Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr () is a city located 45 kilometers north-east 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 ...
.
Archaeology
An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity,
Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the
Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, indicates that a
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra ...
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 I (; – September 249), commonly known as Philip the Arab, was Roman emperor from 244 to 249. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect, rose to power. He quickly negotiated peace with the S ...
, 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, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...
phylarch
A phylarch (, ) is a Greek title meaning "ruler of a tribe", from ''phyle'', "tribe" + ''archein'' "to rule".
Athens
In Classical Athens, a phylarch was the elected commander of the cavalry provided by each of the city's ten tribes.
In 442/44 ...
(tribal king)
al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith
Al-Mundhir ibn al-Ḥārith (), known in Byzantine sources as Flavios Alamoundaros (), was the king of the Ghassanid Arabs from 569 to circa 581. A son of al-Harith ibn Jabalah, he succeeded his father both in the kingship over his tribe and as ...
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
A ''martyrium'' (Latin) or ''martyrion'' (Greek) (: ''martyria)'', sometimes anglicized martyry (: "martyries"), is a church or shrine built over the tomb of a Christian martyr. It is associated with a specific architectural form, centered on ...
, 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 Al-Dumayr Military Airport is also located in Al-Dumayr.
See also
*
Al-Dumayr offensive (April 2016)
*
Desert castles - 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