Historical Evidence for Climate Instabiluityand Environmental Catastrophes inNorthern Syria and the Jazira:The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian
MAGNUS WIDELL
Oriental Institute
University ofChicago 1155E. 58thStreet
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
Email: widell@uchicago.edu
ABSTRACT
Significant cataclysms occurred frequently throughout the history of northern Syria and the Jazira, and had severe short-and long-term implications on the region’s economy and the social structure.This paper uses theChronicle of
Michael theSyrian, a Patriarch ofAntioch in the late twelfthcenturya.D., as a representationofenvironmentalandclimaticcatastrophestakingplace innorthern Syria and theJazira inthethirdand early secondMillennium b.c.The proportions,
general frequency and the clustering tendency of the differentdisasters in the Chronicle are treatedindetail, aswell as theirgeneral economic, environmental
and social significance. The article argues thatdiversified subsistence and a high degree of flexibilitywere essential forancientMesopotamian societies toabsorb
themany risks that life in thismarginal semiarid environment involved.
KEYWORDS
Jazira,northernSyria, climate, environment,disaster
INTRODUCTION
Inmodels of ancient societies, climate, and especially abrupt climate changes, are often considered, perhaps even reconstructed, in order to explain cultural change or unfamiliar and new settlementpatterns.The climate of northernSyria and the Jazira in theBronze Age (or,more specifically, during the end of the thirdand theearly secondmillennium b.c.) has recentlybeen a subject of rather intensedebate. Most notably,Harvey Weiss andMarie-Agnes Courty have ar
EnvironmentandHistory 13 (2007): 47-70 ? 2007 TheWhite Horse Press
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
48
MAGNUSWIDELL
gued ina series of articles foran abrupt climate change, drastic arid conditions, sociopolitical collapse and site and regional abandonment. These anomalous conditions of extreme aridification and cooling remained for 300 years until ca. 1900 b.c. when the climate returned to normal, which according toWeiss and Courty roughly corresponded to thepresent. Others have noted that in the
mid-to-late Holocene, small-scale climate changes were rather frequent, and that some of these changes lasted forup to 300 years. In fact, the critique that the above described scenario has received has not been primarily concerned
with the notion -that the end of the thirdmillennium may have experienced a climate change a fact that seems to find support in several independent sci entific studies – but ratherhow, ifat all, thischange would affect thepeople
living innorthernSyria and theJazira.Climatic change may have played a role
in the alleged urban and demographic collapse, but climate changes or other environmental anomalies should not be isolated from theireconomic, historic,
and structuralcontexts.Moreover, groups of people may respond to climate change inmany differentways and it is necessary to consider environmental disasters more broadly, not just climate change.1
While modern science often can reconstructclimate changes over large re
gions, albeit seldom ingreatdetail orwithout a significantlevelof interpretation/ adaptation, itremains very difficult todetermine thedirect significance of these
changes to the populations of specific areas. Palaeo-climatic studies of soil micromorphology, isotope composition of lake,marine and ice cores, or solar
Environment
anatolia
fAntioch a
Aleppo SYRIA
Damascus
Jerusalem
FIGURE and History 13.1
1.NorthernSyria and theJazira
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
variability of the thirdmillennium are often unable toprovide thedetails and/or
thehigh temporal and geographical resolution provided by textual sources, and such studies are thereforeoften less suitable to reconstructnatural and climatic idiosyncrasies on a human scale. On theother hand, therecan be no doubt that climatic data with a higher temporal resolution are necessary for studies on the social and economic history of the highly sensitive semiarid environment of
northernSyria and theJazira.Gil Stein has recentlypointed out thatalthough theaverage annual rainfall in northernMesopotamia and Syria may suffice for cereal agriculture, 30-year records ofmodern (that is between roughly 1940 and 1970) rainfall in the region show ‘an extremely high rate of interannual
variability,oftenrangingfrom30 to35percent’.2
Climate is in constant change and there can be no doubt that the climate
and environment of every period of history should be considered unique. Nev ertheless, itshould also be stated thatregardless ofhow we choose toview and label the indisputable climatic variations of thehistory of Syria and the Jazira,
by far thegreatest changes on the climate, agricultural production, erosion and
land degradation of this region are certainly anthropogenic and have occurred inmodern times. The main reasons for these drastic modern changes can be
found in the significant increase of atmospheric C02 levels, the introductionof
chemicals and mechanised deep ploughing in the agricultural production, the introductionof new crops, largerfarmsand a shifttomono-agriculture, severe
overgrazing, excessive pumping of groundwater and large-scale dam construc tions in Syria and Turkey.While itcertainly remains problematic to determine
exactly how, and to what extent, these factors together have influenced the modern climate and environment of the region, there can be littledoubt that modern climate and environmental data simply applied to ancient societies in
this region should be regarded with caution. Thus, while we acknowledge that conditions constantly change and that the climate and environment in the third millennium b.c. certainly was not the same as in the firstmillennium a.D., it
seems reasonable to assume thatany pre-industrial differenceswere, at least by
comparison, relatively small.3
The most comprehensive pre-industrial account on theclimate and environ
ment of northernSyria and theJazira isprovided tous inamediaeval manuscript usually referred to as theChronicle ofMichael the Syrian. The dry farming region innorthernSyria and theJaziradescribed byMichael relied onwheat and barley as themain cropswhile cash crops included olives and grapes. This does
not appear tobe differentfrom thegeneral picture archaeologists have depicted
of dry-farming agriculture in this region in antiquity.Recent anthracological data from the site of Emar show thatboth olives and grapes were cultivated (or
growing wild) innorthernSyria at theend of the thirdmillennium b.c.Moreo ver, cuneiform texts dated to around 2400 b.c. fromTell Beydar, situated on theminor north-southWadi Awaidj in thewestern Habur, show thatbarley and
wheat as well as grapes were cultivated in the region. Furthermore, contemporary Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
49
50
MAGNUS WIDELL
records fromEbla, situated on the fertileplain of north-western Syria about 53 kilometres southwest ofAleppo, contain references to thousands of olive trees growing in northernSyria. In view of these similarities, it seems reasonable to consider theclimatic and agricultural data provided by theChronicle ofMichael theSyrian suitable formore general reconstructionsof theclimate, environment and agricultural disasters of northern Syria and the Jazira in the late thirdand early second millennium b.c., as well as in antiquity in general.4
To provide amore transparentoverview of theevents described byMichael, thisarticleattemptstosummariseand analyse thedisastrous elementsofMichael’s
history of the region. The focus in the article is on extreme, usually irremedi able, natural calamities on a communal or regional level thatseverely disrupt the normal routine of life and cause significant loss of property, life or livelihood.
