Resafa

Coordinates: 35°37′40″N 38°45′23″E / 35.62778°N 38.75639°E / 35.62778; 38.75639
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Rasappa
)
This article is about the historic site in central Syria. For Ismaili fortress village in Syria, see al-Rusafa, Syria. For places in Iraq, see Al-Rusafa.
Al-Resafa
الرصافة
Panoramic view of Resafa
Panoramic view of Resafa
Al-Resafa is located in Syria
Al-Resafa
Al-Resafa
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°37′40″N 38°45′23″E / 35.62778°N 38.75639°E / 35.62778; 38.75639
Country Syria
GovernorateRaqqa Governorate
DistrictRaqqa District
Elevation
300 m (1,000 ft)

Resafa (

Saint Sergius') and briefly as Anastasiopolis (Αναστασιόπολις, lit. 'city of Anastasius'), was a city located in the Roman province of Euphratensis, in modern-day Syria. It is an archaeological site situated southwest of the city of Raqqa and the Euphrates
.

Justinian.[1]
The walls of Resafa, which are still well preserved, are over 1600 feet in length and about 1000 feet in width; round or square towers were erected about every hundred feet; there are also ruins of a church with three apses.

Names

Resafa corresponds to the

Koinē Greek: Ράφες), where it is mentioned in Isaiah 37:12;[2][3] cuneiform sources give Rasaappa, Rasappa, and Rasapi.[4][3]

Notitia dignitatum, it is Rosafa.[3]

Saint Sergius.[6]

History

Antiquity

The site dates to the 9th century BC, when a military camp was built by the Assyrians.[7]

During Roman times, it was a desert outpost fortified to defend against the Sasanian Empire and a station on the Strata Diocletiana.[7] It flourished as its location on the caravan routes linking Aleppo, Dura-Europos, and Palmyra was ideal.[8]

Resafa had no spring or running water, so it depended on large cisterns to capture the winter and spring rains.[8]

Resafa was located in the area of the Roman–Persian Wars, and was therefore a well-defended city that had massive walls that surrounded it without a break. It also had a fortress.

In the 4th century, it became a pilgrimage town for Christians coming to venerate

Lakhmids of Mesopotamia.[9]

Muslim conquest to 13th century

The city was lost by the Byzantines in the 7th century when the Arabs won the final victory at the

Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–743) made the city his favoured residence, and built several palaces around it,[10] which are counted among the qasr or desert castle category.[11]

The city was finally abandoned in the 13th century when the Mongols and Turks invaded the area.

Civil War, 2011-2017

In the

Syrian Civil War, the town was occupied by ISIS, before being liberated by Government forces on 19 June 2017 during the Southern Raqqa Offensive.[12]

Ecclesiastical history

Sergiopolis's first bishop was appointed shortly after 431 by

Council of Antioch
.

Sergiopolis obtained the title of

Khosrau I (in 543), ransomed 1,200 captives for two hundred pounds of gold,[13] and, in 1093, Metropolitan Simeon restored the great Basilica ("Échos d'Orient", III, 238); which attests to the continuing existence of Christianity in Rasafa.[14][15]

Titular see(s)

The (arch)diocese of Sergiopolis was nominally restored as a

titular bishopric
, initially of the lowest (episcopal) rank, and under the curiate name Sergiopolis antea Resapha (having namesakes see Sergiopolis), and had the following incumbents as such:

In 1925, it was promoted to

titular archbishopric
of the highest, Metropolitan rank, and its name was shortened to Sergiopolis. As such, it has had the following incumbents, the first two however still only as titular bishop :

  • Titular Bishop Hector-Raphaël Quilliet (1928.03.23 – 1928.11.26)
  • Titular Bishop François-Marie Kersuzan (1929.02.04 – 1935.07.23)
  • Titular Archbishop Adolfo Alejandro Nouel y Boba-Dilla (1935.10.11 – 1937.06.26)
  • Titular Archbishop Basile Khoury (1938.10.15 – 1941.11.21)
  • Titular Archbishop Natale Gabriele Moriondo, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1943.06.01 – 1946.01.03)
  • Titular Archbishop Antonio Taffi (1947.05.14 – 1970.01.06).

Gallery

  • Basilica of St. Sergius
    Basilica of St. Sergius
  • Byzantine columns
    Byzantine columns
  • Ruins
    Ruins
  • Walled city
    Walled city
  • Ruins of Sergiopolis
    Ruins of Sergiopolis
  • North gate of the city of Resafa, site of Hisham's palace and court
    North gate of the city of Resafa, site of Hisham's palace and court

References

  1. ^ "De edificiis", II, ix
  2. ISBN 978-1-4514-0935-2
    .
  3. ^ a b c d Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), loc.cit.
  4. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sergiopolis" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  5. ^ V, xiv, 19, cited in Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sergiopolis" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  6. ^ "Procopius, de Bellis, *u*p*e*r *t*w*n *p*o*l*e*m*w*n *l*o*g*o*s *d*e*u*t*e*r*o*s, chapter 5". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
  7. ^
    ISBN 90-04-11127-1
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-3-8376-4538-5
    .
  9. ISBN 0-88402-284-6
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-674-51173-6
    .
  11. ^ Jacobson, David M. (1985-86). "Upper Herodium: A Fortress or a Château?" In Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 5, pp.56-68 [63]. Accessed 31 March 2024 via academia.edu.
  12. ^ "Syrian government forces liberate Rusafa town in southwest Raqqa". June 19, 2017.
  13. ^ Procopius, "De bello pers." II, 5, 20
  14. ^ This section is abridged from Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sergiopolis" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  15. ^ E J Brill, First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936, p.1184

Sources and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Resafa.
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