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1653 Smyrna earthquake

7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck İzmir in western Turkey on February 23, 1653

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ4551553 ↗
Source-derived summary

The 1653 Smyrna earthquake occurred on 23 February, with an estimated magnitude of 6.72±0.3 Mw and a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.

The event was particularly devastating because it triggered a tsunami, which caused additional destruction and casualties along the coastline. The earthquake and its aftermath were documented in historical records and have been studied by modern seismologists to better understand the seismic activity in the region.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “1653 Smyrna earthquake” as 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck İzmir in western Turkey on February 23, 1653. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1653—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Smyrna, earthquake and 5-magnitude can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck İzmir in western Turkey on February 23, 1653. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4551553. Authority coordinates are 38.200, 28.200. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1653.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “1653 Smyrna earthquake”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow 1653 Smyrna earthquake primary sources, 1653 Smyrna earthquake archive and Smyrna research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1653 Smyrna earthquake”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “1653 Smyrna earthquake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.