A few remarks aremade also on theproportion/frequencyof thedifferentcli matic and natural disasters described as well as theireconomic, environmental
and social significance.When a known specific catastrophe is not recorded in Michael’s Chronicle foruncertain reasons, theanalysis has been supplemented with data from theChronicle ofZuqnin and other sources. Finally, the author
of the present article is focusing mainly on the ancient history of Syria and Mesopotamia, and it should be stated that thiswork is significantly indebted to
Michael G. Morony’s excellent, and much more profound, study on Michael the Syrian and his Chronicle.5
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
The Orthodox PatriarchMichael theSyrian’smonumental Chronicle, encompass ing21 books, represents themost voluminous historical compilation transmitted to us in Syriac. The comprehensive account ofMichael the Syrian, who was
elected Patriarch of Antioch 1166-1199, provides valuable information con cerning abnormal conditions and various climatic and agricultural catastrophes taking place in northern Syria and the Jazira from the sixth century a.d. until
thedeath of Saladin ina.d. 1196.6 Unfortunately,wedonotknowallofthesourcesthaMtichael usedtocompile
his Chronicle. From theChronicle ofZuqnin itbecomes evident that there are severalgaps inMichael’s informationconcerning thestorms,droughtsandother
severe conditions adversely impacting agricultural production in the region.A lack of references to agricultural disasters inMichael’s account does not neces
sarilymean thatnothing happened in a particular year. On the other hand, the Chronicle ofZuqnin sometimes fails torecord severeweather ornaturalcalamities
thatare found inMichael’s history.As already stated byMorony, bothMichael and the author of theChronicle ofZuqnin based theirearliest accounts on the sixth-centurySyriac writer JohnofEphesus. Michael also used theChronicle of
Dionysius ofTellMahre, whose history started in582. As can be seen inTable 1, Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
TABLE
Year
Spring500 528/29
543-14 546-54 Spring583
Disaster Locusts
Severe winter Plague
Crop failure; Flood 549/50
Locusts
Claimed Results Famine
Wheat fields went unharvested; Live stock dying
Eight year famine; Flood ruined the vine
Lack of bread
Sources8 Zuqnin; Zuqnin Zuqnin
Zuqnin Michael
Josue
THE CHRONICLE OFMICHAEL THE SYRIAN
1.SummaryofdisastersinnorthernSyriaand theJazirainthesixth century a.d.
51
Michael seems tohave missed most ofwhat happened in the sixth century,and his record from this century cannot be considered reliable.7
The agricultural and climatic disasters or catastrophes reportedbyMichael from 600 to 1196 are more interesting (see Appendices 1 and 2). During the
initial 176 years from600 to775, which Michael reconstructedusing theChroni
cle ofZuqnin and theChronicle ofDionysius, Michael recorded 41 different
catastrophes occurring in33 differentyears. Statistically, thatwould mean that tragedywould strikeevery 5.3 years, or that therewas an 18.8 per cent risk for
one or several disasters in any given year.
For thefollowing 68 years from776 to843,Michael reliedon thefinalpart
oftheChronicle ofDionysius. Tenofthese68years(14.7percent)arereported tohave been afflictedwith catastrophes.Michael reported 13 separate disasters for these tendisastrous years: Locusts (8 differentyears), Hail (2 different
years), Storm wind (1 year), Snow (1 year), Freeze (1 year). Unfortunately, the ecclesiastical history of the ninth-centuryPatriarch Dionysius is lost and the onlyreasonthatweknowthaMtichael reliedonitisbecauseheisquotingsome passages of it inhis own work. Thus, we cannot deduce the extent ofMichael’s reliance on theChronicle ofDionysius or how truehe was to it,nor can we saymuch about thehistorical and narrative reliability ofDionysius’ work. The overrepresentation of locusts and theunexpected absence of severewinters and droughts (see below) suggests thatMichael’s reportof thisperiod does not of fer a representative picture of the actual situation, and calls for furthercaution as forusing thisdata in statistical analyses. After theend of theChronicle of
Dionysius in 843, there is a severe gap inMichael’s information lasting until the twelfthcentury.Michael’s apparent lack of reliable sources formore than three centuries, from 775 to the end of the eleventh century,makes this entire
period less suitable for statistical studies.
For the events of the last 100 years of his Chronicle, from 1097 to 1196,
we have toassume thatMichael had sufficientaccess tofirsthandsourceswho
personally witnessed or experienced thevarious events (in addition, of course, toMichael’s ownexperiencesandnotesduringhisownlifetimeM.ichael died
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
52
MAGNUS WIDELL
in 1199, threeyears after theend of his Chronicle). For these 100 years,Michael reported 27 disasters occurring in 20 differentyears. The statistical 20 per cent
risk of having one or several catastrophes in any given year during thisperiod corresponds well with the 18.8 per cent risk in theperiod from600 to775 (see
above). Moreover, a detailed comparison of thedifferentcatastrophes attested in the two periods displays very similar proportions (see Table 2).
TABLE 2. Disasters innorthernSyria and the Jazira in the periods a.d. 600-775 and a.d. 1097-1196
Catastrophe
Severe winter
Locusts
Drought Snow
600-775(176 years) 1097-1196(100years) Total (276 years)
Storm Freeze Hail Flood Plague
Mildew Rain Rats
wind
Weevils
Catastrophes:
27 20
27.0% 68 20.0% 53
24.6% 19.2%
Attesta Yearly risk Attesta
Yearly risk Attesta tions
7.0% 16
5.0% 15 5.4% 7.0% 13 4.7% 3.0% 5 1.8%
1.0% 5 1.8% 1.0% 3 1.1% 1.0% 3 1.1%
2 0.7% 1.0% 2 0.7% 1 0.4% 1 0.4% 1 0.4% 1 0.4%
tions
5.1% 10 5.7% 6 3.4%
2 1.1% 4 2.3% 2 1.1% 2 1.1% 2 1.1% 1 0.6%
1 0.6%
0.6%
0.6% 41 23.3% Affected years: 33 18.8%
tions
Yearly risk
DISTRIBUTION, EFFECTS, SEVERITY,AND NATUREOF THE CATASTROPHES
Unfortunately, theChronicle ofMichael is ratherlaconic in its informationcon cerning theactual resultsof itsenumerated catastrophes and itremainsdifficult
toreconstruct theconcrete impact and severityof thedifferentevents.Moreover, due to the somewhat sensational character of theChronicle ofMichael, we have to allow for exaggeration in both the extent of the development and the consequences of the events described. In addition, some events were no doubt
more local, such as the chicken plague in 1141 or the hail breaking trees and grapevines in the region ofMilitene in the same year, and did not have wide
spread effects.Other disasters, however, such as thefrequentplagues of locusts Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
5.8%
THE CHRONICLE OFMICHAEL THE SYRIAN
(see below), could be devastating to huge areas. As far as catastrophes related to climate are concerned, it should be noted thatmore recent climate records
from the twentiethcenturydisplay very high levels of correlation between the climatic events of Syria and northernMesopotamia. It is therefore likely that
such catastrophes affected relatively large areas.9
It is importanttopoint out thatthe table above only offersa simplified repre
sentationof theprobabilities of catastrophes innorthernSyria and theJazira.The occurrences of climatic and environmental events should not be understood as a stochastic process defined by random variables. The table shows, forexample, that there is an average 5.8 per cent probability that any given year within a period of 276 years is going to have a severe winter. However, the underlying mechanisms for every severe winter can be connected to a number of factors, including the climatic and environmental events of previous year(s). The prob ability fora certain catastrophic eventmay increase (ordecrease) depending on
immediately preceding events. For example, the probability for a widespread outbreak of an epidemic of any disease is affected by the population’s resist
ance tohuman disease, which may be significantlydecreased due tonutritional deficiencies. Thus, all outbreaks of epidemics aremore likely tooccur together with other disasters and general famine. Depending on theparticular nature of
thedisease, some disasters, such as large areas of flooded land, could further exacerbate theoutbreak,while otherdisasters, suchas extremecold, actually could
lessen theprobability of amajor outbreak. Similarly, thecatastrophic gregarisa tion of the locust from its largely harmless solitary phase is not a random event
but is determined by an extremely complex and only partly understood array of external climatic and environmental factors. By performing a large number of random simulations usingMichael theSyrian’s 68 disasters over 267 years,
we areable toestimate theexpected distributionofdisasters iftheeventswere completely random occurrences (see Table 3 and Figure 2). The upper part of the table (A) and thefigure show thatcompared to a random distribution, the risksofhaving several differentdisasters occurring inthesame year aremuch higher inMichael’s Chronicle. Moreover, there is a clear tendency forMichael the Syrian’s disasters to cluster and occur in consecutive years. The lower part of the table (B) shows thatwhile single year events dominate in the random distribution (61.0 per cent of all affected years), only 39.6 per cent of theyears affected with one or more disasters inMichael’s Chronicle were single-year
events.Moreover, Michael theSyrian reportsfive separate sequences with three consecutive disastrous years and one consecutive period of five years with dis asters. The statistical probability for this level of clustering with a distribution of five (ormore) separate periods with three consecutive disastrous years and one (ormore) period with five consecutive years is only 0.0009 (that is, this distribution occurred 9 times out of the 10,000 performed simulations).
