Bab al-Jabiya (; ''Gate of the Water Trough'') is one of the seven ancient city-gates of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. During the Roman era, the gate was dedicated to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. Bab al-Jabiya was the main entrance on the city's west side. The gate opens on Medhat Pasha Souq, which is the modern western half of the Street Called Straight, the Roman east-west artery (''

decumanus In Roman urban planning, a ''decumanus'' was an east–west-oriented road in a Ancient Rome, Roman city or ''Castra, castrum'' (military camp). The main ''decumanus'' of a particular city was the ''decumanus maximus'', or most often simply "the ...

''), which still connects it to

Bab Sharqi Bab Sharqi (; "The Eastern Gate"), also known as the Gate of the Sun, is one of the seven ancient city gates of Damascus, Syria. Its modern name comes from its location in the eastern side of the city. The gate also gives its name to the Christ ...

(the Roman "''Gate of the Sun''"). The gate's modern name dates to the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

period and comes from the name of Jabiyah in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, then the capital city of the

Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...

, allies of the Roman Empire.

History

During Roman times the gate was a typical tripartite gate with three entrances; a central carriageway for wheeled vehicles, flanked by two pedestrian entrances. Close to the gate is where the Roman Temple of Jupiter and the Theatre of

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

(modern Bayt al-Aqqad), once stood. Damascus was conquered by

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

In the Rashidu era. During the Siege of Damascus, the Muslim general Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah, entered Damascus peacefully through this gate on 18 September 634. He met the forces of

Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (; died 642) was a 7th-century Arabs, Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career ...

, which entered the city by force from the

, halfway through the Street Called Straight, near the present day

Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus The Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus, also known as the Maryamiyya Church (), is one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in Damascus, Syria and holds the seat of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. The church complex is located on the Stree ...

. Under Muslim rule, the gate was partially blocked except for a small pedestrian opening. It was rebuilt during the reign of Nur ad-Din Zengi, and the date was inscribed as 567 Hijri (1171-1172 AD). Other inscriptions reveal that it was renovated again under the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

Sultan al-Malik al-Mu'azzam, and again under the Mamluks in 687 Hijri (1288-1289 AD).

References

{{coord, 33, 30, 29.25, N, 36, 18, 6, E, type:landmark_region:SY, display=title Gates of Damascus