ar, آفاميا
, image =Apamea 01.jpg
, alt =
, caption = View of Apamea ruins
, map_type = Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 200
, location =
Hama Governorate
Hama Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حماة / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates ...
,
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 ...
, region =
Ghab plain
The Ghab Plain ( ar, سَهْلُ ٱلْغَابِ, Sahl al-Ġāb, literally: Forest Plain) is a fertile depression lying mainly in the Al-Suqaylabiyah District in northwest Syria. The Orontes River, flowing north, enters the Plain near Muhradah, ...
, coordinates =
, type = settlement
, part_of =
, length =
, width =
, area =
, height =
, builder =
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...
, material =
, built = ca. 300 BC
, abandoned = 13th century
, epochs =
, cultures =
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
,
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
,
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
,
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, dependency_of =
, occupants =
, event =
, excavations =
, archaeologists =
, condition = ruins
, ownership = Public
, public_access = Yes
, website =
, notes =
Apamea ( el, Ἀπάμεια, ''Apameia''; ar, آفاميا, ''Afamia''), on the right bank of the
Orontes River, was an ancient Greek and Roman city. It was the capital of
Apamene
Seleucis of Syria ( grc, Σελευκίς τῆς Συρίας ) was a region of the Seleucid Empire located in northern Syria. It was also known as the Syrian Tetrapolis,
The four cities had been founded by Seleucus Nicator;
*Antioch—named af ...
under the Macedonians, became the capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric of late Roman province
Syria Secunda
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 ...
, again in the crusader period.
Amongst the impressive ancient remains, the site includes the
Great Colonnade which ran for nearly making it among the longest in the
Roman world
The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...
and the
Roman Theatre
Roman theatres derive from and are part of the overall evolution of earlier Greek theatres. Indeed, much of the architectural influence the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However ...
, one of the largest surviving theatres of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
with an estimated
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
in excess of 20,000.
The site is about to the northwest of
Hama
, timezone = EET
, utc_offset = +2
, timezone_DST = EEST
, utc_offset_DST = +3
, postal_code_type =
, postal_code =
, ar ...
,
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 ...
, overlooking the
Ghab valley
The Ghab Plain ( ar, سَهْلُ ٱلْغَابِ, Sahl al-Ġāb, literally: Forest Plain) is a fertile depression lying mainly in the Al-Suqaylabiyah District in northwest Syria. The Orontes River, flowing north, enters the Plain near Muhradah, ...
.
History
Hellenistic era
After the conquest of the region by
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
and the subsequent wars between his generals, and according to the new interpretation of a new historical and iconographic source for Hellenistic history, a mosaic of Apamea discovered in 2011, proposed by Olszewski and Saad, the foundation of Pella, the Macedonian military camp (') took place in the fall 320 BC, just after the Treaty of Triparadeisos (320 BC) at the initiative of Antipater, and Cassander's inspiration. In view of this interpretation, the authors disagree with the earlier hypothesises attributing the foundation of Pella to Alexander the Great or to Antigonos I Monophtalmos. From about 300 BC Pella receive a new status of ''polis'', was fortified and established as a city (''polis'') by Seleucus who named it after his
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
n wife,
Apama
Apama ( grc, Ἀπάμα, Apáma), sometimes known as Apama I or Apame I, was a Sogdian noblewoman and the wife of the first ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Seleucus I Nicator. They married at Susa in 324 BC. According to Arrian, Apama was the da ...
daughter of the
Sogdia
Sogdia (Sogdian language, Sogdian: ) or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also ...
n warlord
Spitamenes
Spitamenes (Old Persian ''Spitamana''; Greek ''Σπιταμένης''; 370 BC – 328 BC) was a Sogdian warlordHolt, Frank L. (1989), ''Alexander the Great and Bactria: the Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia'', Leiden, New York, Cope ...