The sequential and accumulative nature ofmany climatic and environmental disasters isextremely important.Inhis studyof long-termmacro-climatic change
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
53
54
MAGNUSWIDELL
TABLE 3.The 68 disastersfromTable 2 distributedover276 years independently using 10,000 simulations (two identical disasters cannot occur in the same year) and
according to theChronicle ofMichael theSyrian
#ofaffected 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 years
# from
10,000 simulations
Probability
Michael the M Syrian
of the number of affected years with one or several disasters simulations)usingMichael theSyrian’s 68 disasters.The probabilityforMichael the Syrian’s distribution with 53 affected years is 0.0003. Roughly 83% of the simulations
A. Distribution
(out of 10,000
Sequences of years
with disas
1 2 year years
years
years
years
years
years
years
B. Average
61.0% 26.8%
21 12 15
2.5%
0.7%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
100.0%
53
are in the range 59-64 affected years. 4 5 6 7
9 Total
years #of affected
years Average # 37.4102 16.4570 5.3676 1.5492 0.4085 0.0960 0.0238 0.0104 0.0018 61.3245
sequential years from
10,000 simulations
% of the total # of affected
years
Sequential
years in Michael the
Syrian
% of the
total # of affected years
number of consecutively affected years in 10,000 independent simulations and the number of consecutively affected years in theChronicle ofMichael the Syrian. Single year disasters are significantly more common in the random distribution while three consecutive disastrous years are more than three times as common inMichael’s
Chronicle than they are in the randomly generated distributions. Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
83% of the simulations
39.6% 22.6% 28.3% 0.0% 9.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0%
o
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
55
O ^_ LO
Oo
o LO
Michael
->
83%
?1-!
50 55 60 65
Number of affected years
2. Independentdistributionof 68 disastersover 276 years using 10,000 simulations (two identical disasters cannot occur in the same year). The arrow indi
cates the distribution inMichael the Syrian
and itseffectson, among others,Mesopotamian societies,HarveyWeiss raises the importantquestion of when we may assume thatcrop failure and reduced
agro-production result inpermanent changes tohuman societies. This question, of course, depends largely on the socio-economic structuresof the affected
societies. The high frequency of constantly reoccurring disasters recorded in theChronicle ofMichael the Syrian demonstrates the resilient character of the
settlements innorthernSyria and theJazira.While any natural disaster in this
regionmay have caused severe implications for independent households, the settlements as a whole would be able to deal even with extremely catastrophic
years as long as theywere followed bymore regular years. Only a series of consecutive years with disasters would be able to affect an entire community on a more permanent level.10
From Table 2 itbecomes clear that severe winters were themost frequent disaster followed by plagues of locusts and droughts (especially ifwe include here references to ‘snow’ and ‘freeze’ as well). The extreme cold could kill ani
mals and wither and sometimes kill trees,both ofwhich would have long-term Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
FIGURE
56
MAGNUSWIDELL
effectson theeconomy. The olive tree,forexample, isextremely slow-growing
but very long-lived (trees produce good yields for 50 years ormore). Itwould take a settlementvery long to recover from the losses of itsolive trees.
On some occasions, the cold would freeze all available water, a condition that could rapidly cause animals to die of thirst (for example thewinters of
For example, a modern donkey requires 15-30 litres of unfrozen water per day and will not break any layer of ice on water because of its sensitive nose. A dehydrated donkey might not drink even ifdehydrated. It
will become fussywith its food and eventually stop eating all together. Itwas not only thewinter deep-freeze thataffected livestock such as donkeys, but also
thegeneral harsh conditions ofwinter could adversely affectanimals and their owners. In his article on the life in theBalikh valley, Norman Lewis quotes the British Consul’s economic report of theVilayet ofAleppo for the year 1911, which describes the terriblewinter of 1910/11. In January severe frost set in, accompanied by heavy falls of snow,which continued fornearly twomonths. Sheep and their shepherds are reported to have perished in the snow.Accord ing to the report, 80 per cent of the sheep in the entireVilayet ofAleppo died of cold and hunger.Despite thecold winter and the snow, theharvest of 1911
was reported to have been ‘fairlygood’. This devastating report is verymuch in accordance with reports of severe winters and the deaths of animals in the
Chronicle ofMichael theSyrian (i.e. thewinters of 684, 768/69, 1173/74 and
1175).11 losses of labour or animals would have effectson Large draught long lasting
theeconomy.Moreover, such losses would restrictthepossibilities of transport inggrain and other commodities fromone region toanother and lack of traction
and labourwould certainly exacerbate any agrarian crisis. During thedevastat ing plague in 543-44 as well as during the three successive severe winters of
750/51-752/53 many fields were simply unharvested.12
In thecuneiform textsfromancientMesopotamia, severewinters and cold
weather with snow and frost is a common topic.Moreover, several different accounts fromvarious periods and regions reveal theseverityand oftendevas
tating effects of cold weather in antiquity. In a letterfrom the later part of the second millennium b.c. addressed to theking ofUgarit in north-western Syria from one of his generals, we learn of a fivemonth long cold spell thatwas destroying chariots, killing horses and exhausting the troops (Ugaritica V 20 lines 27-8). A similar concern over the vulnerability of horses in extreme cold is found in a contemporary letterfrom theHittite king Hattusili III to theKas site king Kadashman-Enlil II inBabylon (KBo 110 line 64). In this long letter, the land of Hatti inAnatolia is described as a land with severe winters where old horses are unable to survive. In addition, an analogous reference to severe cold in a fragmentary letterfrom theNeo-Assyrian period, dated to the eighth centuryb.c.,shouldbementioned.Thisletterw,hichwasdiscoveredinNimrud just northofAssur, describes severe cold weather killing both troops and horses.
