On January 18, 749 CE, a massive earthquake struck the region of the Galilee in the Umayyad Caliphate, causing extensive damage to cities like Tiberias and Beit She'an. This event is one of the most destructive earthquakes in the history of the Levant and had a lasting impact on the landscape and settlement patterns of the region. The quake was recorded by Arabic and Syriac chroniclers and is considered a major turning point in the early Islamic period.

The 749 earthquake is a central event in the historical and literary sources of the early Islamic period, with chroniclers like Al-Tabari providing detailed accounts. The disaster was interpreted as a sign of God's power and was the subject of lamentation in Arabic poetry. The event influenced the development of an Islamic literary tradition of writing about catastrophes, which combined historical record with theological reflection.