The 1088 Tmogvi earthquake ( ka, თმოგვის მიწისძვრა) occurred on April 16Vivian, Katharine (1991), ''The Georgian chronicle: the Period of Giorgi Lasha'', p. 323. Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert. or April 22,Sergiei Balassanian, Armando Cisternas, Mikael Melkumyan (2000), ''Earthquake Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction'', p. 129. Springer, .Modern catalogues (Balassanian et al 2000) indicate the date of the earthquake as April 22. Orthodox Easter of 1088 falls on April 16 on the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

(Vivian 1991). 1088, on Easter Sunday, in the southern provinces of the

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

. It takes its name from the castle of

Tmogvi Tmogvi or Tmkaberd ( ka, თმოგვი ; hy, Թմկաբերդ) is a ruined fortress and medieval town in the southern Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, on the left bank of the Kura River, a few kilometers downstream of the cave city ...

, in Javakheti, whose destruction is specifically noted in the medieval annals of Georgia.Thomson, Robert W. (1996), ''Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles'', p. 314. Oxford University Press, Its magnitude is estimated as 6.5 on the

surface wave magnitude The surface wave magnitude (M_s) scale is one of the magnitude scales used in seismology to describe the size of an earthquake. It is based on measurements of Rayleigh surface waves that travel along the uppermost layers of the Earth. This ma ...

scale.

History

The Tmogvi earthquake was one of the largest recorded earthquakes in the history of Georgia, and was associated with the active faults of the Javakheti Plateau in the Lesser Caucasus.Recorded Earthquake Events, p. 39Atlas of Natural Hazards & Risks of Georgia
. According to the anonymous 12th-century ''Life of King of Kings David'', the earthquake shook Georgia on the "last day of Holy Week, on the very resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ". The chronicle reports widespread destruction and many casualties and adds that "fearsome trembling of the earth lasted for a year". The author specifically notes the collapse of the castle of Tmogvi, trapping its lord Kakhaber, son of Niania, and his wife underneath.

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{{Earthquakes in Georgia (country)

1088 in Asia 1088 in Europe 11th century in the Kingdom of Georgia Earthquakes in Georgia (country)

History

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