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1173/74 and 1175).
THE CHRONICLE OFMICHAEL THE SYRIAN
Another so-called Nimrud Letter (C77V5316 = ND 2777) describes how severe
snow in early shabat (Month XI, January-February)made the roads toKalhu
(ancient Nimrud) impossible to travel. These examples are all somehow con nected towarfare, and theconcern is thereforeplaced on troops,chariots, roads and horses rather than on regular people, farms and livestock. However, a few other textsoffer some glimpses of thevery real concern people had regarding severe winters and cold. Hence an Old Babylonian letterdiscovered in Sippar,
located about 35 kilometres southwest ofmodern Baghdad, where Iltani – the author of the letter- ends his letterby describing his predicament as follows:
am starvingand thecold has prostratedme.’13
These numerous attestations in thecuneiform record show thatcold winters
were a major concern in northern Syria and Mesopotamia for both humans and animals throughoutantiquity,verymuch in accordance with thenumerous reportsof severe and devastating winters described in theChronicle ofMichael
the Syrian.
Almost as frequent as severe winters, and one of themost devastating natu
raldisasters innorthernSyria and theJazira,were plagues of locusts.Ruinous
swarms of locusts – theEighth Plague ofEgypt (Exodus 10:12-15) – are known
tohave been ravaging Syria since thebeginning of history.A group of letters dated to theOld Babylonian king Zimri-Lim ofMari shows that the eastern
parts of Syria suffered from two locust infestations that lasted for at least two consecutive yearseachduringthefirsthalfoftheeighteenthcenturyb.c.Swarms
of locusts appear inearly springwhen thecrops are ripening and can destroy an entire year’s harvest. In addition, the locusts will devour seeds and vegetables
and ravage trees and orchards. In some years (that is 1081, 1121, 1135 and 1136) invasions of locusts are recorded tohave done only littleor no damage.
The exact nature of these harmless outbreaks remains unclear. In some cases, outbreaks or upsurges of locusts do not lead tomore serious plagues because of poor rainfall ormigration to unfavourable areas. Two kinds of locusts can cause plagues inwestern Asia.14
The Moroccan locusts (Dociostaurus maroccanus, Thunb.) will eat anything
and appear in temporarybreeding areas where they increase extremely rapidly. The females lay theireggs in springor early summer inbare, often stony,areas
located in the lower slopes of borderingmountains. The eggs will hatch some
tenmonths later in the spring of the following year when the crops are green
(forexample theyears713-714,804-805-806-807,830/31-831 /32)W.olfgang Heimpel has suggested the ranges of theJabal Sinjar and Jabal Abd al-Aziz
to the east and west of theHabur river in north-eastern Syria, or Tur Abdin in
southeastTurkey, as possible hatching areas for theMoroccan locust in theOld
Babylonian period. Since infestationsare known to spread concentrically up to two hundred kilometres from theoriginal hatching areas, thiswould mean that
almost theentireregionofnorthernSyria and theJaziracould have been regularly affected by swarms ofMoroccan locusts in thisperiod. Today, theMoroccan
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
57
58
MAGNUS WIDELL
locusts have permanent breeding areas in theHabur area and all over central Anatolia. One of themost famous references to locusts in ancientMesopota mia is ametaphor of the invadingGutians in theCurse ofAgade. The text is a
poetic narrativewritten during theUr III period (2111-2003 b.c.), or perhaps even earlier,describing thefall,destruction, and ultimate curse of theAkkadian capital and state.Because of the sacrilegious deeds of kingNaramsin ofAkkad, thegod Enlil summoned thefierceGutians from thedistantmountains to invade the land (lines 157-8): ‘Enlil brought them (theGutians) from themountains, like hordes of locusts, theycovered theearth’. The fact thatthishostile invasion intoMesopotamia from themountains was poetically described as an invasion of locusts, suggests that locust infestations inMesopotamia were traditionally considered to originate inmountainous regions. This would fitnicely with the breeding habits of theMoroccan locust.15
The desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria, Forsk.) is less common in Syria
butpotentially evenmore devastating thantheMoroccan locust toagricultural areas. It lives in its solitary phase in the arid and semi-arid areas of Africa,
theMiddle East, and southwestAsia. Gregarious locustsmigrate invery large swarms. They invade new regions far outside their recession habitat and can cause extreme damage to crops and pasture over huge areas. The desert locusts also appear in the springbut unlike theMoroccan locusts, theireggs have a very shortincubationperiod of 10-65 days depending on soil temperatures.The larval
period (hopper stage) lasts 30-40 days and is often devastating to crops, which are stillgreenwhen marching bands of hungryhoppers are formed.The females
lay theireggs inbare areas of slightlymoist and sandy soil in intervalsof 6-11 days. Because the laying takes place in intervals, the eggs do not hatch at the same time, and swarmsmay contain locusts in various stages of development. The new generation desert locusts (the fledglings and adults) will devour the
same crops as theearlier generation and those thatripen later in theyear.16 The frequency of locust infestations recorded byMichael the Syrian can
be compared tomore modern data. According toMichael the Syrian, northern Syria and theJazirawere invaded by locusts roughly every 23 years (at three separate occasions the infestations lasted for two consecutive years). This can be
compared to data on infestations in Israel between 1860 and 1960 when seven
outbreakswere recorded fortheyears 1865,1878,1900-1902,1915,1928-1930, 1941-1944,1959-1960. Thus, theoutbreaks innineteenthand twentiethcentury
Israel occurred, on theaverage, roughlyevery 14years, significantlymore often (and formore prolonged periods) thanMichael theSyrian recorded fornorthern
Syria and theJazira.The average numberofyearsbetween theoutbreaks inIsrael was 13.5 years (with a standard deviation of only 3.89). The regularity of the outbreaks is remarkable, and ithas been suggested that locust invasions in the
Near East are periodic events occurring every 11 to 13 years. However, the idea of such inherentbreeding cycles should be rejected, and theoutbreaks recorded byMichael theSyrian do not suggest any periodicity.The number of uninfested
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE CHRONICLE OFMICHAEL THE SYRIAN
years between the outbreaks inMichael the Syrian’s Chronicle vary from 1 to
74 years with an average of 22.6 years (standard deviation: 25.64).17
Finally, severe droughts should be mentioned as one of themost frequent reasons forwidespread famines in northern Syria and the Jazira inMichael the
Syrian’s Chronicle. Not only could the lack of rain ruin vegetables and crops but itcould also completely dry up the springs and rivers and cause people and animals to die of thirst(for example, the years 721/22 or 1148). According to
Marten Stol, theAkkadian word fordrought is ublum. Only a fewOld Babylo nian lettersand other textsfrom theearly secondmillennium b.c. are concerned with droughts and the effects of drought. In the fragmentary letterAbB 5 198
discovered inNippur insouthernMesopotamia, theauthorof theletterpleads
that the ‘youngmen (or servants) should not die throughdrought’. In another
letterof complaint, theauthor laments will die throughfamine and drought.’ Finally, an Old Babylonian incantation addressed to the god Enki concerning theeffectsof black magic, enumerates various disasters being endured: ‘hehas
cast overme famine, thirst,drought, cold andmisery’. The particular enumera tion in this textof drought and cold isworthy of note, andmay imply thatthese
differentdisasters were associated in the ancient world.18
DISCUSSION
The data from theChronicle ofMichael the Syrian suggest that climatic and
agricultural disasters were very common in northern Syria and the Jazira in
antiquity.On the average, about 1 year in 5 was affectedwith one or several
catastrophes in theChronicle. The most common and serious disasters were
severe winters, plagues of locusts and droughts, which each occurred on the
average roughlyevery 20 years.How were theancient settlementsable tohandle
frequentcatastrophes anddisasters thatconstantlyoccurred inthismarginal area of northernSyria and theJazira?
