Posted on 08/15/2010 11:54:01 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
In 1920, British soldiers digging trenches near the Euphrates River came across ancient wall paintings. In the sands of eastern Syria, they uncovered the remains of the ancient town of Dura-Europos. Located on the Euphrates River, the long-buried settlement was ruled successively by the Macedonians, Parthians, and Romans until its destruction in A.D. 256. Today, the site is known for its buildings, including the world's oldest church, one of the earliest synagogues ever found, and numerous Greco-Roman temples.
Covering about 180 acres, Dura-Europos was founded around 300 B.C... Dura's location was ideal because it was both defensible and near a major water source... The city was a strategic location for the Seleucids, the heirs to Seleucus I's Eurasian empire, which, at its height, extended from Pergamum on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor to Bactria in modern Afghanistan...
In 113 B.C., the Parthians, a people that originated in northeastern Iran and expanded outward, took the city from the Seleucids. They remained in control for several centuries, minus a brief Roman interlude from A.D. 116 to 118, after which they resumed power... The titles of strategos and epistates continued to appear in inscriptions of the late first century B.C...
In the 160s, the Parthians' westward movement threatened Rome's border along the Euphrates. The Roman emperor, Lucius Verus, led his forces to Syria to push back the enemy. In 165, he captured Dura and made it a Roman city. He established a permanent military garrison there, which included archers from nearby Palmyra.
In A.D. 194, Emperor Septimius Severus divided the province of Syria to limit the power of its previously rebellious governors.
In 253-254, Shapur I of the Sasanian Empire attacked the city, destroying it two years later.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
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