Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of
Damascus,
Syria.
Archaeology
An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity,
Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the
Institut du Monde Arabe
The ''Institut du Monde Arabe'', French for Arab World Institute, abbreviated ''IMA'', is an organization founded in Paris in 1980 by France with 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world and its cultural an ...
in Paris, indicates that a
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
religious building previously stood on the site.
There is a reference to a building in a lawsuit in 216, however in 245 CE, in the reign of the
Roman Emperor Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab ( la, Marcus Julius Philippus "Arabs"; 204 – September 249) was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in Aurantis, Arabia, in a city situated in modern-day Syria. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, ...
, the Roman
Temple of Dumeir, located in the center of the old town, was dedicated to
Zeus Hypsistos The shape is highly unusual, and construction may have commenced as a public fountain or staging post, but in its final form it is clearly a temple.
It was fortified in the Arab period, the arch on the rear wall being filled in with stones and defensive devices. The temple has been restored as the result of much research and reconstruction work.
The
Ghassanid
The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...
phylarch
A phylarch ( el, φύλαρχος, la, phylarchus) is a Greek title meaning "ruler of a tribe", from '' phyle'', "tribe" + ''archein'' "to rule".
In Classical Athens, a phylarch was the elected commander of the cavalry provided by each of the ...
(tribal king)
al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith
Al-Mundhir ibn al-Ḥārith (), known in Greek language, Greek sources as (Flavios) Alamoundaros (), was the king of the Ghassanids, Ghassanid Arabs from 569 to circa 581. A son of al-Harith ibn Jabalah, he succeeded his father both in the kingshi ...
built a tower at Dumayr. A Greek inscription engraved by al-Mundhir credits himself for its construction and thanks God and
St. Julian. A monastery associated with the Ghassanids called Dayr al-Matirun, likely an Arabicized version of the Greek
martyrion, existed about east of Dumayr.
Facilities
A cemetery was built in 1960 for the French casualties of WWI and WWII in Al-Dumayr.
The
Syrian Arab Air Force
)
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 16 October
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War
* Six-Day War
* Yom Kippur War
* ...
Al-Dumayr Military Airport
Al-Dumayr Military Airport is a Syrian Arab Air Force installation located 40 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria.
The airbase was used extensively by the Syrian Arab Air Forces and Iranian Armed Forces during the Syrian Civil War.
Histo ...
is also located in Al-Dumayr.
See also
*
Al-Dumayr offensive (April 2016)
The al-Dumayr offensive was a military offensive launched in April 2016 by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant near the town of al-Dumayr, east of Damascus, Syria. The attack is notable for the abduction of hundreds of cement plant worke ...
*
Desert castles
The Umayyad desert castles, of which the desert castles of Jordan represent a prominent part, are fortified palaces or castles in what was the then Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham. Most Umayyad "desert castles" are scattered over the semi-arid ...
- the Al-Dumayr ''qasr'' possibly dates to the Byzantine period, maybe built by the Ghassanids, but might be Umayyad as well
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Syrian Tourism Encyclopedia, Temple of Dumeir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumayr
Roman sites in Syria
Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate
Populated places in Douma District
Towns in Syria
Ghassanids