Many of theclimatic or environmental catastrophes enumerated byMichael theSyrian, such as extreme droughts or plagues of locusts, could affect several
or all aspects of theeconomy. However, other catastrophes could be devastating to one or a few sectors of the economy while they apparently did littleor no direct damage to other areas of the economy. As an example of the latter type
of disaster, extremely cold winters can be mentioned. Severe winters and cold weather could kill large numbers of animals and trees,but such winters were often followed by normal, or even exceptional, harvests. Other studies have
shown that there is a strong association between cold winters and increased average annual rainfall in theMiddle East, and only once during the276 years discussed in thisarticle do we find evidence thatcolder winters coincided with
droughts; according toMichael the Syrian, the year 1135 was affected by a drought thathad started already in 1133. This long drought was immediately
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
59
60
ErsterBand (Heidelberg:CarlWinter, 1920),Abb. 45) Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
MAGNUSWIDELL
FIGURE 3. Relief fromthepalace of Sennacherib (704-681 b.c.) with locustsand otherfoodstuffpreparedfor thegrill (BrunoMeissner, Babylonien undAssyrien,
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
followed (and alleviated?) by the severe winter of 1135/36.19
Years with warm winters would be beneficial to the social organisation based on livestock raising, but such years would also be more likely to experience
extremely dryweather resulting in crop failures.Although the economy of the settlements in northernMesopotamia was based on cereal farming, there can
be no doubt that sheep and goat herding (both nomadic and sedentary) played a crucial role in the region. The animals themselves served as a necessary store
of grain surplus from years with good harvests for the constantly reoccurring bad years.Moreover, a diversified subsistence of the settlementswas essential inorder to absorb some of the risks that life in thismarginal semiarid environ
ment involved.20
Large swarms of locusts could be devastating to cultivated fields, pasture,
and even trees, and would thereforehave devastating effects on every aspect of the economy. However, it should be noted that the locust itself is extremely nutritious.Around 62percentofthedryweightofanadultdesertlocustconsists of protein and around 17 per cent of fats. Inmany parts of theNear East, locusts are eaten during periods of increased locust activity, and thismay, at least to some extent,counteractwidespread famine, especially since locusts can be dried and eaten later. Indeed, cuneiform texts and iconographie material show that
roasted locusts were considered a delicacy in ancientMesopotamia.21
The local character of some of thedisasters described byMichel theSyrian
is noteworthy and it seems possible that transportsof grain between different villages and regions could have been used to relieve severely hit areas. Jean
etteC. Fincke has recently suggested thatoverland transportsof agricultural produce in theNuzi statemay have been initiated to help specific areas with
crop failures. Such potential relief transports should be taken into account in
any reconstructions of early interregional transportsof grain, andmay suggest that the functionalistic position that transportson land (by pack animals either alone or pulling carts) of grain innorthernMesopotamia in the thirdmillennium
were uneconomic, and thereforeof insignificant importance, should be recon sidered.Moreover, as already noted by Gil Stein, the environment and climate of the northmade urbanism ‘a risky business’. A flexible and more dispersed
settlementpatternwith smallerruralsettlements,ratherthanafewlargertowns, makes more sense in an environment of local catastrophes.22
CONCLUSIONS
In the scenario proposed by Harvey Weiss et al., the collapse of urban-scale settlements in northern Syria in the late thirdmillennium is explained by an extreme aridification which resulted in recurring droughts. The aridification
reduced agro-production and ultimately led to site and regional abandonment of the rain-fed agricultural zone of northern Iraq and Syria. The data derived
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
61
62
MAGNUS WIDELL
equally – or even more – devastating to the region.More importantly,thenega tive effects of extremely bad winters would be sufferedfor several consecutive years, since theywould kill trees and animals. The losses of trees and draught animals would have long lasting effects on the agricultural production while widespread losses of sheep and goats would completely exhaust several years
ofcollectedagriculturalsurplusW.hile severedroughtsarelikelytoincreasein
frequencyduringaperiodofaridificationandcooling, soareseverewinters,and thedata suggests thatwinters and cold weather may have been an equally serious
threatto thepopulations of northernSyria and theJazira, especially when such winters were not followed by any intensificationof annual precipitation. The
extended catastrophic results of cold winters and thenegative effectson several
differentaspects of theeconomy are extremely important.The constantly recur ring catastrophes enumerated byMichael theSyrian demonstrate theresilient nature of the settlements in this region in antiquity. It seems clear thatonly a recurrent series of several extreme disasters would cause permanent changes
to the settlementpatterns of the region, especially if several importantaspects of theeconomy were affected simultaneously.
from theChronicle ofMichael the Syrian confirm thatdrought indeed was a recurringthreattothefarmersinnorthernSyriaand theJazira,even inaperiod ofmore normal climatic conditions. However, ancient references todroughts in this region are surprisingly rare. In fact, in both theChronicle ofMichael theSyrian and in thecuneiform textrecord, references to locust infestationsor, in particular, extremely cold weather are farmore frequent than the references todroughts. Extreme winters with snow and frozen riversappear tohave been
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
63
APPENDIX 1:Years affectedwith catastrophesinnorthernSyria and theJazira 600-1196
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
64
APPENDIX 2: Summaryof disasters innorthernSyria and theJazira600-1196
Year 600-601
1Spring602
iSpring605 607
611 647 655 669 678/79
[Spring680 684
687 694 706
Spring713
A1pril714
[May714 714
ISpring715
ISpring721 721/22
1Spring723
1Spring739? 742/43?
