Zalabiye ( ar, زلبيّة) is an archaeological site on the left bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Overview

The site is located near a narrow gap in the Euphrates Valley that is created by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

outcrops and that is called ''al-khanuqa'', or "the strangler". On the opposite river bank, some upstream, lies the contemporary fortress of

Halabiye Halabiye ( ar, حلبيّة, Latin/Greek: ''Zenobia'', ''Birtha'') is an archaeological site on the right bank of the Euphrates River in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. It was an ancient city and former bishopric known as ''Zenobia'' and a Latin ...

. Zalabiye was built during the third century CE when the short-lived

Palmyrene Empire The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, ...

, centred on the oasis-city of

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

, extended its reach toward the Euphrates area. The fortifications of the site were subsequently improved under the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

(527–565) as part of his program to strengthen the eastern border of the empire. The site originally had a rectangular shape surrounded by a fortification wall protected by square towers. Due to poor construction, the site has suffered from earthquakes and erosion by the Euphrates. Stones have also been used as ballast for the nearby railway. Today, only the eastern wall with eight towers and a gate remains. Beyond the city walls, on Zalabiye's north and east sides, lay extensive suburbs. Approximately upstream from Zalabiye, a dam had been built in the Euphrates with a diversion canal on the river's right bank. It is thought that the canal was constructed during the first century CE or possibly even during the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The Arabs named the canal after legendary queen

Semiramis ''Samīrāmīs'', hy, Շամիրամ ''Šamiram'') was the semi-legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and Ninus, who succeeded the latter to the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who dre ...

. The proposed construction of the

Halabiye Dam The Halabiye Dam (or Zalabiye Dam) is a proposed dam on the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. It will be the fourth and most southern dam on the Syrian Euphrates, after the Tishrin Dam, the Tabqa Dam and the Baath Dam. Project The pro ...

will lead to the flooding of Zalabiye by the dam's

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

and the Syrian government works with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

(UNDP) and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

to limit the impact of the dam on the ancient ruins of Halabiye and Zalabiye.

References

External links

Note on the impact of the Halabiye Dam on Zalabiye
(in French) Archaeological sites in Deir ez-Zor Governorate

Overview

See also

References

Further reading

External links