The 363 Arsakawan earthquake took place c. 363. It affected the cities of Arsakawan (modern

Doğubayazıt Doğubayazıt ( ku, Bazîd, ) is a district of Ağrı Province of Turkey, and it is the easternmost district of Turkey, lying near the border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625m and its area is 2,383 km². Doğubayazıt's population in 2010 was 115 ...

) and Salat (modern

Sisian Sisian ( hy, Սիսիան) is a town and the centre of the urban community of Sisian, in the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on the Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan-Meghri highway, at a road distance of 217 km southeast ...

).Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 113. The earthquake is described in the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...

''The Life of Saint Nerses'' (8th century). The narrative describes the destruction of the city of Arsakawan, which had been constructed by the king

Arshak II Arshak II ( hy, Արշակ Բ, flourished 4th century, died 369 or 370), also written as Arsaces II or Aršak II, was an Arsacid prince who was King of Armenia from 350 (338/339 according to some scholars) until . Although Arshak's reign opened ...

(reigned 350–368). All the inhabitants were reportedly crushed by the city's collapse. All that was left of the city were "wood and stone debris". Other Armenian sources speak of the city's destruction, without mentioning the earthquake. They attribute the city's destruction to a

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

. The historian

Stephen Orbelian Stepanos Orbelian ( hy, Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան, originally spelled hy, Ստեփաննոս, translit=Stepʻannos, label=none; – 1303) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian and the metropolitan bishop of the province of Syu ...

(13th century) connects this earthquake to a military campaign of the king

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigned fo ...

(reigned 309–379) against the Armenian province of Siwnik' (modern

Syunik Province Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. I ...

). In Orbelian's narrative, Persian slaves of Shapur were scaling an artificial hill, in an attempt to reach the church of Salat. Then the earthquake occurred, and the Persians were thrown aside. Those who had climbed to the top of the hill were killed by the earthquake. Orbelian's narrative reports that the church of Salat was buried by the earthquake, along with all its treasures. But that it was later rediscovered. Following another earthquake, further

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of this lost church were reportedly discovered. The more recent earthquake had detached the stones of a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, leading to the discovery. An "odorous emanation" was released by this second earthquake, according to Orbelian. The historian Movses Dasxuranci (10th to 11th century) gives a similar report on the earthquake. It describes the

Sasanian Army The Sasanian army was the primary military body of the Sasanian armed forces, serving alongside the Sasanian navy. The birth of the army dates back to the rise of Ardashir I (r. 224–241), the founder of the Sasanian Empire, to the throne. A ...

climbing a mound to reach the church of Salat. The earthquake reportedly took place when they had reached the top of the mound. The army fled in fear of the earthquake, along with their general At'askoday. The historian

Josef Markwart Josef Markwart (originally spelled Josef Marquart: December 9, 1864 in Reichenbach am Heuberg – February 4, 1930 in Berlin) was a German historian and orientalist. He specialized in Turkish and Iranian Studies and the history of the Middle ...

(20th century) theorized that this earthquake was identical to the 358 earthquake that affected

Nicomedia Nicomedia (; el, Νικομήδεια, ''Nikomedeia''; modern İzmit) was an ancient Greek city located in what is now Turkey. In 286, Nicomedia became the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire (chosen by the emperor Diocletia ...

(modern

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the c ...

). However, this identification is not confirmed by primary sources.

References

Sources

* {{coord missing 363 360s in the Byzantine Empire 4th-century earthquakes 4th century in Armenia Doğubayazıt Syunik Province Earthquakes in Turkey Earthquakes in Armenia