Was Alexandria (Egypt) Destroyed in A.D. 365? A Famous Historical Tsunami Revisited

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 2662-2673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stathis C. Stiros
Keyword(s):  
Produced Water ◽  
Nile Delta ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Ammianus Marcellinus ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Historical Tsunami ◽  
Aegean Arc ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Evidence

Abstract Ammianus Marcellinus, a fourth-century writer, reported that after an earthquake, on 21 July 365, the sea retreated and then flooded numerous coasts, among them Alexandria (Egypt) and Methoni (southwest Greece). Several other ancient authors seem to mention this event as a “universal earthquake.” The inferred tsunami is usually assigned to reactivation of a fault in the Hellenic (Aegean) Arc, derived from an up to 9 m seismic uplift of Crete. Modeling of this uplift revealed an 8.5+ magnitude earthquake and a tsunami that affected most of the Eastern Mediterranean. For Alexandria, a flooding wave arrival is predicted, and marginal impacts are not excluded because of the topography of the ancient town. On the other hand, ancient sources lead to contradictory results, from no damage to devastation, but new historical evidence indicates that many of the historical reports of the critical period are biased by religious and political ideas, and the Ammianus description was questioned. Hence, for Alexandria there exist three scenarios: major destruction, marginal damage, and no damage by the 365 tsunami. To shed light to this debate (1) ancient sources were analyzed in view of new evidence for their significance, (2) possible impacts of a tsunami in the town’s infrastructure were discussed, and (3) possible impacts of a major destruction were investigated in the framework of the well-known ecclesiastical and civil history of Alexandria. The main conclusions of this study are that (1) no significant tsunami destruction is likely for Alexandria, in agreement with sedimentary evidence, and no major tsunami runup for Methoni; (2) a major earthquake in 365 is likely offshore Crete; and (3) it is inferred that Ammianus brings together two tsunamis, a local slump offshore that produced water retreat and then flooding and local denudation in the eastern Nile Delta, and a second tsunami generated by a fault offshore Crete or in the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea.

The rejuvenations of hydrocarbon exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean

2021 ◽  
pp. petgeo2021-018
Author(s):  
Fabio Lottaroli ◽  
Lorenzo Meciani
Keyword(s):  
Nile Delta ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Hydrocarbon Exploration ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
Recoverable Reserves ◽  
History Of ◽  
Gas Market ◽  
Exploration Activity ◽  
Made In

The exploration history of the large East Mediterranean Basin, which encompasses the Nile delta, Levantine, Herodotus and Eratosthenes provinces, has seen several phases of rejuvenation since exploration started in the 1950s, with new plays opened repeatedly after the basin was considered mature by the industry. The 584 exploration wells drilled to date have discovered more than 23 Bboe recoverable reserves/resources, mostly gas. The first discovery was the Abu Madi Field, in 1967, which opened the Messinian clastic play. Over time, other plays and sub plays were opened, including the Serravallian-Tortonian, the Plio-Pleistocene, the Oligo/Miocene in the Levantine, the intra Oligocene and the Cretaceous carbonates (Zohr discovery, 2015). The exceptional variety of plays, with different trapping styles, reservoir and seal facies patterns has few equivalents worldwide and makes the region a valuable training ground for explorers. The geological variety is not the only reason for such a complex and episodic exploration history: commercial (gas market) and geopolitical issues have also had an impact on the activity in parts of the basin. The largest discoveries have been made in the last 10 years (Tamar, Leviathan, Zohr) and, despite the intense exploration activity, parts of the basin remain underexplored. The company with the longest and most successful play opening history in the basin is Eni. Today, most major oil companies are active in the basin, which even after 70 years is still considered one of the world's exploration hotspots. 

The Mausoleum of Augustus

1927 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 23-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Cordingley ◽  
I. A. Richmond
Keyword(s):  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Early History ◽  
Ammianus Marcellinus ◽  
History Of ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Classical History

The early history of the Augusteo, as the Mausoleum of Augustus is now called, wins little space in contemporary literature. Among classical writers first Strabo and then Suetonius tell us that Augustus built for himself and his family, between the Via Flaminia and the Tiber, this huge circular tumulus, crowned with evergreens, surmounted by his own effigy in bronze, and retained by a lofty base of white stone. And these accounts supplement one another in detail, Suetonius noting that the work was done in 28 B.C, and thereby causing one to wonder whether Antony's fate and the conspiracy of Lepidus set Augustus about building his own last resting-place; while Strabo mentions that anustrinum of similar stone, with an iron railing in a circle round it, stood not far away. The building was ready by 23 B.C, when Vergil spoke 4 of it as new. Many people— we know of fourteen great ones— lay within; but the last Emperor to be buried there was Nerva, and then the tomb, entrusted to a procurator's care, was only opened for a short time to house, in the part allotted to Lucius and Gaius, the remains of Julia Domna. In the fourth century it found a place in the list of City monuments, and Ammianus Marcellinus pauses to state that two obelisks in front of it were later additions. After that classical history tells no more of the building or of its fate.

