13. Two Emperors’ Lucky Escape From a Natural Disaster
In 115 BC, Antioch was a flourishing and economically vibrant Greco-Roman city in Syria and was the Roman Empire’s third-biggest metropolis after Rome and Alexandria. On December 13th of that year, as described by the historian Cassius Dio, a loud and bellowing roar was heard in Antioch, then the ground started to violently vibrate and shake. People and entire trees were tossed up into the air as if they were water drops shaken off a wet dog’s fur, while buildings were lifted off the ground then slammed back down to earth. Many were killed or injured by falling debris, and many more by buildings collapsing atop and burying them. The aftershocks, which continued for days, killed and injured many survivors of the first day’s tremors. About 260,000 people lost their lives, and many more were injured and/or became homeless.
The Roman emperor Trajan and his chief deputy and successor, the future emperor Hadrian, were wintering in Antioch at the time, overseeing preparations for a military campaign against Parthia. Trajan managed to escape via a window from the building in which he had been housed, and was fortunate to suffer only light injuries. As buildings and debris kept falling due to aftershocks, the emperor and his entourage relocated to the open hippodrome, or race track, where they erected tents and set up house. His deputy Hadrian also escaped with only slight injuries, and both set to overseeing the recovery and rebuilding process, which was begun by Trajan, and after his death in 117, was continued and completed by his successor, Hadrian.