Apamea
About the place
- Country : Syria , Hama
- Address : 35°25'14.0"N 36°24'03.0"E
- Category : Urban Facilities
Apamea
Overview:
• The ancient Syrian city of Apamea is located in the middle of the Al-Ghab Plain, 55 km northwest of the city of Hama. An ancient fortress that has its name is located next to it and is known today as Qalaat Al Madiq.
Historic overview:
It was mentioned in ancient histories, so Strabon mentioned it as "Barnuka", and after the battle of Issus in 333 BC, it was called "Bella".
• The real founder of this city is King Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. He named it after his Persian wife, Apame, and made it the war capital of the Seleucid Empire. It was called in the days of Emperor Claudius as (Claudia Apamea).
• The city has maintained its prosperity and military status throughout its long history and over nine centuries. It was the staging ground for the Seleucid armies, many of the events of the Roman civil wars took place in it. It played an important role in the Roman-Persian Wars.
• The Muslim Arabs opened it in 640 AD, but their interest in it focused on its fortress, which was known since the tenth century as Qalaat al-Madiq. It was occupied by the Crusaders and then liberated from them by (Nur al-Din Zengi) in 1149 AD.
• Interest in Apamea returned in the nineteenth century when travelers, historians and researchers began to visit and research the ruins of this great city. However, serious archaeological excavations began at the hands of a Belgian archaeological mission in the name of the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, managed by Mayence and Lacoste. The first excavations were carried out in the years 1928 AD, 1930 AD until 1938 AD, then 1947 AD until 1953 AD. Then these excavations resumed in 1965 in the name of the Belgian Archaeological Research Center. The Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums participated in the restoration of parts of the main street and the wall.
Architectural Description:
• The Apamea site contains several levels dating back to the Stone, Bronze, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic ages. However, its Hellenistic origin dominates the basic planning of the city, which takes the chess shape known to the cities of that era such as Antioch and Latakia.
• In order to preserve this archaeological wealth, the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums restored the archaeological Ottoman khan attributed to (Sinan Pasha) to be a special museum for the Apamea region, as it was opened in 1982.
• The rest of the discovered antiquities are preserved in the Damascus Museum, Hama Museum, Apamea Museum and Brussels Museum.
Resources:
discover-syria website
cometosyria website
syr-res website
