A kalybe (; ) is a type of

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

found in the eastern

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

dating from the 1st century and after. They were intended to serve as a "public facade or stage-setting, solely for the display of statuary." " ey were essentially stage-sets for ritual enacted ''in front'' of them." The kalybe has been associated with the

Roman imperial cult The Roman imperial cult () identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority ('' auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the ...

. The first kalybe to be identified as a distinct type was in Umm Iz-Zetun (or Zetum),For one modern spelling of the toponym. described by

Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé Marie-Eugène-Melchior, vicomte de Vogüé (25 February 1848 – 29 March 1910) was a French diplomat, Orientalist, travel writer, archaeologist, philanthropist and literary critic. Biography Born in Nice, France, he served in the Franco-Prussia ...

in 1867. Together with the temple he found two Greek inscriptions describing the structure as a "kalybe." Other than these, the only occurrence of the term is in a lexicon of

Hesychius of Alexandria Hesychius of Alexandria () was a Greek grammarian who, probably in the 5th or 6th century AD, compiled the richest lexicon of unusual and obscure Greek words that has survived, probably by absorbing the works of earlier lexicographers. The ...

from the 5th century; since that time more than seven similar temples have been identified in

Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, who had become the protector of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria. ...

. In addition to Umm Iz-Zetum these include

Shaqqa Shaqqa or Shakka () is a Syrian town in As Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. The town's inhabitants are predominantly Druze who migrated to the region from Mount Lebanon starting from the 18th century. In ancient times it was known as Sacc ...

(''Saccaea''), Il-Haiyat,

Shahba Shahba ( / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city located south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman Empire, Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis (in Arabia ...

(''Philippopolis'') (built around 245 by the 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 ...

Qanawat Qanawat () is a village in Syria, located 7 km north-east of al-Suwayda. It stands at an elevation of about 1,200 m, near a river and surrounded by woods. Its inhabitants are entirely from the Druze community. According to the Central ...

(''Kanatha''),

Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...

(''Bostra''),

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

(''Philadelphia '') and

Hippos A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water: * Hippopotamus * Pygmy hippopotamus Hippo or Hippos may also refer to: Toponymy * The ancient city of Hippo Regius (modern Annaba, Alg ...

. Kalybes were built facing a square or plaza where worshipers could gather. It is believed they were influenced by

Nabataean architecture Nabatean architecture (Arabic: اَلْعِمَارَةُ النَّبَطِيَّةُ; al-ʿimarah al-nabatiyyah) refers to the building traditions of the Nabateans ( /ˌnæbəˈtiːənz/; Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''; Ar ...

. Possibly the oldest, at

, was built in the late first century when Bosra was the capital of the

Nabataean Kingdom The Nabataean Kingdom (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢕𐢃𐢋𐢈 ''Nabāṭū''), also named Nabatea () was a political state of the Nabataeans during classical antiquity. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled many of the trade routes of the region, amassin ...

under

Rabbel II Soter Rabbel II Soter ( Nabataean Aramaic: ''Rabʾēl dī ʾaḥyēy wa-šēzīb ʿammeh'', "Rabbel, who gave life and deliverance to his people") was the last ruler of the Nabataean Kingdom, ruling from 70 to 106. His name as transcribed in Arabic ...

. Their form most resembles the rock-cut temples at

Petra Petra (; "Rock"), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: or , *''Raqēmō''), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, P ...

, and most have been found in cities that were formerly part of the Nabataean Kingdom.

References

Ancient Roman buildings and structures 2nd-century religious buildings and structures 3rd-century religious buildings and structures {{struct-type-stub