The 226 BC Earthquake That Toppled the Colossus and Triggered the First Documented International Disaster Aid Campaign
A major earthquake struck Rhodes in 226 BC, destroying the Colossus and substantial portions of the city. The substantial Hellenistic Mediterranean response — substantial coordinated grain shipments, building-reconstruction subsidies, and naval-military assistance from substantially every major Hellenistic kingdom — was the first internationally-coordinated disaster aid campaign documented in European history.
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