Berytus and the aftermath of the 551 earthquake

Abstract

Late antique Berytus (modern Beirut) experienced a major earthquake in 551 ce. The social and demographic effects of this earthquake, however, remain unclear. This paper first situates Berytus in its late antique environmental, social and cultural context. It then examines the earthquake and its effects using interdisciplinary tools that include texts, archaeological finds and scientific studies. It investigates the city’s main cultural symbols – its law school and its silk industry, whose isappearance from the sources roughly coincides with the earthquake. The paper further analyzes changes in material culture in the form of coins, pottery sherds and glass as proxies for economic activity and demography in the city. Using this disparate source base, it concludes that the main effect of the 551 earthquake was a reconfiguration of existing practices and institutions. While more vulnerable ones declined or collapsed, more robust ones recovered quickly. At the same time, the earthquake also triggered a wave of economic and perhaps also cultural experimentation.