be explored. Large urban centers like Caesarea Maritima and Scythopolis provide the best comparison because of their proximity to Akko, as well as an apparent period of economic decline which each experienced in the second half of the sixth century. Such decline could have occurred at Akko also, albeit on a smaller scale. The central historical question, which has been raised recently in the studies of Caesarea by Goodman and Dey is to what extent 3 For studies on this particular tsunami as it relates to other cities that were affected, see Darawacheh et al. 2000, Elias et al. 2007, Goodman et al. 2009, &Goodman &Dey 2010.. 4Herod the Great established the harbor and city of Caesarea Maritima between 25-13 BCE. 2 the 551 CE earthquake and tsunami, and presumed destruction of coastal infrastructure, contributed to the military preparedness and economic resources of the region before and into the period of Persian and Islamic conquests in the following century.5 The evidence compiled here will demonstrate that the tsunami of 551 CE and its accompanying earthquake contributed considerably to the decline at Caesarea and Akko. However, more archaeological and historical information must be gathered before a connection can be made between the decline of port cities and the military significance of Akko’s geographic position in the centuries following. This study is important for several reasons. First of all, this report has notable implications for the future of tectonic study in Israel and the Near East. Israel sits atop the Dead Sea Transform (DST), an active tectonic fault system. Although predicting earthquakes is nowhere near an exact science, tsunami hazard evaluation studies have revealed that the risk of a large seismic event is a distinct possibility in the near future.6Historical earthquake evaluations have been critical to showing the pattern of tectonic events in the past and for making educated predictions to prepare for such disasters. Second, Akko is a critically important historical site, with many undiscovered cultural resources. These resources are threatened, both by human activity, and natural forces such as erosion and tectonic activity.
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