Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:52 AM Sayfa
Zeugma
Excavation work has been carried out by numerous archaeologists
over the past year in order to save the artefacts of the ancient city of
Zeugma from becoming totally submerged by the waters of the
Birecik Dam constructed over the Euphrates River. Currently
excavations are carried out by Assoc. Prof. Kutalm›fl Görkay. Zeugma
is located 10 km. from the provincial district of Nizip in the province
of Gaziantep. One of Alexander the Great's generals, Seleuchos
Nicator I established the city of 'Apameia' at the most convenient
crossing point on the Euphrates for his Persian wife Apama in the
year 300 BC. He also established a city directly across from here
which he called 'Seleucheia Euphrates.' Moreover, he had a bridge
constructed which connected the two sides. As it was situated on the
Silk Road that stretched from Antioch to China, these cities
expanded and became affluent.
During the 1 st century BC, Zeugma became one of the four major
cities of the Kingdom of Commagene that was expanding in the
region. It became rich through trade conducted with Samsat via the
river's waterways. The city was then put under Roman rule in the
year 64 BC. It was the Romans who gave the city the name Zeugma,
which means 'bridgehead.' As a consequence, Zeugma continued to
expand under the Roman administration. The city's position took an
immediate importance when four legionnaire garrisons of a total of
7,000 men was placed here.
The city became outfitted with incredible beauty when the
merchants had new villas constructed next to those of the military
administrators, facing the magnificent view of the Euphrates. As
there was marble quarried in the region, the wealthy and the military
administrators decorated their villa floors with mosaics comprised of
the colorful stone of the Euphrates. Their walls were also decorated
with frescoes that were made from a sublayer of stone and an upper
layer of adobe brick. Zeugma's glittering days were during the 1 st -2 nd
centuries AD whereas it hosted the top Roman administrators and
officers for 200 years. Thus, the city continued to be the most
important Roman outpost and this was proven by the 65,000 tablets
Also uncovered at Zeugma, this mosaic shows that Achilles participated in
the Troian War.
245