. The site was enclosed in a loop of the Orontes which, with the lake and marshes, gave it a peninsular form whence its other name of Cherronêsos. It was located at a strategic crossroads for Eastern commerce and became one of the four cities of the
Syrian tetrapolis
Seleucis of Syria ( grc, Σελευκίς τῆς Συρίας ) was a region of the Seleucid Empire located in northern Syria. It was also known as the Syrian Tetrapolis,
The four cities had been founded by Seleucus Nicator
Seleucus I Nicat ...
. Seleucus also made it a military base with 500 elephants, and an equestrian stud with 30,000 mares and 300 stallions.
After 142 BC, the pretender
Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon ( el, Διόδοτος Τρύφων), nicknamed "The Magnificent" ( el, Ό Μεγαλοπρεπής) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Initially an official under King Alexander I Balas, he led a revolt against Alexander's ...
made Apamea the base of his operations.
Q. Aemilius Secundus did a population survey of the city and its territory which belonged to it in AD 6, in which he counted "117,000 hom(ines) civ(ium)" – 117,000 citizen human beings, a figure that has been interpreted as giving a total population of either 130,000 or 500,000, depending on methods used.
In 64 BC,
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
marched south from his winter quarters probably at or near
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
and razed the fortress of Apamea when the city was annexed to the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. In the revolt of Syria under
Quintus Caecilius Bassus Quintus Caecilius Bassus () was a Roman Equites, equestrian who fought during Caesar's civil war under Pompey before the Battle of Pharsalus. After the battle, he commandeered two mutinous legions in Syria (Roman province), Syria and defended agains ...
, it held out against
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
for three years till the arrival of
Cassius in 46 BC. On the outbreak of the
Jewish War, the inhabitants of Apamea spared the Jews who lived in their midst and would not suffer them to be murdered or led into captivity. Apamea was briefly
captured in 40 BC by the Pompeian-Parthian forces.
Much of Apamea was destroyed in the
115 AD earthquake, but was subsequently rebuilt.
Roman era
From 218 until 234 AD, the legion
II Parthica was stationed in Apamea, when it abandoned support of the usurper
Macrinus
Marcus Opellius Macrinus (; – June 218) was Roman emperor from April 217 to June 218, reigning jointly with his young son Diadumenianus. As a member of the equestrian class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatorial ...
to the emperor and sided with
Elagabalus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...
' rise to the purple who then defeated Macrinus in the Battle of Antioch. Apamea was destroyed by
Chosroes I
Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩; New Persian: []), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ( [] "the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from ...
in the 6th century.
[Gibb, p. 215]
During the
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628
The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, series of wars fought between the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine / Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire of Iran. The Byzantine–Sasani ...
, the city fell in 613 to
Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz (also spelled Shahrvaraz or Shahrwaraz; New Persian: ), was shah (king) of the Sasanian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630. He usurped the throne from Ardashir III, and was killed by Iranian nobles after forty days. Before usurpi ...
and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.
Byzantine era
The
Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
of Pseudo-Jonathan (
Num.
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...
xxxiv. 11) has Apamea (אפמיאה) for the city name Shepham as occurring in the
Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
im
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and
Neofiti
The neofiti ( en, Neophytes) were a group of Italian ''anusim'', also known as crypto-Jews, living in Southern Italy.
History
The ''neofiti'' were descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1493. They continued t ...
. Since Apamea virtually belonged to Rabbinic Palestine, the first-fruits brought by Ariston from that town were accepted for sacrifice in Jerusalem.
Islamic era
Following the
Muslim conquest of Syria
The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...
, Apamea was partially rebuilt and known in Arabic as Afāmiya or Fāmiya.
[ The city was conquered by the ]Rashidun
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of t ...
along with Al-Suqaylabiyah
Al-Suqaylabiyah ( ar, السقيلبيه, As Suqailabiya) is a Greek Orthodox Christian Syrian city administratively belonging to Hama Governorate. Al-Suqaylabiyah is located at a height of 220 meters above sea level. According to the 2004 officia ...
city after the battle of the Yarmuk
The Battle of the Yarmuk (also spelled Yarmouk) was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 63 ...
