Dara or Daras ( el, Δάρας, syr, ܕܪܐ) was an important

East Roman 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 ...

fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conflicts (in 530, 540, 544, 573, and 604). The former archbishopric remains a multiple

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

titular see. Today the Turkish village of Oğuz, Mardin Province, occupies its location.

History

Foundation by Anastasius

During the Anastasian War in 502–506, the Roman armies fared poorly against the

Sassanid Persians 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 ...

. According to the ''Syriac Chronicle'' of

Zacharias of Mytilene Zacharias of Mytilene (c. 465, Gaza – after 536), also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian. Life The life of Zacharias of Mytilene can be reconstructed only from a few scattered repo ...

, the Roman generals blamed their difficulties on the lack of a strong base in the area, as opposed to the Persians, who held the great city of Nisibis (which until its cession in 363 had served the same purpose for the Romans).Zacharias of Mytilene, ''Syriac Chronicle'', Book VII, Chapter VI Therefore, in 505, while the Persian King Kavadh I was distracted in the East, Emperor Anastasius I decided to rebuild the village of Dara, only 18 kilometres westwards from Nisibis and just 5 km from the actual border with Persia, to be "a refuge for the army in which they might rest, and for the preparation of weapons, and to guard the country of the Arabs from the inroads of the Persians and

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

". Masons and workers from all over Mesopotamia were gathered and worked with great haste. The new city was built on three hills, on the highest of which stood the citadel, and endowed with great storehouses, a public bath and water

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

s. It took the name ''Anastasiopolis'' ( el, Ἀναστασιούπολις) and became the seat of the Roman '' dux Mesopotamiae''.

Reconstruction by Justinian

According to

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

, the hasty construction of the original walls resulted in poor quality, and the severe weather conditions of the region exacerbated the problem, ruining some sections. Thus

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 ...

Justinian I was compelled to undertake extensive repairs to the city, afterwards renaming it ''Iustiniana Nova''. The walls were rebuilt and the inner wall raised by a new storey, doubling its height to about . The towers were strengthened and raised to three stories (ca. 35 m) high, and a moat dug out and filled with water. Justinian's engineers also diverted the nearby river Cordes towards the city by digging a canal. The river now flowed through the city, ensuring ample water supply. At the same time, by means of diverting its flow to an underground channel which exited to the north, the garrison was able to deny water to a besieging enemy, a fact which saved the city on several occasions. To avert the danger of flooding, which had already once wrecked large parts of the city, an elaborate arch dam was built to contain it, one of the earliest known of its kind. In addition, barracks were built for the garrison, and two new churches were constructed, the "Great Church", and one dedicated to

St Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

Later history

The city was later besieged and captured by the Persians under Khosrau I in 573–574, but was returned to the Romans by

Khosrau II Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king ( shah) of Iran, ruling ...

after the Roman-Persian treaty in 590. It was taken again by Khosrau II in 604–05 after a nine-month siege, recovered again for the Roman Empire by

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, led a revolt ...

. Finally captured in 639 by the Arab Muslims, the city then lost its military significance, declined and was eventually abandoned.

Modern history

Dara became the site of massacre during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through th ...

. According to some reports, the cisterns were filled with the bodies of slaughtered Armenians from Diyarbakır,

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location o ...

, and

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

in the spring and summer of 1915.

Ecclesiastical history

Archbishopric

The new city became the seat of a Christian bishop and was at first a Metropolitan see, with three suffragans :

Rhesaina Rhesaina (Rhesaena) ( grc, Ρέσαινα and Ρεσαίνα) was a city in the late Roman province of Mesopotamia Secunda and a bishopric that was a suffragan of Dara. Rhesaina (Rhesaena, Resaena – numerous variations of the name appear in an ...

(also called Theodosiopolis), Rhandus and

Nasala Nasala was an Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Mesopotamia and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Its present location in Asian Turkey is unclear. History Nasala was important enough in the Late Roman province of Mesopotamia Secunda to ...

. Its first known bishop was Eutychianus, who took possession in 506. His successor, Thomas, was deposed in 519 for his opposition to the Council of Chalcedon and died in 540. Mamas was removed in 537. Stephanus took part in the Second Council of Constantinople in 553. After the 7th-century Arab conquest, Dara again became the seat of Jacobite (Syriac Orthodox) bishops. Between 825 and 860, the archbishop was

John of Dara John ( 825–860), in Syriac Iwannis, was a Syriac Orthodox writer and the metropolitan bishop of Dara (Anastasiopolis). He wrote extensively on theology, philosophy and liturgy in the Syriac language. Life Nothing is known of John's life beyond ...

