Trachonitis

Roman period

During the Roman era, Trachonitis' inhabitants gradually became settled and gained exemption from taxation. Under emperor Trajan, the region was transferred to the province of Arabia. The Romans built a road that passed through the center of Trachonitis and connected with the Roman road system in Syria. Several towns and villages sprang up in Trachonitis between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. Many of these settlements had theaters, colonnades and temples. There are almost twenty sites in the Lajat that contain ruins and inscriptions from the Roman period, including Phillipopolis (modern-day Shahba) and Sha'ara (ancient name unknown). The town of Zorava (modern-day Izra') was the political center of Trachonitis and its earliest inhabitants were Nabatean Arabs. The main Nabatean tribes of the town were the Sammenoi and the Migdalenoi (migrants from nearby al-Mujaydil). The inhabitants practiced a Roman pagan cult as early as 161 AD. In the 3rd century, they built numerous houses and baths from basaltic stone, and the town had a relatively urban character.