Aleppo earthquake

October 1138

One of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history shook northern Syria. Aleppo's citadel cracked, the Crusader castle at Harim collapsed, and contemporary Muslim chroniclers set the death toll over two hundred thousand. Modern estimates are lower but still catastrophic. The quake struck at a moment when both Crusader and Muslim forces were jockeying for control of northern Syria, and its destruction temporarily neutralized the military infrastructure of both sides.