events

An earthquake hits the Mediterranean destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000–40,000.

1759 Near East earthquakes

Series of earthquakes in Levant

The 1759 Near East earthquakes shook a large portion of the Levant in October and November of that year. This geographical crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean were at the time under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The ruins of Baalbek, a settlement in the Beqaa Valley of…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Beirut

Capital and largest city of Lebanon

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As of 2014, Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the fourth-largest city in the Levant region and the sixteenth-largest in the Arab world. The city is situated…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Damascus

Capital city of Syria

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam. Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine", Damascus is a major cultural center…
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)