The 461 Apahunik' earthquake affected the province of Apahunik', located to the north of
Lake Van
Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...
, in
Anatolia.
The main source for this earthquake is the chronicle of
Yovhannēs Awagerec' (13th century). The historian
Ghazar Parpetsi (6th century) also mentions this earthquake, but dates it to 25 July, 454.
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115] Ghazar's narrative connects this earthquake to the
martyrdom of the companions of Łewond (Latin: Leontius) at Rewan, in the vicinity of
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wr ...
. On the evening of 25 July, a severe earthquake reportedly affected Rewan. "Great noises and fearful voices" were coming from the ground, massive
clouds covered the Earth, and
thunder and
lightning shook the mountains. The corpses of the martyrs were enveloped in a
rainbow-like "column of light", while the nearby guards were rolling to the ground due to the earthquake. Ghazar's narrative estimated that the earthquake lasted for one day and two nights.
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115]
The historian
Yeghishe
Yeghishe (, , AD 410 – 475; also spelled Eghishe or Ełišē, latinized Eliseus) was an Armenian historian from the time of late antiquity, best known as the author of ''History of Vardan and the Armenian War'', a history of a fifth-centu ...
(Latin:Eliseus, 5th century) depicts the same earthquake in terms of a
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 ...
. He does not mention a location, and his narrative lacks Ghazar's "realistic details".
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115]
Rewan is otherwise described as a village of the
magi, located in "the land of Apar". A critical edition of Ghazar's text contains an estimation of Rewan's distance from Nishapur. According to it, the village was located at least 6 Persian
leagues from Nishapur.
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115] The historian
Sebeos
Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian.
Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one o ...
(7th century) reports that the location of this martyrdom was called Apr-Shahr, and that Apr-Shahr was located in "T'elark'uni".
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115]
The historian
Faustus of Byzantium (5th century), reported that Apahunik' was an "erkir" (quarter). Its capital was Manzikert. This "Armeno-Byzantine" city's ruins are located within modern Malazgirt.
[Guidoboni, Traina, 1995, p. 114-115]
References
Sources
*
{{coord missing, Turkey
461
460s in the Byzantine Empire
1st-millennium earthquakes
5th-century natural disasters
Medieval earthquakes
5th century in Armenia
History of Muş Province
Earthquakes in the Byzantine Empire
Earthquakes in Armenia
Earthquakes in Turkey