. Apamea was then used as an observation post to warn against enemy attack.
It was settled by the Arab tribes of Bahra and Udhra. However, it only regained its importance under the rule of Aleppo-based Hamdanid dynasty
The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern Ara ...
.[ Ruled by ]Khalaf ibn Mula'ib
Sayf al-Dawla Khalaf ibn Mulāʿib al-Ashhabī al-Kilābī ( ar, سيف الدولة خلف بن ملاعب الأشهبي الكلابي; died 3 February 1106) was semi-independent emir of Homs and Apamea between 1082 and 1090. He was later resto ...
from 1095–1106, the city was taken by Tancred
Tancred or Tankred is a masculine given name of Germanic origin that comes from ''thank-'' (thought) and ''-rath'' (counsel), meaning "well-thought advice". It was used in the High Middle Ages mainly by the Normans (see French Tancrède) and espe ...
after Khalaf's murder by Assassins
An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder.
Assassin may also refer to:
Origin of term
* Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins
Animals and insects
* Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...
. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1152.
Remains
Many remains of the ancient acropolis are still standing, consisting probably of the remains of highly decorated temples of which Sozomen speaks; it is now enclosed in ancient castle walls called Kalat el-Mudik (Kŭlat el-Mudîk); the remainder of the ancient city is to be found in the plain.
The most significant collection of objects from the site, including many significant architectural and artistic objects, that can be seen outside of Syria are in Brussels at the Cinquantenaire Museum
The Art & History Museum (french: Musée Art & Histoire, nl, Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic art, ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark ...
.
As a result of the civil war in Syria, the ancient city has been damaged and looted by treasure hunters. In April 2017, ''Al-Masdar News
''Al-Masdar News'' (sometimes abbreviated ''AMN'') ( ar, المصدر نيوز) is an online newspaper founded by Leith Abou Fadel. Al-Masdar is Arabic for "the source". ''Al-Masdar''s coverage focuses largely on conflict zones in the Middle E ...
'' published satellite photographs revealing the site was covered in hundreds of holes dug by treasure hunters seeking ancient artifacts.
Great Colonnade
The Great Colonnade was situated along the main avenue of Apamea and ran for nearly , making it among the longest in the Roman world
The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...
. It was rebuilt after the original, dating from the Seleucid Empire, was devastated along with the rest of Apamea in the 115 AD earthquake. Reconstruction started immediately and over the course of the second century the city was completely rebuilt, starting with the Great Colonnade. The colonnade was aligned along the north-south axis, making up the city's "cardo maximus
A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented ...
". Starting at the city's north gate, the colonnade ran in an uninterrupted straight line to the south gate. The northern third of the colonnade's stretch is marked by a monumental votive column that stood opposite the baths.[Foss, 1997, p. 207.] The colonnade passed through the centre of the city and several important buildings were clustered around it, including the baths, the agora
The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
, the Temple of Tyche
Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite a ...
, the nymphaeum
A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
, the rotunda, the atrium
Atrium may refer to:
Anatomy
* Atrium (heart), an anatomical structure of the heart
* Atrium, the genital structure next to the genital aperture in the reproductive system of gastropods
* Atrium of the ventricular system of the brain
* Pulmona ...
church and the basilica.[Foss, 1997, p. 209.] On either side of the street a -wide colonnade ran its full length. The columns were high and in diameter. They stood on square bases of 1.24 m on a side and 0.47 m high. The columns display two main designs: plain and distinctive spiral flutes. Archaeologist Jean Lassus argues that the former dates back to the Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
ic period, and the latter to that of Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Born into a senatoria ...