744_45 Zu
qnin: 743 750/51 752/53
Disaster
Drought; Storm wind
Locusts Locusts
Severe winter
Drought Storm wind
Severe winter Rats
Locusts
Severe winter
Drought Freeze
Locusts; Storm wind
Freeze Locusts
Drought Hail
Locusts Drought
Locusts Flood
Severe winter; Storm wind; Flood
Severe winter
3 Severe winters; Locusts; Mildew;
Claimed Results
Olives and other treeswithered
Destroyed seeds and fruits
Famine
Euphrates froze; Seeds and treeswithered
Crops perished; Famine
Weevils [Spring763 Locusts
Olives, vines withered; People, animals died of cold
Lack of grain; Famine
Lack of grain; Famine Olives, vines withered Trees uprooted by thewind
Trees, plants, vines withered Destroyed fields, plants, vines
Killed animals, including camels and donkeys Destroyed olives, figs, vines
Springs, rivers dried up; Lack of grain, veg etables; Desertation of many places
Destroyed harvest; Famine
Presumably, Michael and ZuqninlDionysius are here referring to the same eventful year.
According toMorony (2000, ?7, n. 28), Zu qnin is notoriously cavalier about chronology.
Severe Famine; Epidemic bubonic plague
Rivers froze, Damage to vines, olive trees, gardens, seeds; Pests damage vines, trees, fruit,wheat; Many fields unharvested; Famine
Destroyed seeds Killed horses
Destroyed seeds Killed cattle, sheep
No winter rain, ruined the crop Ruining vines, trees
763-64
ISpring766 768/69
772/73 Fall 773
Environment
Plague
Locusts Snow
Drought Snow; Hail
and History 13.1
MAGNUS WIDELL
Trees
Lack
Olives,
Destroyed seeds; Famine
uprooted
of grain; Famine
other trees, vines withered
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Year 773/74
iSpring785
1Spring804
ISpring805
1Spring806
Spring807 Jan 810?
830 or 831
831 or 832 833 842/43 843
1037
Spring1081 1082
Spring1121 1121/22
1123 1127/28 1133-35
ISpring1135 1135/36
!Spring1136 1136/37
1139/40
[May 1141 June 1141
Disaster
Severe winter
Locusts Locusts Locusts Locusts Locusts
Storm wind Hail; Locusts
Locusts
Claimed Results
Destroyed vines and withered trees (Olive,
1141
1148
1151/52 Snow; Rain 1165
1172
1173/74
1175
1177
1178/79 ISpring1196
Drought
Drought Locusts
Destroyed grain; Famine Destroyed grain, vines
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
65
Freeze Hail; Locusts
Locusts
Locusts
Severe winter
Drought Severe winter
Drought Locusts
Severe winter Locusts
Severe winter; Snow
Severe winter Hail
Storm wind
Snow;
Plague Drought
Freeze; Snow Severe winter Severe winter
Pomegranate, Palm)
all crops and vegetables; Famine all crops
crops; Famine
crops; Famine
crops; Famine
Fig, Apple,
Destroyed
Destroyed
Destroyed
Destroyed
Destroyed
All vine,
Destroyed olive trees
Destroyed crops, vine, trees Lack of grain; Famine
Seeds fail to germinate; Famine; Disease
Destroyed seeds, crops; Famine; Disease Lack of grain; Famine
Little damage
Lack of grain, vines; Famine
Little damage Rivers froze
Famine that lasted until 1125 Famine
grain, fruits destroyed
crops; Locusts destroyed vines,
to the crops
Rivers froze; Late harvest Ruin vines, trees
Trees uprooted Killed chickens
Springs dried up; Desertation of many places Destroyed seeds, crops
Lack of wheat
Ruin vines, olives, sesame, crops All water froze; Thirst; Famine
All water froze; Cattle, donkeys, horses died; Thirst; Famine
Destroyed seeds, grain; Desertation of places; Famine
No damage
No damage Rivers froze
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Environment and History 13.1
66
MAGNUSWIDELL
NOTES
This articlewas writtenwithin theprojectModeling Bronze Age SettlementSystems inaDynamic Environmentof theUniversityofChicago (OrientalInstituteandDepart
ment ofAnthropology),theUniversityofDurham and theArgonneNational Laboratory, fundedby theNational Science FoundationProgram:Dynamics ofCoupled Natural and
Human Systems (GrantNo. 0216548). An earlierdraftof thepaperhas benefitedgreatly from comments by Jesse Casana, Gil Stein and Tony Wilkinson. I am also most grateful toDarongsai Kwon andBenjaminVerschuere fortheirinvaluableassistancewith the statisticalsimulationsin thispaper.
References to cuneiform texts in this article follow the abbreviations and conventions
used inThe AssyrianDictionary of theOriental Instituteof theUniversityofChicago (Chicago and Gl?ckstadt: The Oriental Institute,1956ff.)andWolfgang Von Soden,
AkkadischesHandw?rterbuch (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1959-74) (hereafter CAD andAHw).
1For a most recent study on the profound impact that environment has on practically
everything, see Shepard Krech III, J.R.McNeill and Carolyn Merchant (eds.), Encyclo pediaofWorldEnvironmentaHlistory,3vols.(NewYork:Routledge,2004);seealsothe extensivereviewbyTed Steinberg,’FertilizingtheTree ofKnowledge: Environmental
HistoryComes ofAge’, JournalofInterdisciplinarHyistory 35/2(2004): 265-77, em phasising the unnatural aspects of many historical ‘natural’ disasters. For the climate of northern Syria and the Jazira in the Bronze Age, see, for example, Hasan Niizhet
Dalfes,GeorgeKukla andHarveyWeiss (eds.),ThirdMillenniumBC ClimateChange
andOldWorldCollapse,NATOASISeriesI:GlobalEnvironmentaClhange49(Berlin:
Springer-Verlag, 1997); H. Weiss, M.-A. Courty, W. Wetterstrom, F. Guichard, L. Sen ior,R. Meadow and A. Curnow, ‘The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North
Mesopotamian Civilizations’, Science 261 (1993), 995-1004; Harvey Weiss, ‘Beyond
theYoungerDryas:Collapse asAdaptation toAbruptClimateChange inAncientWest Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean’, in Environmental Disaster and the Archaeology ofHuman Response, ed. Garth Bawden and Richard Martin Rey craft (Albuquerque:
MaxwellMuseumofAnthropologyU,niversityofNewMexico,2000),75-98;Marie Agnes Courty and Harvey Weiss, ‘The Scenario of Environmental Degradation in theTell LeilanRegion,Ne Syria,During theLateThirdMillenniumAbruptClimateChange’,
inThirdMillennium BC Climate Change and Old World Collapse, ed. Hasan Niizhet
Dalfes, George Kukla andHarveyWeiss, NATO ASI Series I:Global Environmental
Change 49 (Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1997), 107^17. Note, however, a general settle ment increase – rather than decrease – that appears to have taken place in some areas
of northern Syria at the end of the third millennium b.c. (T.J. Wilkinson, Excavations
at Tell Es-Sweyhat, Syria, Volume 1: On theMargin of theEuphrates: Settlement and Land Use at Tell Es-Sweyhat and in theUpper Lake Assad Area, Syria [Chicago: The Oriental Institute2,004], 193).
