Daraa ("fortress", compare Dura-Europos) (Arabic: درعا) is a city in southwestern Syria, near the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate. The city is located at about 32°37′31″N, 36°6′22″E. The Temple of Bel at Dura-Europos Dura-Europos (Fort Europos)[1] was a Hellenistic and Roman walled city built on an escarpment ninety meters above the banks of the Euphrates river. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ...

History

While part of the Roman province of Mesopotamia (on the northern, Armenian border), Daraa had been the temporary garrison site of a Roman legion.

It became a Byzantine fort in modern Syria. Anastasius I fortified it in 506 as a stronghold against Persian invasions on the frontier in Mesopotamia. Anastasius renamed the town Anastasiopolis (homonymous with various episcopal sees, mainly in Asia Minor), but the new name was rarely used. Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Flavius Anastasius or Anastasius I (c. ... Events Byzantine Empire and Persia accept a peace agreement based on status quo. ... The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... Mesopotamia refers to the region now occupied by modern Iraq, eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and Southwest Iran. ...

Construction of the fort

Daraa was located along the roads into Roman Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor, at the head of the Bouron river, which was dry in the summer but flowed into the Khabour river in the winter. The construction of Daraa, including the damming of the river to provide a large and secure water supply, combined with the advanced design of the fortifications and its situation so close to the frontier, led to the wars that erupted during the reign of Justinian I. There are ruins from this period in the modern city. Justinian depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale. ...

Sources and references

(incomplete)

• Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (in German)

See also

• Battle of Daraa (530)

External Links

Official Site of Daraa Governorate (Arabic)