.[Crawford; Goodway, 1990, p. 119.] The colonnade's porticoes were paved with extensive mosaics along the full stretch of the colonnade.[
Under the ]Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
Emperor Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
, several parts of the colonnade were restored. The street was narrowed to 12 m by adding a walkway on either side. Several stretches of the street had their Roman pavement replaced with a new pavement made of squared blocks of limestone. The new pavement also covered a completely overhauled drainage system. Justinian's changes included erecting a monumental '' tetrastylon'' made up of four 9 m high columns with a metre-high capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
.[Foss, 1997, p. 208.] The city, was however, later sacked by the Sasanians
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
under Adarmahan Adarmahān (in Greek sources given as , Adaarmanes; fl. late 6th century) was a Persian general active in the western frontier of the Sassanid Empire against the East Roman (Byzantine) forces, during the Byzantine–Sassanid War of 572–591.
Bio ...
.
A reconstructed section of the colonnade can be seen in the Brussels Cinquantenaire Museum
The Art & History Museum (french: Musée Art & Histoire, nl, Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic art, ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark ...
.
Roman theatre
Originally built as a Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
style theatre in the early Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
, the theatre was expanded and remodelled in the early Roman period
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
,[Finlayson, 2012, p. 308.] when the main stage and entrances were reorganized in a more typical Roman fashion. The 115 Antioch earthquake
The 115 Antioch earthquake occurred on 13 December 115 AD. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the surface wave magnitude scale and an estimated maximum intensity of XI (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. Antioch and surrounding ar ...
caused severe damage to the structure. It was rebuilt soon afterwards, under the patronage of both Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
and Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
. The theatre was further expanded in the first half of the third century CE.[Finlayson, 2012, p. 309.] Under the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
the theatre's drainage basin was restructured and a ''qanat
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
'' was built through the middle of the lower stage. By the late Byzantine period the theatre had stopped serving as a centre for theatrical performances. However, the theatre and its ''qanat'' continued to be an important water source during the Byzantine and Islamic periods.[Finlayson, 2012, p. 310.] The theatre was built into a steep hill overlooking the Orontes River
The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey.
...
valley.[Finlayson, 2012, p. 292.]
The theatre, along with the one at Ephesus
Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
, is one of the largest surviving theatres of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
with an estimated seating capacity in excess of 20,000. The only other known theatre that is considerably larger was the Theatre of Pompey
The Theatre of Pompey ( la, Theatrum Pompeii, it, Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). Completed in 55BC, it was the first perma ...
in Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. Much of its structure is in ruins due to architectural collapses and extensive quarrying in later epochs,[Finlayson, 2012, p. 285.] and only one-eighth of the site has been exposed so far.[Finlayson, 2012, p. 278.] One of the main features at the theatre is its water basin and the elaborate Roman piping system used in it. The recently excavated terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
system is located along the eastern ground entrance and is well preserved.
Great hunting mosaic
This mosaic, now in the Cinquantenaire Museum
The Art & History Museum (french: Musée Art & Histoire, nl, Museum Kunst & Geschiedenis) is a public museum of antiquities and ethnographic art, ethnographic and decorative arts located at the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark ...
, Brussels, was discovered in 1935 in the reception room of what was probably the palace of the Roman governor of the province of Syria Secunda
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 ...
. Its area is 120 m².
The great mosaic dates from 415–420 AD and is amongst the most prestigious of this type of composition. It is comparable technically and thematically with mosaics in the Palace of the Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
s in Constantinople, of the same period.
An inscription at the entrance states: "During the most beautiful Apellion, the triclinium was rebuilt in the month Gorpiaios, third indict, in the year 851" (September, 539 AD).
Bishopric
Christianity came to the area within the first century. Bishops included:
*Marcellus of Apamea
Marcellus may refer to:
* Marcellus (name)
* Marcus Claudius Marcellus, Roman commander
Places
* Marcellus, Lot-et-Garonne, France
* Marcellus Township, Michigan
** Marcellus, Michigan, a village in Marcellus Township
** Marcellus Community Schoo ...
(fl. 375)
*Alexander of Apamea
Alexander ( Gr. ) was a bishop of Apamea in Syria in the 5th century AD. He was one of a number of moderate Eastern bishops during the Nestorian controversy, and one of the eight bishops deputed by the party of John of Antioch to the Emperor Th ...
