Bab Sharqi ( ar, بَابٌ شَرْقِيٌّ, Bāb Šarqī; "The Eastern Gate"), also known as the Gate of the Sun, is one of the seven ancient
city gate
A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway.
Uses
City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...
s of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
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, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
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, ...
,
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 ...
. Its modern name comes from its location in the eastern side of the city. The gate also gives its name to the Christian quarter surrounding it. The grand facade of the gate was reconstructed in the 1960s.
In addition to being the only original
Roman gate still standing, Bab Sharqi is also the only gate of the eight gates of the
Ancient City of Damascus to preserve its original form as a triple passageway, with the large central passageway for caravans and wheel traffic and the two smaller ones flanking the large one for pedestrians.
History
The gate, which was dedicated to the sun by the Romans and known to them as the Gate of The Sun, dates back to ca. 200 AD.
Although the gate had little defensive structures in the Roman period, it was most likely flanked by towers from both sides. Its architecture was minimal with the only adoration being the tall pilasters projecting from its walls. The gate, wide, stood over a grand avenue, the city's
Decumanus Maximus known by biblical sources as the
Street Called Straight, which was to become the main artery in the city. The avenue included a central carriageway for wheeled vehicles wide, and two pedestrian arcaded pavements. Remains of the cross-city colonnade survive inside the gate.
The Street Called Straight, still connects the eastern gate of the city to the western gate, or
Bab al-Jabiyah Bab al-Jabiya ( ar, بَابُ الْجَابِيَّةِ, Bāb al-Jābīyah; ''Gate of the Water Trough'') is one of the seven ancient city-gates of Damascus, Syria. During the Roman era, the gate was dedicated to Mars. Bab al-Jabiya was the main e ...
.
Damascus was conquered by
Muslims during the
Rashidun era. Following the
capture of Damascus by
Khalid ibn al-Walid
Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially headed campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career in ...
's army, he entered through this gate on 18 September 634.
His granting of Christian citizens continued access to their churches in the eastern district started the gradual evolution of the city's Christian Quarter near the gate.
In the 12th-century during the reign of
Nur ad-Din Zangi, the gate was partially blocked except for the central opening which was converted into a bent entrance. A
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
was also added on top of the gate.
References
External links
Old Damascus Gates
{{coord, 33, 30, 34, N, 36, 19, 4, E, type:landmark_region:SY, display=title
Gates of Damascus
Neighborhoods of Damascus
Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century
Christian communities in Syria