The collision of the African and Eurasian plates causes powerful earthquakes in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Some historical accounts document the damage from particular events. For example, a Crusader castle overlooking the Jordan River in present-day Syria was sheared by a fault that ruptured it at dawn on May 20, 1202.¹ In most cases, however, such detailed records have been lost, so that the history of seismic destruction can be inferred only from archaeological evidence. Among the most convincing is the presence of crushed skeletons, which are not easily attributable to other natural disasters or war and have been found in the ruins of many Bronze Age cities, including Knossos, Troy, Mycenae, Thebes, Midea, Jericho, and Megiddo.

Recurring earthquakes may explain the repeated destruction of Troy, Jericho, and Megiddo, all built near major active faults. Excavation of the ancient city of Megiddo—Armageddon in the Biblical prophecy of the Apocalypse—reveals at least four episodes of massive destruction, as indicated by widespread debris, broken pottery, and crushed skeletons.² Similarly, a series of devastating earthquakes could have destabilized highly centralized Bronze Age societies by damaging their centers of power and leaving them vulnerable to revolts and invasions.³ Historical accounts document such “conflicts of opportunity” in the aftermath of earthquakes in Jericho (~1300 B.C.), Sparta (464 B.C.), and Jerusalem (31 B.C.).