For numerous climate changes in the mid-to-late Holocene in northern Syria, see Frank Hole, ‘Evidence forMid-Holocene Environmental Change in theWestern Khabur Drainage, Northeastern Syria’, inThird Millennium BC Climate Change and Old World Collapse, op.cit., 39-66,41 ;see also J.Neumann and Simo Parp?la, ‘Climate Change and
theEleventh-Tenth-Century Eclipse ofAssyria and Babylonia’, Journal of ear Eastern Studies46 (1987), 146-82; andBurchardBrentjes, ‘KaltzeitenundV?lkerbewegungen. Thesen zum Zusammenhang von Klimaschwankungen und V?lkerbewegungen im sp?ten
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
2 Jahrtausend .Chr.’, inLandwirtschaft imAlten Orient, ed. Horst Klengel and Johan nesRenger,BerlinerBeitr?ge zumVorderenOrient 18 (Berlin:DietrichReimerVerlag, 1999), 59-63. For a balanced discussion of climate change and itspotential impacton
site and regional abandonment, see Richard L. Zettler, ‘Reconstructing theWorld of Ancient Mesopotamia: Divided Beginnings and Holistic History’, Journal of theEco
nomicand Social History of theOrient 46 (2003), 3-45; KarlW. Butzer, ‘Sociopolitical Discontinuity in theNear East C. 2200 B.C.E.: Scenarios from Palestine and Egypt’, in
ThirdMillenniumBC ClimateChange andOldWorldCollapse, op.cit.,245-96.
2Gil J. Stein, ‘Structural Parameters and Sociocultural Factors in the Economic Organiza tionofNorthMesopotamianUrbanismintheThirdMillenniumB.C. ‘,inArchaeological
Perspectives on Political Economies, ed. Gary M. Feinmann and Linda M. Nicholas (Salt
Lake City:UniversityofUtah Press,2004), 61-83,62, withdata fromHarveyWeiss ‘The Origins ofTell Leilan and theConquest of Space inThirdMillenniumMesopotamia’, in
The Origins ofCities BC, ed. HarveyWeiss see also T.J. Wilkinson,
inDry Farming Syria andMesopotamia in theThirdMillennium (Guilford:Four Quarters PublishingCo., 1986), 71-108, 77;
‘The Structure and Dynamics of Dry-Farming States inUpper Anthropology 35 (1994), 483-520, 499-500.
Mesopotamia’, Current
3For amost recent study on the effects of the industrialisation and increased atmospheric
C02 levels on climate and agriculture, see Jos? Luis Araus, Gustavo Ariel Slafer, Ramon
Buco and inPrehistoric Mod IgnacioRomagosa,’Productivity AgricultureP:hysiological
els for the Quantification of Cereal Yields as an Alternative to Traditional JournalofArchaeological Science 30 (2003), 681-93, 683.
4For a general picture of dry-farming agriculture in northern Syria and
Approaches’,
the Jazira in an
see also Katleen Deckers,AnthracologicalResearchattheArchaeologicalSiteofEmaronthMeiddle
tiquity, see ‘ Stein ‘Structural Parameters’, 67-8; with further references;
Euphrates, Syria’, Pal?orient. Revue pluridisciplinaire de pr?histoire et protohistoire
de l’Asiedu Sud-Ouest etde l’Asie centrale31/2 (2005), 153-67. For thecultivationof
barley,wheat and emmer in thecuneiformtextsfromTell Beydar, seeMagnus Widell, ‘Some Observations on theAdministration, Agriculture and Animal Management of
Tell Beydar’, Ugarit-Forschungen. Internationales Jahrbuch f?r die Altertumskunde
Syrien-Pal?stinas 35 (2004), 717-33, 724-26; for wine or grapes in Tell Beydar, see Walther Sallaberger and Philippe Talon, ‘Transliterated Texts’, inAdministrative Docu
ments from Tell Beydar (Seasons 1993-1995), ed. Farouk Ismail, Walther Sallaberger, PhilippeTalonandKarelVanLerberghe,Subartu2(TurnhoutB:repols,1996),127-74, 130 (textno. 6). For thecultivationofolives inEbla, seeHartmuWt aetzoldt, ‘?lpflanzen
und Pflanzen?le im 3. Jahrtausend’, Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 2 (1985), 77-96, 77 and 79-80; Alfonso Archi, ‘Culturede l’olivier et productionde l’huile ? Ebla’, in
Marchands, diplomates et empereurs. ?tudes sur la civilization M?sopotamienne offertes ?Paul Garelli, ed.Dominique CharpinandFrancisJoannes(Paris:?ditionsRecherche
surlesCivilisations, 1991),211-22.
5Michael G. Morony, ‘Michael the Syrian as a Source for Economie History’, Hugoye:
Journal ofSyriac Studies 3 (2000), available from http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/. Al though Michael’s chronicle records ravaging or pillaging at the hands of humans, such
data cannotbe applied on thecompletelydifferentculturaland political settingof the
thirmdillenniumb.c.,andthisinformationhasnotbeenincludedinthisanalysis(hence
Michael’s reportonMuslims killing pigs in 994 or 820). Nevertheless, it should be stated that conflicts, wars and ravaging groups also constituted an additional constant
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
67
68
MAGNUSWIDELL
threat to the farmers of the thirdmillennium b.c. It goes without saying that this threat became more serious in times of famine, when large groups in the society were unable to produce food by peaceful means and when the settlements were less able to defend
themselves. See further Neumann and Parp?la, ‘Climate Change and the Eleventh-Tenth
161.
Great, see DorotheaWeltecke, ‘TheWorld Chronicle by PatriarchMichael theGreat (1126-1199): SomeReflections\JournalofAssyrianAcademicStudies 11(1997),6-30, 17);seealsoAbdulmesihBarAbrahem,’PatriarcMhichael theGreat:BeyondhisWorld
Chronicle’, JournalofAssyrianAcademic Studies 12 (1998), 33-45, 33-8.
