Location: village of Salhiyé Map
Used: 300 BC- 257 AD
Doura Europos, Dura Europos or Dura Europus is an ancient archeological site near a village of Salhiye. Dura Europos was occupied between 300 BC- 257 AD.
History
The city was founded by King Seleucus I Nikator around 300 BC. e.
among many others, and lasted more than 550 years. Around 100 BC e.
came under the rule of the Parthian kingdom, and since 165 - the
Roman Empire. In Roman times, Dura Europos was a major trading
center, and most archaeological finds date back to this time period.
In 256, it was captured by the Sassanids and abandoned.
Seleucus, the dialect of Alexander of Macedon, chose an abandoned
Assyrian fortress on the road from Damascus to Mezhdurechye to
settle his soldiers and gave her the name "Fool". The Romans called
the city “Dura-Europos”, because the local aristocracy consisted of
descendants of the Macedonians, that is, they emphasized that the
city was ruled by “Europeans” from Macedonia. The fortress stood on
the high bank of the middle Euphrates, protected on three sides by
steep cliffs, and the fourth side, opposite the river and adjacent
to the desert, was surrounded by a long straight wall with towers.
The size of the city is approximately 700 per 1000 m.
The city is regularly planned (directly intersecting streets) in
Seleucid time, which includes the agora, the remains of temples, and
the citadel. Over time, the civilian population began to prevail,
and the fortress turned into a provincial town, which grew around
the market square. However, the population can be called civilian
only conditionally. In wartime, farmers stood up, forming the estate
of the so-called Klerukhs. In social terms, residents were divided
by birth, as in Macedonia. The land was given to the cleruks for
life for their service or the service of their children, while
remaining royal property.
The city had an ethnically mixed population: the top or nobility had
Greek-Macedonian roots, the majority of the population were Syrians,
Arabs, Jews, representatives of Iranian tribes. The city was
governed by Greek customs, a council of the most influential
citizens, Greeks by nationality. The rest in everyday worldly life
obeyed Greek laws, but dominated the laws of the decrees of the
king, who held the strategist in the city - the representative of
the executive branch.
After the Dura-Europos was captured by the Parthians, little changed
in the everyday life of the city, except that Eastern influence
increased in the Greco-Macedonian families, and marriage between
close relatives began to be practiced there. From Parthian time, the
palace, the ruins of numerous temples (Baal, Artemis-Nanaya,
Atargatis, Zeus Curios, Zeus Theos, "Palmyra Gods") with frescoes
and reliefs have been preserved.
Roman times include fortifications, baths, temples, including the
Christian church, the synagogue and the temple of Mithras - all
three with unique murals. The Dura Europos synagogue was built in
244, just 10 years before the capture of the city by the Sassanids.
The Christian church and the synagogue were located near the city
wall, during the construction of the fortifications they were
covered with sand inside (as part of the fortification), which is
why rare biblical frescoes have survived to this day, while the
abandoned city itself disappeared under the pressure of time .
A fierce siege left traces in the city. The Persians (Sassanids)
erected a large earthen ramp embankment, along which they stormed
the wall. At the same time, the attackers were digging an
underground passage under the walls. The Romans, in turn, dug their
turn, and as a result of an underground battle, many corpses of
Roman soldiers remained in the passages. The city wall sank into a
dig, but generally stood. One of the towers collapsed, burying
beneath it, and thereby preserving Roman armaments for
archaeologists.
According to archaeologists, when taking the city, the Persians
could use primitive chemical weapons against sulfur - sulfur and
bitumen. According to the analysis of the contents of the vessel,
found near one skeleton in a tunnel near the 19th tower of the city,
resins and sulfur were in the vessel.
Researchers suggest that the tactics of the Persian undermining,
which led to the fall of Dura Europos, consisted in the fact that in
the main directions of the tunnels the Persians started a fire and
in the case of a breakthrough of the Roman counter-mine - poisonous
substances were thrown into the fire. The evidence of the success of
this tactic is considered to be the large number of bones of Roman
soldiers in countermines. Previously, it was usually thought that
these were people killed during battles in underground passages,
although it was surprising that the remains of Persians are found in
tunnels much less often.
Rebirth
For a long time, the existence of Dura Europos was known only
from written sources. On March 31, 1920, Hindu soldiers under the
command of Captain M.S. Murphy from the British troops stationed in
the Middle East dug a trench near unknown ruins at the height of
Salihiye. The Arab tribes in those parts shortly before that raised
an armed uprising, hoping to achieve independence on the ruins of
the Ottoman Empire.
By chance, under the sand, a beautifully preserved painting on the
wall, depicting a Syrian priest, suddenly opened. So was found
Dura-Europos, or, as journalists call it - Pompeii of the Syrian
desert.
Excavations by the American (James Brasted) and French (Franz
Cumont) archaeologists began immediately, but they were soon
curtailed due to the turbulent situation in connection with the
national liberation struggle unfolding in the region. The first
archaeological finds were in the Museum of the Louvre. From the late
1920s until the outbreak of World War II, the city was explored by
an expedition funded by Yale University (USA). The most important
finds were made under the leadership of the Russian historian M.I.
Rostovtsev, who emigrated to America immediately after the
revolution. Excavations resumed in 1986.
In addition to the numerous remains of architectural monuments,
murals on the walls of the most ancient synagogue, unique items of
ancient weapons (for example, scaly horse armor), documents were
found in Greek, Latin, Aramaic and other languages. The ruins of a
rather modest in size, but the oldest of the famous Christian
churches, have also been preserved.
The walls of the synagogue with frescoes were reconstructed in the
National Museum of Damascus, only ruins of walls, temples and
fortresses remained in place. Written documents are kept at Yale
University's Art Gallery.