Shaqqa or Shakka ( ar, شَقَّا, Šaqqā) is a Syrian town in As Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, whose some 8,000 inhabitants are mainly Druze, descendants of those who migrated here from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in the 18th and 19th centuries. In ancient times it was known as Saccaea (transliterated also as Sakkaia). In AD 287, it was given the rank of a city and the name Maximianopolis.UNESCO, Les villages antiques du nord de la Syrie, pp. 115-116
/ref> Since it was situated in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

, it is distinguished from other cities by being called Maximianopolis in Arabia.

Location and architectural remains

Shaqqa is situated in the northern fringes of Jabal el Druze

volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throu ...

at 1070 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, 7 kilometres east of Shahba and about 25 kilometres north of

As-Suwayda As-Suwayda ( ar, ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء / ALA-LC romanization: ''as-Suwaydāʾ''), also spelled ''Sweida'' or ''Swaida'', is a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of As-Suwayda ...

, the capital of the governatorate. The ancient remains include several dwellings rich adorned both architecturally and by carvings. In addition it has: *The enormous ''Al-Qaysariye'', generally interpreted as the residence of the Roman governors, but more probably a small forum linked with a vast

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

l hall, which was worked on in the 3rd century. It has a number of rooms and halls with floral decorations. *A Roman civil basilica, later transformed into a church dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

. It is believed that this church is the oldest one dedicated to the martyr Saint George on the basis of a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

inscription naming the building for the "holy and triumphant" martyr George. It is dated to either AD 368 or 197. *A kalybe, an old architectural style of temples typical for the Roman era southern Syria. Maximianopolis in Arabia, doubtless the seat of a Roman garrison, was a '' colonia'', the highest rank of city in the empire. It employed a

calendar era A calendar era is the period of time elapsed since one '' epoch'' of a calendar and, if it exists, before the next one. For example, it is the year as per the Gregorian calendar, which numbers its years in the Western Christian era (the Copti ...

that counted the years from that of Maximian's accession to the imperial throne (AD 286). An inscription mentions a temple of Zeus Megistos,Frank R. Trombley: ''Hellenic Religion & Christianization, c. 370-529'', E. J. Brill, Leiden 1993 (= Religions in the Graeco-Roman world, 115), vol. II, p. 344 and another bearing an epigram about the philosopher Proclus is a witness to local literary culture.

Bishopric

In the 5th century Maximianopolis was an episcopal see, as indicated by the participation of its bishop Severus as a signatory of the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...

in 451. An inscription of 594 speaks of the local bishop, named Tiberinus, having erected a martyrium of

and other martyrs. Another inscription mentions a Bishop Peter.Siméon Vailhé, "Maximopolis" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1911)
/ref> The bishopric of Maximianopolis in Arabia is included in the

Catholic Church 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 ...

's list of

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 archbis ...

s.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 925 In the 19th century it was mistakenly called "Maximopolis", until corrected in 1885. Some sources of the same period proposed identification of Maximianopolis in Arabia with the town of

Sheikh Miskin Al-Shaykh Maskin ( ar, الشيخ مسكين, Al-Sheikh Meskīn), also spelled Sheikh Maskīn, Sheikh Miskeen, is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ibta' and ...

References

External links

Map of town
Google Maps {{Cities of Syria Roman towns and cities in Syria Populated places in Shahba District Roman sites in Syria Archaeological sites in as-Suwayda Governorate Towns in Syria Catholic titular sees in Asia Druze communities in Syria

Location and architectural remains

Bishopric

See also

References

External links