In [fourteen hundred and] eighty nine there was an earthquake in the
sea of Atalia near Rhodes, which opened the sea--that is its
bottom--and into this opening such a torrent of water poured that
for more than three hours the bottom of the sea was uncovered by
reason of the water which was lost in it, and then it closed to the
former level.

[Footnote: _Nello ottanto_ 9. It is scarcely likely that Leonardo
should here mean 89 AD. Dr. H. MULLER- STRUBING writes to me as
follows on this subject: "With reference to Rhodes Ross says (_Reise
auf den Griechischen Inseln, III_ 70 _ff_. 1840), that ancient
history affords instances of severe earthquakes at Rhodes, among
others one in the second year of the 138th Olympiad=270 B. C.; a
remarkably violent one under Antoninus Pius (A. D. 138-161) and
again under Constantine and later. But Leonardo expressly speaks of
an earthquake "_nel mar di Atalia presso a Rodi_", which is
singular. The town of Attalia, founded by Attalus, which is what he
no doubt means, was in Pamphylia and more than 150 English miles
East of Rhodes in a straight line. Leake and most other geographers
identify it with the present town of Adalia. Attalia is rarely
mentioned by the ancients, indeed only by Strabo and Pliny and no
earthquake is spoken of. I think therefore you are justified in
assuming that Leonardo means 1489". In the elaborate catalogue of
earthquakes in the East by Sciale Dshelal eddin Sayouthy (an
unpublished Arabic MS. in the possession of Prof. SCHEFER, (Membre
de l'Institut, Paris) mention is made of a terrible earthquake in
the year 867 of the Mohamedan Era corresponding to the year 1489,
and it is there stated that a hundred persons were killed by it in
the fortress of Kerak. There are three places of this name. Kerak on
the sea of Tiberias, Kerak near Tahle on the Libanon, which I
visited in the summer of l876--but neither of these is the place
alluded to. Possibly it may be the strongly fortified town of
Kerak=Kir Moab, to the West of the Dead Sea. There is no notice
about this in ALEXIS PERCY, _Memoire sur les tremblements de terres
ressentis dans la peninsule turco- hellenique et en Syrie (Memoires
couronnes et memoires des savants etrangers, Academie Royale de
Belgique, Tome XXIII)._]