7For a recent, more comprehensive, study of the historical and narrative reliability of the Chronicle of Michael the Syrian, see Dorothea Weltecke, ‘Originality and Func tion of Formal Structures in theChronicle ofMichael theGreat’, Hugoye: Journal of
Century Eclipse’,
6ForanoutlineofthelifeofMichael theSyrian(sometimesreferredtoasMichael the
Syriac Studies 3 (2000), available from http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/. used by Michael the Syrian, see also BarAbrahem, ‘Patriarch Michael
For the Chronicle of Zuqnin – presumably an eighth-century monk
For the sources the Great’, 41-3.
at the monastery of Zuqnin in Tour Abdin – see Amir Harrak, The Chronicle of Zuqnin, Parts III and
IV,A.D. 488-775 (Toronto:PontificialInstitututoefMediaeval Studies, 1999);Witold
Witakowski, The Syriac Chronicle ofPseudo-Dionysius ofTell-Magre.A Study in the
History ofHistoriography (Uppsala:Almqvist& Wiksell International,1987);Witold
Witakowski, Pseudo-Dionysius ofTel-Mahre, Chronicle, Part III (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1996). For John of Ephesus, sometimes referred to as John of Asia,
see furtherMorony, ‘Michael the Syrian’, ?5; Susan A. Harvey, ‘Theodora the “Believ
ingQueen”: A Study inSyriacHistoriographicalTradition’,Hugoye: JournalofSyriac Studies 4 (2001), ??16-18, ?30, available from http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/. As for the unreliable nature ofMichael the Syrian’s account for the sixth century, it should be
noted thatMichael hardly seems to acknowledge the well-known and significant global event around 536-45, documented by David Keys, Catastrophe. An Investigation into theOriginsofthMeodernWorld(NewYork:Ballantine,1999);andJoelD.Gunn,The
Years without Summer: Tracing A.D. 536 and itsAftermath, BAR International Series 872 (OxfordA: rchaeopress, 2000), with furtherliterature.
8 Josue = Chronicle of Josue the Stylite. Paulin Martin, Cronique de Josu? le Styl
ite,Abhandlungen f?r die Kunde des Morgenlandes 6, Band 1 (Leipzig: Deutschen Morgenl?ndischen Gesellschaft, 1876); Michael = Chronicle ofMichael the Syrian. Jean-BaptisteChabot, Cronique deMichel leSyrien (Paris:E. Leroux, 1899; rpt.edn., Bruxelles: Culture etCivilisation, 1963); Zuqnin = Chronicle ofZuqnin. Harrak, The
Chronicle ofZuqnin.
9Hence, the locusts of the year 500, which are reported to have devoured everything from the territory of Assur to theMediterranean and the land of Urtea in the north, or the outbreakof 1196,which affectedtheentirearea fromthebordersofEgypt toIberiaand fromIran to theBlack Sea (seeMorony, ‘Michael theSyrian’, ?19 and ?23). There can
belittledoubtthatsuchlargeinfestationwserecausedbythedesertlocust(seebelow). For the climatic correlation between Syria and northern Mesopotamia, see Neumann and
Parp?la, ‘Climate Change and theEleventh-Tenth-Century Eclipse’, 168-71.
10See Weiss ‘Beyond theYounger Dryas’, 91: ‘First, precisely when does crop failure and reduced agro-production generate abandonment, habitat-tracking, nomadism, and system collapse, within various politico-economic systems and across various terrains
Environment and History 13.1
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
THE CHRONICLE OF MICHAEL THE SYRIAN
inGreece, Palestine, Egypt, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Indus?’
11Norman Lewis, ‘The Balikh Valley and its People’, inHammam Et – Turkman I.
Report on the University of Amsterdams 1981-84 Excavations in Syria II, ed. Maurits N. Van Loon (Leiden:Nederlands Instituutvoor hetNabije Osten, 1988), 683-95, 689.
For the report, which was unavailable tome, see Raff A. Fontana, Report for the Year 1911 on theTrade and Commerce of theVilayetofAleppo. ParliamentaryPapers,Vol.
C, 1912-13(1912).
1F2or the important role of donkeys and other draft animals in the agricultural production
in northern Syria in the Bronze Age, seeWidell, ‘Some Observations on theAdministra
tion,Agriculture and Animal Management of Tell Beydar’, 717-33.
13For numerous references towinters, frost and cold weather, see CAD and AHw under
e/arijatu, halp?, hurb?su, kupp?, kussu/k?su, mamm?, salgu, sur?pu, surupp?, taks?tu. Other relateddisastersdescribedbyMichael theSyrian,suchas hail, isalsowell attested
(seeCAD underahnuA6 andAHw under tiku2c).
For a recentEnglish translationofKBo ITO, seeGary Beckman,HittiteDiplomatic
Texts, Second Edition (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999), 138-43. For theNeo-Assyrian letter describing cold weather killing troops and horses, see H. W. S. Saggs, ‘The Nimrud
Letters, 1952-PartV, Iraq 21 (1959), 158-80, 172 (textLXI). AdditionalNeo-Assyr ian letters referring to extreme cold and its effect on livestock, plants and roads can be found in Govert Van Driel, ‘Weather: Between the Natural and the Unnatural in First
Millennium Cuneiform Inscriptions’ inDiederik J.W Meijer (ed.) Natural Phenomena.
Their Meaning, Depiction and Description in theAncient Near East (Amsterdam, 1992), 39-52,47-49. Note also theOld Babylonian letteArRM 167,whichdescribesabriefbut devastating hail storm that destroyed agricultural fields in north-eastern Syria. The letter
was written by Yaqqim-Addu, governor of the province of Sagar?tum in theHabur area,
tothefamous Zimri-Lim inMari For thecorrect of king (1779-1757 b.c.). interpretation
this text, see Jean-Marie Durand, ‘Trois etudes surMari’, Mari Annales de Recherches
Interdisciplinaires3 (1984), 127-80, 137.
14For these ancient plagues of locusts in Syria, see Wolfgang Heimpel, ‘Moroccan Lo
custs inQattunan’, Revue d’assyriologie et d’arch?ologie orientale 90 (1996), 101-20; Brigitte Lion and C?cile Michel, ‘Criquets et autres insectes ?Mari’, Mari Annales de
Recherches Interdisciplinaires 8 (1997), 707-24; Niele Ziegler’s extensive review of Maurice Birot, Correspondance des gouverneurs de Qattun?n, ARM 27 (Paris: ?ditions
Recherches surlesCivilisations, 1993), inArchivf?rOrientforschung46-47 1999/2000),
328-30.
1F5or a detailed description of the development stages, general behaviour, and habitat of theMoroccan locust, see Boris P. Uvarov, ‘Ecology of theMoroccan Locust in Iraq and Syria’, Bulletin ofEntomological Research 24 (1933). For a translation and commen taryof theCurse ofAgade, see JerroldS. Cooper, The Curse ofAgade (Baltimoreand
London: JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress, 1983); forthepassage inthistextconcerning locusts, see also Wolfgang Heimpel, Tierbilder in der sumerischen Literatur (Rome:
PapstlichesBibelinstitut,1968,446.
16
For a detaileddescriptionof thedevelopmentstages,generalbehaviour,andhabitatof the
desert locust, see Philip. M. Symmons and Keith Cressman, Desert Locust Guidelines. 1.
BiologyandBehaviour (Rome:Food andAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations,
2001, Second edition), available from http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/oldsite/PUBS 1 .htm; Ezekiel Rivnay,Field Crop Pests in theNear East (TheHague: W. Junk,1962).
324-36,
Environment and History
This content downloaded from 128.228.173.41 on Thu, 20 Aug 2015 21:19:37 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
13.1
69