The 1157 Hama earthquake occurred on 12 August after a year of foreshocks. Its name was taken from the city of Hama, in west-central Syria (then under the Seljuk rule), where the most casualties were sustained. In eastern Syria, near the Euphrates, the quake destroyed the predecessor of the citadel Al-Rahba, subsequently rebuilt on the same strategic site. The earthquake also affected Christian monasteries and churches in the vicinity of Jerusalem.