Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

The great earthquake at Khabza, 533

الزلزلة العظمى بخبزة سنة 533

c. 1138 CE · 533 AH

In 533 an earthquake struck Khabza and carried off two hundred and thirty thousand, its reach spanning ten farsakhs; the next year the town was swallowed whole — the site turning to black water — and returning townsfolk-merchants clung to the graveyards weeping for their kin 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Persia & Central Asia
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

1120113011401150 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks

Summary

In 533 AH an earthquake struck Khabza. About 200,000 people, or 30,000, were killed. It was felt within a radius of ten leagues 2.

The sinking that followed

In 534 AH Khabza sank into the earth, and where the town had been there was black water. Merchants who had come from the town stayed at the cemeteries, weeping for their families 3.

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 582-584
  2. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 582
  3. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 584
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The great earthquake at Khabza, 533”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/khabza-earthquake-533/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Time

Eras, timelines, this day in history, any year in the Islamic world.