The Greco Roman City of Apamea, Syria

A Syrian City of the Roman Empire

Nov 2, 2009 Natasha Sheldon

Important to history of Syria in terms of trade and defence, Apamea was one of the most important Middle Eastern cities of the Seleucid and Roman Empire

Apamea is situated 125km from Aleppo in northern Syrian Desert overlooking the Al Ghab plain. The area is a fertile one, good for grazing and the growing of trees and vines. It is also of strategic significance as it is close to the border of Syria. Apamea became a significant city to both the Romans and Greeks because of the areas importance to trade

The Founding of Apamea

The area around Apamea was occupied from the Stone Age. The first city on the site was known as was Pharnake until it was conquered by Alexander the Great and renamed Pella. With the demise of Alexander and the division of his empire amongst his generals, Pella fell under the rulership of Selecus I and was once again renamed. This time, it became known as Apamea after the king’s Persian wife.

Apamea prospered. Its rich pastureland made it the perfect breeding ground for the horses and elephants used in warfare. It was rebuilt in grey granite on typical Greek lines and became one of the most beautiful and important cities in the Seleucid empire, vital for not only warfare but also trade.

The Roman city of Apamea

The city’s strategic and economic importance also made it an attractive prospect to the Romans. The city was conquered in 64AD by the army of Pompey the Great. It was visited by Antony and Cleopatra at the end of one of Antony’s campaigns, a reflection of its status as one of the important cities of roman Syria.

The city’s golden age, however, did not begin until the second century AD. With its population at a peak of 500,000 inhabitants, massive rebuilding occurred after destruction in an earthquake in 115AD, reforming Apamea from a typically Hellenistic city into a Roman one. It is this character that Apamea retained until its decline in the 6th century AD when it was damaged by a further earthquake and taken by the Persians. The city visitors see today is predominantly the Roman one.

Excavation and Restoration of Apamea

Apamea was first excavated by the Belgians in the 1930s. At this time, the city was subjected to aerial mapping , which showed it had an elliptical shape with a central focal point of the main colonnaded street.

Much of the site was reconstructed in the 1970’s and excavations continue to this day. Despite its importance to archaeology and tourism, the site remains unfenced and still used by the local villagers for the grazing of their animals.

Excavation of the site continues to this day.

The buildings of Apamea

The focal point for the ruins of Apamea surrounds its central main street. These included a number of Christian churches and Basilicas. There are also many features dating to the city’s heyday.

• The Colonnaded Street. This was Apamea’s main street and at 2km long exceeds that of the main thoroughfare of Palmyra. It terminated in the Antioch Gate to the north and the Homs Gate to the south.

Constructed in the second century AD and re erected in the 1930s, the street takes its name from the continuous colonnaded porticos that line its pavements on both sides of the road. Many of 1200 10 metre high columns have a unique twisted pattern not seen in any other Roman cities. The capitals are sculpted with vegetative patterns and the faces of city leaders and emperors.

The area beyond the main junction of the street by the nymphaeum is the best preserved. It still has parts of the original paving, marked with wheel ruts and the raised pavements that would run along its length past the cities many shops and public buildings.

• The Agora The agora or forum is situated to the right of the colonnaded street when heading north. A rectangular space of 150m long and 25m wide, it was connected to the colonnaded street by a small road and a monumental entrance way which included a colonnaded portico topped with a triangular pediment. The toppled columns indicated that this entrance was destroyed in the final earthquake that devastated the city. It was reassembled when reconstruction of the city commenced.

• The Baths Situated close to the Antioch Gate, the baths have been identified by the remains of the tepidarium and caldarium. It is also possible to see the pipes that supplied the baths from Apamea’s water supply.

• The Theatre Originally constructed by the Seleucids, the remains of Apamea’s theatre today are of roman construct.

The theatre is built on a hill to the right of the colonnaded street. With a diameter of 139m it is the biggest theatre in Syria. Much of its stone was used to build the nearby Arab citadel which occupies the site of the city’s main acropolis.

• The Temple of Zeus. Situated to the right of the agora, this is the main identifiable temple in Apamea. All that remains are the foundations. The temple was not destroyed by the earthquake but on the instructions of one of the city’s Christian bishops in the 4th century AD.

Sculptural fragments identify some of the other gods worshipped in the city. One temple was certainly to the god Bacchus as fragments of sculpture have been found depicting the god and his associated grapevines.

• The Houses of Apamea lie away from Main Street. All generally had an ornamental entrance and exterior walls made of large stones. The general ground plans of the original design would have seen visitors passing into a courtyard and then onto reception and entertaining rooms on the ground floor.

As Apamea declined, so did her houses. Many show signs of subdivision in order to accommodate more occupants. Many of the houses continued in use past the fall of the city, well into the tenth and eleventh centuries AD.

Sources

Apamea: History and Ruins (2007) Rama Elias Keriaky. Trans; Ebtessam Elias Keriaky. Salhani Printing: Damascus.

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The Colonnaded street, Apamea