(fl. 431)
*Julian of Apamea
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
, saint and opponent of Montanism
*Domnus (fl. 451
__NOTOC__
Year 451 ( CDLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcianus and Adelfius (or, less frequently, year 1204 '' ...
)
*Epiphanius (451/457–after 471)[Michael Peppard, Mosaics from a Church in the Diocese of Apamea, Syria (463 CE) Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik Bd. 190 (2014), pp. 168-172]
*Isaac (ordained bef. 512, died c. 513/514)[Volker L. Menze, ''Justinian and the Making of the Syrian Orthodox Church'' (Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 82.]
*Stephen (in 512–516)[
*Cosmas (in 512–516)][
*]Peter of Apamea Peter (Syriac: ''Peṭrūs'' or ''Peṭrā'') was the bishop of Apamea from at least 514/515 until his removal in 519.
A protégé of Severus of Antioch, Peter was the only non-Chalcedonian bishop in the province of Syria Secunda and appears to h ...
, monophysitePeter, Bishop of Apamea
(515/516–518/519)
Today a number of Christian denominations maintain titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
s for the town. These include
* Latin Catholic titular Metropolitan archbishopric
* Melkite Catholic titular Metropolitan archbishopric
* Syriac Catholic Catholic titular Metropolitan archbishopric
* Maronite Catholic titular bishopric
People
* Al-Muqtana
Abu'l-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Sammuqī ( ar, أبو الحسن علي بن أحمد السموقي), better known as Bahāʾ al-Dīn al-Muqtanā ( ar, بهاء الدين المقتنى; died terminus post quem, after 1042), was an 11th-cent ...
(11th-century Ismāʿīlī
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and a founder of the Druze Faith
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of H ...
, the primary exponent of the Divine call
The divine call, unitarian call, or da‘wat at- tawḥīd is the time period of Druze proselytization
that was opened at sunset on Thursday 30 May 1017 CE by Fātimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah and closed in 1043 CE by al-Muqtana Baha'uddi ...
and author of several of the Epistles of Wisdom
The Epistles of Wisdom or ''Rasa'il al-Hikmah'' ( ar, رَسَائِل ٱلْحِكْمَة) is a corpus of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze faith native to the Levant, which has currently close to a million practition ...
.)
* Archigenes
Archigenes ( gr, Αρχιγένης), an ancient Greco-Syrian physician, who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Archigenes was the most celebrated of the sect of the Eclectici, and was a native of Apamea in Syria; he practiced at Rome in the ...
(Greek physician)
*Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon ( el, Διόδοτος Τρύφων), nicknamed "The Magnificent" ( el, Ό Μεγαλοπρεπής) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Initially an official under King Alexander I Balas, he led a revolt against Alexander's ...
, official under King Alexander I Balas
Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος Βάλας, Alexandros Balas), was the ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 150/Summer 152 – August 145 BC. Picked from obscurity and supported by the neighboring Roman- ...
.
* Aristarchus of Thessalonica
Aristarchus or Aristarch ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ''Aristarkhos''), "a Macedonian of Thessalonica" ( Acts 27:2), was an early Christian mentioned in a few passages of the New Testament. He accompanied Saint Paul on his journey to Rome. A ...
(bishop, one of the Seventy Apostles
The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomikont ...
)
* Evagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus ( el, Εὐάγριος Σχολαστικός) was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), compris ...
(6th-century historian)
* Iamblichus of Chalcis
Iamblichus (; grc-gre, Ἰάμβλιχος ; Aramaic: 𐡉𐡌𐡋𐡊𐡅 ''Yamlīḵū''; ) was a Syrian neoplatonic philosopher of Arabic origin. He determined a direction later taken by neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of ...
(Neo-Platonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
philosopher)
* Junias
Junia or Junias ( grc-x-biblical, Ἰουνία/, /) was a Christian in the first century known from Paul the Apostle's letter to the Romans.
There has been dispute surrounding both Junia's gender and apostolic status, although she has been viewed ...
