Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Archaeology

An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity,

Baalshamin Baalshamin ( arc, ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ ''Baʿal Šāmīn'' or ''Bʿel Šmīn'' Blit. "Lord of Heaven ), also called Baal Shamem ( phn, 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤔𐤌𐤌 ''Baʿl Šāmēm'') and Baal Shamaim ( he, ''Baʿal Šāmayīm''), was a Northwest Semit ...

in 94 CE, now in the

Institut du Monde Arabe The ''Institut du Monde Arabe'', French for Arab World Institute, abbreviated ''IMA'', is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural an ...

in Paris, indicates that a

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

religious building previously stood on the site. There is a reference to a building in a lawsuit in 216, however in 245 CE, in the reign of the Roman Emperor

Philip the Arab Philip the Arab ( la, Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabs"; 204 – September 249) was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip ...

, the Roman Temple of Dumeir, located in the center of the old town, was dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos The shape is highly unusual, and construction may have commenced as a public fountain or staging post, but in its final form it is clearly a temple. It was fortified in the Arab period, the arch on the rear wall being filled in with stones and defensive devices. The temple has been restored as the result of much research and reconstruction work. The

Ghassanid The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...

phylarch A phylarch ( el, φύλαρχος, la, phylarchus) is a Greek title meaning "ruler of a tribe", from ''phyle'', "tribe" + ''archein'' "to rule". In Classical Athens, a phylarch was the elected commander of the cavalry provided by each of the ci ...

(tribal king)

al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith Al-Mundhir ibn al-Ḥārith (), known in Greek language, Greek sources as (Flavios) Alamoundaros (), was the king of the Ghassanids, Ghassanid Arabs from 569 to circa 581. A son of al-Harith ibn Jabalah, he succeeded his father both in the kingshi ...

built a tower at Dumayr. A Greek inscription engraved by al-Mundhir credits himself for its construction and thanks God and St. Julian. A monastery associated with the Ghassanids called Dayr al-Matirun, likely an Arabicized version of the Greek

martyrion A martyrium (Latin) or martyrion (Greek), plural ''martyria'', sometimes anglicized martyry (pl. martyries), is a church or shrine built over the tomb of a Christian martyr. It is associated with a specific architectural form, centered on a cent ...

, existed about east of Dumayr.

Facilities

A cemetery was built in 1960 for the French casualties of WWI and WWII in Al-Dumayr. The

Syrian Arab Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War * ...

Al-Dumayr Military Airport Al-Dumayr Military Airport is a Syrian Arab Air Force installation located 40 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria. The airbase was used extensively by the Syrian Arab Air Forces and Iranian Armed Forces during the Syrian Civil War. Hist ...

is also located in Al-Dumayr.

References

Bibliography

External links

Syrian Tourism Encyclopedia, Temple of Dumeir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumayr Roman sites in Syria Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate Populated places in Douma District Towns in Syria Ghassanids

Archaeology

Facilities

See also

References

Bibliography

External links