Syriac Attitudes towards Natural Disasters: Some Notes on the Chronicle of Zuqnīn

Chronicles are among the richest repositories of historical information narrated from a Syriac perspective. Alongside accounts of historical events, such as changes in ecclesiastical and imperial leadership and wars, they often provide detailed accounts of the calamities and disasters which occurred in Syriac-speaking regions. The text known as the Chronicle of Zuqnīn (completed by the end of the eighth century) devotes large space to the description of disasters and how they affected the population. From plagues to floodings, fires and earthquakes, it offers many trajectories of enquiry on the narration of traumatic events, presented as punishments from God. Therefore, the paper investigates the impact of natural disasters on the Late Antique Syriac-speaking society according to the Chronicle of Zuqnin. It presents the attitudes it showed towards nature and God in the aftermath of such calamities.