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Where in the world

Syria

Dura-Europos

Roman · Syria

Field notes

civilizations: Roman
types: City
built: 300 BCE
occupied: 300 BCE — 256 CE
country: Syria

The site

Dura-Europos was a border city perched on an escarpment ninety metres above the Euphrates in present-day Syria, founded around 300 BCE by Seleucus I Nicator. Passing through Hellenistic, Parthian, and Roman hands, it became Rome's easternmost stronghold in Mesopotamia before a Sasanian siege ended it in 256–257 CE. Abandoned and buried under sand, it was so well preserved that archaeologists dubbed it the "Pompeii of the Desert."

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