# Canonical recap data for Earthquake in Tabriz Devastates Northern Iran (1780)
# Source: https://recap.at/1780/tabriz-earthquake-1780
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: tabriz-earthquake-1780
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1780/tabriz-earthquake-1780"
title: Earthquake in Tabriz Devastates Northern Iran
aliases:
- 1780 Tabriz earthquake
- Tabriz seismic disaster
- Great Tabriz earthquake
subtitle: One of history's deadliest earthquakes killed an estimated 100,000 people in Tabriz, marking a catastrophic natural disaster in the Safavid era.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1780-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1780
decade: 1780
country:
name: Iran
slug: iran
summaryShort: An earthquake, also called a quake, tremor, or temblor, is the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the
summaryLong: An earthquake, also called a quake, tremor, or temblor, is the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage critical infrastructure, and wreak destruction across entire cities. The seismic activity of an area is the frequency, type, and size of earthquakes experienced over a particular time. The seismicity at a particular location in the Earth is the average rate of seismic energy released per unit volume.
lede: On September 4, 1780, a massive earthquake struck Tabriz in northwestern Iran, flattening much of the city and killing an estimated 100,000 people. It ranks among the deadliest seismic events in recorded history and left the region's economic and cultural infrastructure devastated for decades.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Quake_epicenters_1963-98.png/1280px-Quake_epicenters_1963-98.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Earthquake"
importance: 68
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: September 4, 1780
- label: Location
  value: Tabriz, Azerbaijan Province, Iran
- label: Estimated deaths
  value: 100,000
- label: Magnitude (estimated)
  value: 7.4–7.9
- label: Primary destruction
  value: Nearly complete destruction of Tabriz's built environment
- label: Historical rank
  value: One of the deadliest earthquakes in recorded history
timeline:
- date: 1780-09-04
  title: Main shock
  description: A powerful earthquake struck Tabriz, destroying most structures in the city and killing an estimated 100,000 residents.
- date: 1780-09-04
  title: Immediate aftermath
  description: Survivors faced destroyed housing, collapsed mosques, bazaars, and administrative buildings throughout the city center.
- date: 1780-12-31
  title: Year-end assessments
  description: By year's end, the scale of the disaster was recognized as among the most catastrophic seismic events in contemporary accounts.
- date: 1781-01-01
  title: Reconstruction begins
  description: Slow and incomplete reconstruction efforts commenced, hampered by limited resources and continued aftershock damage.
- date: 1790-01-01
  title: Decade of recovery
  description: A decade after the quake, Tabriz remained substantially depopulated and economically diminished despite modest rebuilding.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake"
  title: Earthquake
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Tabriz earthquake of 1780 was one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 18th century. The scale of destruction-leveling a major Safavid-era city-demonstrated the vulnerability of densely populated urban centers to seismic activity and prompted early scientific documentation of earthquake mechanics.
categories:
- disaster
metaDescription: The 1780 Tabriz earthquake killed 100,000+ people and leveled a major Iranian city in one of history's deadliest seismic events.
wikidataQid: Q7944
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- earthquake
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- discovery
impactRadius: regional
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: natural
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: death
