Ζεῦγμα | |
 Parts of Zeugma have become submerged in theEuphrates since the construction of theBirecik Dam | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Belkis,Gaziantep Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Commagene |
| Coordinates | 37°3′31″N37°51′57″E / 37.05861°N 37.86583°E /37.05861; 37.86583 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Seleucus I Nicator |
| Founded | 300 BC |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Partially submerged |
Zeugma (Ancient Greek:Ζεῦγμα;Syriac:ܙܘܓܡܐ) was an ancientHellenistic eraGreek and thenRoman city ofCommagene; located in modernGaziantep Province,Turkey. It was named for thebridge of boats, orzeugma,[1] that crossed theEuphrates at that location.[2]Zeugma Mosaic Museum contains mosaics from the site, and is one of the largest mosaic museums in the world.
Zeugma was founded soon after 300 BC as the city of Seleucia bySeleucus I Nicator, aDiadochus (successor) toAlexander the Great andMacedonian founder of theSeleucid Kingdom, on the site where he had the first bridge over theEuphrates built.[3] In 64 BC, theRoman Republic gained control of the city. Zeugma was of great importance to theRoman Empire as it was located at a strategically important place. Up to 70,000 people lived in the city, and it became a center for the military and commerce for theancient Romans.[2] In 253 AD, it was destroyed by theSassanids, but was later rebuilt.[3]
Inlate antiquity, Zeugma was adiocese of theearly Roman church, but the place seems to have been abandoned in the 7th century due to Sassanid Persian and then Arab raids by theUmayyad Caliphate.Arabs lived there temporarily in theMiddle Ages. By the 17th century theOttoman Turkish village of Belkis was built near the ruins.
Initially the site was excavated sporadically, but in 2000, was flooded during construction of theBirecik Dam.[4] With only a fraction of the site excavated, archaeologists feared that many mosaics would be permanently lost.[5] After reading about it inThe New York Times, and with only few months left, American philanthropistDavid W. Packard donated USD 5 million to fund an emergency excavation of the archaeological site, allowing archaeologists to preserve the mosaics that would otherwise be inundated by the dam.[6][7] The mosaics that were excavated were initially stored at theGaziantep Museum, and are nowadays displayed at theZeugma Mosaic Museum.[8]
Zeugma has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Site tentative list since 2012. Extant archaeological remains at the site include "the Hellenistic Agora, the Roman Agora, two sanctuaries, the stadium, the theatre, two bathhouses, the Roman legionary base, administrative structures of the Roman legion, the majority of the residential quarters, Hellenistic and Roman city walls, and the East, South and West necropoles."[9]
Three large glass mosaics were discovered at Zeugma in 2014, including one depicting the nineMuses.[10]
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum attracted a record 340,569 visitors in 2019, according to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry.[11]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Zeugma".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| International | |
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