TOURISM: Zeugma Antique City
August 21, 2008 – 9:24 pm
Travel to Turkey
Zeugma is an antique city founded by one of the generals of Alexander the Great. The name of the general is Seleucus Nicador. The city dates back to 3 BC. The name of the city, Zeugma means “the bridge of boats”.
Now Zeugma antique city is found in Gaziantep, Turkey. Zeugma city was a very important trade way. It was used as a passage way. The area of the city is approximately 20000 square meters. It is near the river Fırat. That makes it economically and militarily important.
History of Zeugma Antique City
Zeugma was founded by Seleucus Nicador. It was one of the biggest cities of Commagene Kingdom. In 1 AD, the city was under the control of Roman Empire. The city was named after Seleceus Nicador. The name was changed in 1 AD, the name “Zeugma” was given to the city. In its long history, Zeugma faced many attacks. Some of them ruined it. When Sassanids invaded the area, Zeugma was damaged. After that, the city becomes the land of Roman Empire. Islamic rushes affect the city. People left Zeugma due to these rushes and Islamic population inhabits it. In 17th century, a village named “Belkıs” is founded in the area.
Why Is Zeugma So Important?
Excavations found a unique city. Zeugma is one of the oldest, greatest cities of the world history. It combines culture, history, art and archeology. The city is famous for its mosaics.
The collection of Zeugma consists of mosaics, bullas, and statues. Zeugma is the city of mosaics. Only a small part of mosaics could be found with excavations. These are Roman works. This kind of mosaic can be found in two places in Turkey, Zeugma and Ephesus. If you also wonder about Ephesus read also TRAVEL: Pearl of Aegean: Izmir – Turkey.
Half of the area found with archeological excavations is covered with mosaics. That makes it world wide famous. Some of them were taken to Gaziantep Museum. Who made these works and why? The area was a common point for traders, for passengers. It was a point where people from the entire world met. These attracted the attention of artists. Lots of painters, sculptures came to Zeugma and left all these masterpieces to our age.
A world record was broken in Zeugma. A collection of more than 100.000 bullas were found. Bulla is a kind of seal used for letters. Finding so many bullas shows the great state archive of Zeugma. On every bulla, there are different figures. These figures give us information about economical, cultural situation of the era. The collection is displayed in Gaziantep Museum. It is one of the richest bulla collections of the world.
Sculptures and statues found in Zeugma are other unique parts of the city. The styles sculptures used here lead the other artists. Combining traditional and cultural elements of the area, works that can be seen only in Zeugma were made. Examining these different sculptures and statues is highly recommended during your visitation.
The city is divided into three, A, B, C. With excavations, A and B parts met with sunlight. There is not an excavation work for part C. There is a project to establish a museum at that part. However, ironically A and B parts is under water! A dam was built on the city!