1509 Constantinople earthquake

The Sea of Marmara is a pull-apart basin formed at a releasing bend in the North Anatolian Fault, a right-lateral strike-slip fault. This local zone of extension occurs where this transform boundary between the Anatolian plate and the Eurasian plate steps northwards to the west of Izmit from the Izmit Fault to the Ganos Fault. The pattern of faults within the Sea of Marmara basin is complex but near Istanbul there is a single main fault segment with a sharp bend. To the west, the fault trends west–east and is pure strike-slip in type. To the east, the fault is NW-SE trending and shows evidence of both normal and strike-slip motion. Major shocks occurred at half-hour intervals and were violent and protracted in nature, forcing residents to seek refuge in open parks and squares. Reports were sent to the capital that the earthquake caused damage even in Edirne, Çorlu, Gallipoli and Dimetoka, which were part of the Rumelia Province of the Empire. == Damage ==

The area of significant damage (greater than VII (Very strong)) extended from Çorlu in the west to Izmit in the east. Galata and Büyükçekmece also suffered severe damage. In Constantinople 109 mosques were utterly destroyed, while most of those left standing suffered damage to their minarets. While 1,070 homes collapsed, 49 towers along the Walls of Constantinople also collapsed or were damaged. The newly built Bayezid II Mosque was badly damaged; the main dome was destroyed and a minaret collapsed. The Fatih Mosque suffered damage to its four great columns and the dome was split. The quake also damaged the Rumeli Fortress, Anadolu Fortress, the Yoros Castle in Anadolu Kavağı, and the Maiden's Tower. == Aftermath ==

The sultan's residence, Topkapı Palace, was not damaged. However, Bayezid II's bedroom collapsed at the tremor, with the sultan only saved by the fact he had left his chambers a few hours earlier to get up for prayer. After staying for ten days in a tent set up in the palace garden, Bayezid II went to stay in the former capital of Edirne. Afterward, an empire-wide initiative was launched to reconstruct the city. Tens of thousands of workers, stonemasons, and carpenters were brought to Istanbul from both Anatolia and Rumelia. Beginning on 29 March 1510, construction work in the city was done hastily and completed on 1 June 1510. == Interpretations and prophecies ==

Due to the endless aftershocks and the destruction and loss caused by the earthquake, Ottoman historians and the people described the disaster as Minor Judgment Day (Kıyamet-i Suğra). This phrase comes from an Islamic eschatological tradition that associates earthquakes with the apocalypse, referencing the Surah Al-Zalzala, the 99th chapter of the Quran, which tells of the arrival of the Last Judgment with a terrible earthquake. The earthquake was allegedly predicted by an unnamed Greek monk from Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai while present in the sultan's court. == See also ==