Δάρας(in Greek) | |
 Ruins of rock-cut building in Daras | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Daras, Anastasiopolis, Iustiniana Nova |
|---|---|
| Location | Oğuz,Mardin Province,Turkey |
| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 37°10′40″N40°56′28″E / 37.17778°N 40.94111°E /37.17778; 40.94111 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Anastasius I |
| Founded | 505 |
| Abandoned | After 639 |
| Periods | Late Antiquity |
| Events | Battle of Dara Fall of Dara |
Dara orDaras (Turkish: Dara Antik Kenti;Kurdish: Darê;Greek:Δάρας;Syriac:ܕܪܐ[1]) was an importantEast Roman fortress city in northernMesopotamia on the border with theSassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in theRoman-Persian conflicts (in530, 540, 544,573, and 604). The former archbishopric remains a multipleCatholictitular see. Today, the village ofDara, in theMardin Province occupies its location.
During theAnastasian War in 502–506, the Roman armies fared poorly against theSassanid Persians. According to theSyriac Chronicle ofZacharias of Mytilene, 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 ofNisibis (which until its cession in 363 had served the same purpose for the Romans).[2]
Therefore, in 505, while the Persian KingKavadh I was distracted in the East, EmperorAnastasius I decided to rebuild the village of Dara, only 18 kilometres westwards fromNisibis 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 andSaracens".[2] 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 watercisterns.[2] It took the nameAnastasiopolis (Greek:Ἀναστασιούπολις) and became the seat of the Romandux Mesopotamiae.
According toProcopius, 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. ThusByzantine EmperorJustinian I was compelled to undertake extensive repairs to the city, afterwards renaming itIustiniana Nova.[3] The walls were rebuilt and the inner wall raised by a new storey, doubling its height to about 20 m (66 ft). The towers were strengthened and raised to three stories (ca. 35 m) high, and a moat dug out and filled with water.[4]
Justinian's engineers also diverted the nearby riverCordes 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 65 km (40 mi) to the north, the garrison was able to deny water to a besieging enemy, a fact which saved the city on several occasions.[5] 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,[6] one of the earliest known of its kind.[7] In addition, barracks were built for the garrison, and two new churches were constructed, the "Great Church", and one dedicated toSt Bartholomew.[8]
The city was laterbesieged and captured by the Persians underKhosrau I in 573–574, but was returned to the Romans byKhosrau II after the Roman-Persian treaty in 591. It was taken again by Khosrau IIin 604–05 after a nine-month siege, recovered again for the Roman Empire byHeraclius. Finally captured in 639 by the Arab Muslims, the city then lost its military significance, declined and was eventually abandoned.
Dara became the site of massacre during theArmenian genocide. According to some reports, the cisterns were filled with the bodies of slaughtered Armenians fromDiyarbakır,Mardin, andErzurum in the spring and summer of 1915.[9]
The new city became the seat of a Christian bishop and was at first aMetropolitan see, with threesuffragans :Rhesaina (also called Theodosiopolis),Rhandus andNasala.[10]
Its first known bishop was Eutychianus, who took possession in 506. His successor, Thomas, was deposed in 519 for his opposition to theCouncil of Chalcedon and died in 540. Mamas was removed in 537. Stephanus took part in theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553.
After the7th-century Arab conquest, Dara again became the seat ofJacobite (Syriac Orthodox) bishops.[11][12] Between 825 and 860, the archbishop wasJohn of Dara, a prolific theologian. In the 10th century, Syriac Orthodox Diocese of Dara lost its Metropolitan rank, which passed to its former suffraganRhesaina.[13]
No longer a residential bishopric, Dara is now listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see, both Latin and in particular for theSyriac Catholic Church, which, though of theWest Syriac Rite, is in full communion with theHoly See.[14]
The diocese was nominally restored in the 15th century as the Latin Catholictitular bishopric of Dara.
As such, it has the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank :
In 1925 it was renamed and Promoted as MetropolitanTitular archbishopric of Dara.
It has been vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents of that (highest) rank :
Established as Titular bishopric ofAnastasiopolis, suppressed without incumbent, restored in 1979 astitular bishopric ofDara 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 :
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Arch dam
External links
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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