Historical Seismograms - Evidence from the AD 2000 Izu Islands ...

The Anatolian Earthquake of 17 August 1668 175same period as that damaging Ankara, and overwhelming Tokat (State Papers; seeAppendix 1). We have the account of the English cleric, Thomas Smith (1684), whovisited the western part of the region affected by the earthquake about a year afterthe event, and heard details of the shock affecting Ankara and Beypazari from aScottish merchant living in the latter town. Smith’s informant was possibly one ofthe correspondants of Theatrum Europaeum, and perhaps, also, the author of theletter from Beypazari in August 1668: if so, this would deprive us of an independentsource in Smith.The Armenian minor chroniclers in Hakobyan (1951) are also contemporarysources of information from Tokat and Erzincan, and probably from the area ofSivas, that greatly enhance the picture of the extent of the earthquake, pinpointingthe limits of the epicentral region to the east. They distinguish quite clearlybetween the effects of the August earthquake in Anatolia, and those of the earthquakeof 14 January 1668 in the Caucasus (Nikonov, 1982a, b). These sources aresupplemented by the near-contemporary Katip Celebi (1734) [although this work isalways cited under the name of Katip Celebi, the section which includes the year1668 was written after his death by Mehmet Seyhi Efendi], and by informationgiven in an early twentieth century history of Amasya (Husameddin Huseyn 1910)[the author tells us (vol. 1, p. 6) that his history is based in part on local chronicles,court records, and other contemporary sources].3. The Anatolian Earthquake of 17 August 1668Early in July 1668, shocks began to be felt in Ankara that continued intermittentlyuntil 20 July, causing considerable concern among the inhabitants of the area.After that date their intensity began to increase, when on 12 August, between 3 and4 p.m. a violent shock, that was felt as far as Istanbul and Izmir, caused the collapseof several houses and some hundreds of chimneys in Beypazari, killing seven people.The principal minaret of the town also fell. There is no evidence that other regionsof Anatolia were affected by this shock, which, however, was followed by intermittenttremors, some of which were felt in both Ankara and Beypazari, and forcedthe people to camp in open spaces in the towns or in the countryside (Theatrum,1668; Dressdnische, 1756; State Papers; Smith, 1684).These tremors recurred with increasing intensity until 15 August, when at 3 p.m.a strong earthquake in Ankara not only destroyed masonry walls, houses, stables,and part of the town wall, but also shattered the castle on the hill above the town.Only two people were caught in the town and buried, all those who had escapedto the open being saved (Theatrum, 1668; Dressdnische, 1756). At Beypazari thisshock added to the damage already caused by the previous earthquakes, and elsewhereit caused great concern.On 17 August, there followed another violent earthquake, stronger than anythat had gone before, which affected a very large part of Anatolia. In Ankara theearthquake consisted of a series of powerful jolts occurring at intervals of 3 to 4minutes, as a result of which the cliffs of the hill above the town began to breakup, hurling down huge boulders weighing up to a tonne. In the town, the groundopened up in places and many houses, already damaged by the foreshocks, wereruined. Those few people still in Ankara fled, leaving behind only the garrison atthe fort (Theatrum, 1668; Dressdnische, 1756).