Hellenism? An Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Chrubasik ◽  
Daniel King
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Fourth Century Bce ◽  
History Of ◽  
Individual Contributions ◽  
Political Time ◽  
The Individual

This chapter introduces the themes of the volume and the individual contributions. It argues that the cultural history of the Hellenistic East transcends the political time frame often associated with the period in Anglophone publications. Therefore, the framework of this study is extended to include the fourth century BCE as well as the first three centuries CE in order to closely investigate the processes of cultural interaction often associated with the term Hellenism. It offers examples of the presence of adapted Greek cultural and political elements in the communities of the Eastern Mediterranean, it raises the question of cross-cultural exchange and its impact on Greekness itself, and it opens the debate on whether terms such as Hellenism, Hellenistic, and Hellenization are still useful to describe the cultural processes in the period under investigation.

The Question of Interpretation: Qin History in Light of New Epigraphic Sources

Early China ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 1-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Pines
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Apparent Contradiction ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
New Evidence

Recently discovered epigraphic sources of Qin's history often seem to contradict the conventional wisdom regarding the history of this state. Thus, the recently published inscription on the jade tablets records a prayer to Mountain Hua by one of the last Qin kings, in which the latter surprisingly laments the demise of the Zhou house–an action for which traditionally Qin was blamed. On the other hand, some of the Shuihudi Qin statutes contain equally surprising statements according to which the Qin populace on the eve of the imperial unification was clearly differentiated from the members of the Xia ethno-cultural community. In both cases the apparent contradiction between the new evidence and the conventional interpretation of the received texts caused most of the scholars to neglect the confusing evidence altogether or to reinterpret it in accord with the traditional views.In my paper, I suggest that the new evidence can be reconciled with the received texts, if due attention is paid to the complexity of cultural and political dynamics in the state of Qin prior to the imperial unification of 221 B.C.E. During the last two centuries of the Warring States period Qin appears to be engulfed in two contradictory processes of estrangement from and re-integration with the “Central States.” On the one hand, radical reforms of the mid-fourth century B.C.E. brought about not only sociopolitical but also cultural changes, creating the cultural gap between Qin and the rest of the Zhou world. Concomitantly, endless military conflicts between Qin and its neighbors further strengthened the cohesiveness of Qin's populace, increasing furthermore the sense of antagonism between the people of Qin, particularly among the lower strata, and the dwellers of eastern states. On the other hand, however, Qin's eventual separation from the rest of the Zhou world was counterbalanced by the equally powerful integrative factors. The influx of eastern advisors perpetuated cultural ties between Qin and its neighbors, while the desire of Qin rulers to facilitate incorporation of the eastern territories into their expanding realm dictated a more flexible policy of building rather than destroying political and cultural bridges with the Zhou world. Understanding this ongoing tension between conflicting integrative and centrifugal tendencies allows us to build a new interpretative framework for the Qin history, fully incorporating the received and the unearthed texts.

Phoenicia in the Roman Empire

2019 ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
Julien Aliquot
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
New Order ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Traditions

This chapter traces the history of Phoenicia from the advent of Rome in Syria at the beginning of the first century bce to the foundation of the Christian empire of Byzantium in the fourth century ce. It focuses on the establishment of Roman rule and its impact on society, culture, and religion. Special attention is paid to the establishment of Roman rule and its impact on society, culture, and religion. The focus is on provincial institutions and cities, which provided a basis for the new order. However, side trails are also taken to assess the flowering of Hellenism and the revival of local traditions in the light of the Romanization of Phoenicia and its hinterland.

Cyprus

2019 ◽  
pp. 479-491
Author(s):  
Sabine Fourrier
Keyword(s):  
Cultural History ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
History Of

This chapter concentrates on the Phoenician presence in the island of Cyprus in the Iron Age (from the eleventh until the end of the fourth century bce). After a brief overview, it addresses the question of identification of the Cypriot Qarthadasht and the issue of a supposed Phoenician colonization in Cyprus. The political and cultural history of the Cypro-Phoenician kingdom of Kition also receives particular attention. At the same time, the widespread and multifaceted aspects of Phoenician presences on the island are underlined: Phoenician presence was not confined to Kition and Phoenician influence did not exclusively spread in the island from Kition.

Daily Encounters That Make History: History from Below and Archival Collaboration

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-143
Author(s):  
Hanan Hammad
Keyword(s):  
Nile Delta ◽  
Red Light ◽  
Class Relations ◽  
Factory Worker ◽  
History Of Sexuality ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Egypt ◽  
Red Light District

What does a casual confrontation in a rundown shack between a landlady and her factory-worker tenant tell us about the history of gender and class relations in modern Egypt? Could a lost watch in a red-light district in the middle of the Nile Delta complicate our understanding of the history of sexuality and urbanization? Can an unexpectedly intimate embrace on a sleeping mat illuminate a link in the history of class, gender, and urbanization in modern Egypt?

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