   Ardabil | |
| Local date | 23 March 893 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | Unknown |
| Epicenter | 38°12′N 48°12′E / 38.2°N 48.2°E[1] |
| Areas affected | Iran |
| Casualties | 150,000 killed (est) |
Several earthquake catalogues and historical sources describe the 893 Ardabil earthquake as a destructive earthquake that struck the city of Ardabil, Iran, on 23 March 893. The magnitude is unknown, but the death toll was reported to be very large. The USGS, in their "List of Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths", give an estimate that 150,000 were killed, which would make it the ninth deadliest earthquake in history.[2]
Although the Ardabil area is prone to numerous earthquakes and was struck by a major earthquake in 1997, the 893 event is, in fact, considered to be a "mistaken" earthquake, derived from misreadings of the original Armenian writings about the 893 earthquake in Dvin, Armenia; the Arabic name for Dvin is Dabil.[3][4][5]
- ^ IISEE. "Search parameters page". Catalog of Damaging Earthquakes in the World (Through 2008). Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Earthquakes with 50,000 or More Deaths". Earthquake.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ Musson, R. (7 March 2001). "The ten deadliest ever earthquakes". British Geological Survey. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
- ^ Gupta, H. (2011). Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences (2 ed.). Springer. p. 566. ISBN 978-90-481-8701-0.
- ^ Ambraseys, N.N.; Melville, C.P. (2005). A History of Persian Earthquakes. Cambridge Earth Science Series. Cambridge University Press. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-521-02187-6.