363 Arsakawan earthquake
363 CE.
Shown on the map at 39.500°, 44.100°.
The 363 Arsakawan earthquake took place c. 363. It affected the cities of Arsakawan (modern Doğubayazıt in eastern Turkey) and Salat (modern Sisian in Armenia). The earthquake is described in the hagiography The Life of Saint Nerses (8th century). The narrative describes the destruction of the city of Arsakawan, which had been constructed by the king Arshak II (reigned 350–368). All the inhabitants were reportedly crushed by the city's collapse. All that was left of the city were "wood and stone debris". Other Armenian sources speak of the city's destruction, without mentioning the earthquake. They attribute the city's destruction to a plague. The historian Stephen Orbelian (13th century) connects this earthquake to a military campaign of the king Shapur II (reigned 309–379) against the Armenian province of Siwnik' (modern Syunik Province). In Orbelian's narrative, Persian slaves of Shapur were scaling an artificial hill, in an attempt to reach the church of Salat. Then the earthquake occurred, and the Persians were thrown aside.
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