, a prolific theologian. In the 10th century, Syriac Orthodox Diocese of Dara lost its Metropolitan rank, which passed to its former suffragan

Titular Catholic see

No longer a residential bishopric, Dara is now listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, both Latin and in particular for the Syriac Catholic Church, which, though of the West Syriac Rite, is in full communion with the Holy See.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 879 The diocese was nominally restored in the 15th century as the Latin Catholic

titular bishopric 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 ...

of Dara. As such, it has the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Hubert Léonard,

Carmelite Order , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

(O. Carm.) (1474.11.16 – 1489.07.06) and again (1492.12.03 – ?) * Blasius de Aguinaga (1669.09.09 – ?) * Nicolás de Ulloa y Hurtado de Mendoza,

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

(O.E.S.A.) (1677.02.08 – 1679.11.27) * Francisco Zapata Vera y Morales (1680.03.11 – 1703.04.23) * Franz Engelbert Barbo von Waxenstein (1703.06.04 – 1706.12.25) In 1925 it was renamed and Promoted as Metropolitan

Titular archbishopric 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 ...

of Dara. It has been vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents of that (highest) rank : * Alfonso Archi (1925.11.16 – 1927.03.04) * Joseph-Marie Le Gouaze (1927.09.29 – 1930.12.05) * Luigi Fantozzi (1931.01.01 – 1932.01.14) * Torquato Dini (1933.11.12 – 1934.03.26) *

Antonio Riberi Antonio Riberi (15 June 1897 – 16 December 1967) was a Monegasque prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the fifth apostolic nuncio to Ireland and later as the nuncio to Spain from 1962 until his death. He was elevated to the cardinal ...

(黎培理) (1934.08.13 – 1967.07.25), as papal diplomat : Apostolic Delegate to Africa for Missions (1934.08.13 – 1945),

Apostolic Internuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

(papal envoy) to PR China (1946.07.06 – 1959.02.19),

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

(papal ambassador) to Ireland (1959.02.19 – 1962.04.28), Apostolic Nuncio to Spain (1962.04.28 – 1967.06.26); later created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Co ...

of S. Girolamo della Carità ''pro hac vice'' Title (1967.06.29 – 1967.12.16) * Nicholas Thomas Elko (1967.12.22 – 1971.08.10) Established as Titular bishopric of Anastasiopolis, suppressed without incumbent, restored in 1979 as

of Dara Syrorum (Dara of the Syriacs, or just Dara in Curiate Italian). It has had the following incumbents, of both the lowest (episcopal) ''and intermediary (archiepiscopal)'' ranks : * Titular Bishop Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka (1979.08.25 – 1983.07.15) (later Archbishop) * ''Titular Archbishop Flavien Joseph Melki (1996.05.25 – ... ),

Bishop of Curia A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

emeritus of the Syriacs

References

Sources and external links

Primary sources *

''Syriac Chronicle'', Book VII
Chapter VI *

Aedificiis'', Book II
Secondary sources *Brian Croke, James Crow: ''Procopius and Dara'', in: Journal of Roman Studies 73 (1983), p. 143–159. *Italo Furlan, ''Accertamenti a Dara'', Padua 1984 *Michael Whitby: ''Procopius' description of Dara ("Buildings" II 1-3)'', in: ''The defence of the Roman and Byzantine East. Proceedings of a colloquium held at the University of Sheffield in April 1986'', Oxford 1986, S. 737–783. * Gunnar Brands: ''Ein Baukomplex in Dara-Anastasiopolis'', in: ''Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 47'' (2004), pp. 144–155. *Christopher Lillington-Martin, "Archaeological and Ancient Literary Evidence for a Battle near Dara Gap, Turkey, AD 530: Topography, Texts & Trenches", British Archaeological Reports (BAR) –S1717, 2007 The Late Roman Army in the Near East from Diocletian to the Arab Conquest Proceedings of a colloquium held at Potenza, Acerenza and Matera, Italy (May 2005) edited by Ariel S. Lewin and Pietrina Pellegrini with the aid of Zbigniew T. Fiema and Sylvain Janniard. . (pages 299-311). Arch dam * * * * * External links
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on the city by ''

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''
GCatholic - Latin titular see, with titular incumbent bio links

{{Authority control Roman towns and cities in Turkey Populated places in ancient Upper Mesopotamia Former populated places in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire History of Mardin Province Buildings and structures in Mardin Province Syriac Catholic dioceses Catholic titular sees in Asia Roman–Sasanian Wars