(1st-century bishop)
* Numenius of Apamea
Numenius of Apamea ( grc-gre, Νουμήνιος ὁ ἐξ Ἀπαμείας, ''Noumēnios ho ex Apameias''; la, Numenius Apamensis) was a Greek philosopher, who lived in Apamea in Syria and Rome, and flourished during the latter half of the 2nd ...
(2nd century philosopher)
* Polychronius (bishop, and brother of Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. He is the best known ...
)
* Posidonius
Posidonius (; grc-gre, wikt:Ποσειδώνιος, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apamea (Syria), Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greeks, Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geog ...
(Greek philosopher and author, 2nd–1st Century BCE)
*Pseudo-Oppian Pseudo-Oppian ( grc, Ὀππιανός, ''Oppianós''; la, Oppianus), sometimes referred to as Oppian of Apamea or Oppian of Syria, was a Greco-Syrian poet during the reign of the emperor Caracalla. His work, a Greek didactic epic poem on hunting ...
poet
* Sextus Varius Marcellus
Sextus Varius Marcellus (c. 165 – c. 215) was a Roman aristocrat and politician from the province of Syria. Family and career
Little is known about the origins of Marcellus, other than he was born and raised in the city of Apamea in Syria. ...
(3rd-century Roman Equestrian and later governor of Numidia
Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...
. Husband of Julia Soaemias
Julia Soaemias Bassiana (180 – 11 March 222) was a Syrian noblewoman and the mother of Roman emperor Elagabalus, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 218 to 222. She was one of his chief advisors, initially with the support and accompaniment ...
and father of Roman emperor Elagabalus
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...
)
* Theodoret
Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus ( grc-gre, Θεοδώρητος Κύρρου; AD 393 – 458/466) was an influential theologian of the School of Antioch, biblical commentator, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus (423–457). He played a pivo ...
(5th-century bishop)
See also
*Qalaat al-Madiq
Qalaat al-Madiq ( ar, قلعة المضيق also spelled Kal'at al-Mudik or Qal'at al-Mudiq; also known as Afamiyya or Famiyyah) is a town and medieval fortress in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located north ...
(modern city)
*Apamea (Babylonia) Apamea or Apameia ( el, Απάμεια) was an ancient city – and possibly two ancient cities lying close together – of Mesopotamia mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium and Pliny as situated near the Tigris near the confluence of the Eup ...
*List of ancient Greek cities
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
Sources and external links
GCatholic Latin titular see with incumbent biography links
* ttp://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t2027.htm GCatholic Syrian Catholic titular Metropolitan see with incumbent biography links
GCatholic Maronite titular episcopal see with incumbent biography links
Suggestion to have Apamea recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site
Images by Michał Jacykiewicz
Photos of Apamea
at the American Center of Research
The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...
Bibliography
* Marek Titien Olszewski, Houmam Saad,
Pella-Apamée sur l'Oronte et ses héros fondateurs à la lumière d’une source historique inconnue: une mosaïque d’Apamée
, in: M. P. Castiglioni, R. Carboni, M. Giuman, H. Bernier-Farella (eds.), Héros fondateurs et identités communautaires dans l’Antiquité, entre mythe, rite et politique, Morlacchi University Press, Padoue, pp. 365–416 ()
* William Smith (editor); ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' is the last in a series of classical dictionaries edited by the English scholar William Smith (1813–1893), following ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' and the ''Dictionary of Gr ...
''
"Apameia"
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, (1854)
* R. F. Burton and T. Drake, ''Unexplored Syria''
* E. Sachau
Carl Eduard Sachau (20 July 1845 – 17 September 1930) was a German orientalist. He taught Josef Horovitz and Eugen Mittwoch.
Biography
He studied oriental languages at the Universities of Kiel and Leipzig, obtaining his PhD at Halle in 1867. ...
, ''Reise in Syrien'', 1883.
{{Authority control
Ruins in Syria
Roman Catholic dioceses in the Crusader states
Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Asia
Suppressed Roman Catholic dioceses
Former populated places in Syria
Archaeological sites in Hama Governorate