Earthquake which devastated cities on the west and south coasts of Anatolia (262)
A major earthquake struck Ephesus and coastal Anatolia in 262 AD, causing widespread destruction and a likely tsunami across Roman cities.
Key Facts
- Year
- 262 AD (possibly 261)
- Date
- 21 December
- Epicenter
- Southern Aegean Sea (likely)
- Primary source
- Augustan History, attributed to Trebellius Pollio
- Notable affected city
- Ephesus
- Concurrent event
- Separate earthquake struck Cyrene, Libya same year
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A seismic event originating likely in the southern Aegean Sea struck the western and southern coastal regions of Anatolia in 262 AD. The geological conditions of the Aegean region, prone to tectonic activity, made these Roman-era cities vulnerable to both ground shaking and subsequent sea surges.
The earthquake devastated Ephesus and multiple cities along the west and south coasts of Anatolia. Many cities were reported to have been flooded by the sea, suggesting a tsunami followed the seismic event. The disaster is primarily documented through an account in the Augustan History attributed to Trebellius Pollio, though the source's reliability is debated.
Widespread destruction affected several Roman cities on the Anatolian coast. Historians have faced difficulty disentangling the effects of this event from a contemporaneous earthquake that struck Cyrene, Libya the same year, as classical sources conflate the two. Nicholas Ambraseys identified the Augustan History as the key literary origin for most references to this earthquake.