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Al-Masmiyah

Coordinates:33°7′45″N36°23′38″E/ 33.12917°N 36.39389°E/33.12917; 36.39389
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This article is about the ancient village in southern Syria. For the depopulated village in historic Palestine, seeal-Masmiyya al-Kabira.
Al-Masmiyah
المسمية
Musmiyeh
Mesmiyeh
Town
Al-Mismiyah
19th-century drawing of interior space of the Roman temple ("Praetorium") in al-Masmiyah[1]
19th-century drawing of interior space of the Roman temple ( "Praetorium" ) in al-Masmiyah[1]
Al-Masmiyah is located in Syria
Al-Masmiyah
Al-Masmiyah
Location in Syria
Coordinates:33°7′45″N36°23′38″E/ 33.12917°N 36.39389°E/33.12917; 36.39389
Grid position280/281PAL
CountrySyria
GovernorateDaraa
Districtal-Sanamayn
Subdistrictal-Masmiyah
Population
(2004)
• Total1,498
Time zoneUTC+2(EET)
• Summer (DST)+3
Wikimedia Commons has media related toAl-Masmiyah.

Al-Masmiyah(Arabic:المسمية,also spelledMusmiyeh,Mesmiyeh,Mismiya,MismiaandMusmeih) is a town in southernSyria,administratively part of theDaraa Governorate,located northeast ofDaraain theal-Sanamayn District.Nearby localities includeJababandMuthabinto the west,Ghabaghibto the northeast,Jubb al-Safato the north,Burraqto the northeast,Khalkhalahandal-Surah al-Saghirahto the southeast andDamato the south.[2]

History

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The ancient city of Phaena, judging by the ruin field still visible at Masmiya in the 19th century, had a radius of roughly three miles, making it as large as theancient walled areaofDamascusand larger than theOld CityofJerusalem[3](which is of Early Muslim date in its present outline and smaller than some of its earlier iterations).

Roman period

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Al-Masmiyah is identified with theRoman-eratown ofPhaena.[4]Phaena was the capital of theTrachonitisdistrict ofRoman Syria,as confirmed by aGreekinscription on the Roman temple which reads "Julius Saturninusto the people of Phaena, capital of Trachon. "[5]The ruins of a Roman era house built in theBataneanarchitectural style is believed to have possibly served as the home of the Roman governor of Trachonitis.[6]One of the rooms on the ground-level floor was supported by an 18-foot arch and had acornice-decorated ceiling. The town contains the ruins of a Roman-era pagan temple, called thePraetorium,[7][8]that was constructed by the commander of theThird Gallic Legionbetween 160–169 CE during the reign of the Roman emperorsAurelius AntoninusandLucius Aurelius Verus.[5]

In the early 3rd century CE, Phaena was still an important village known as ametrocomia.[9]

Byzantine periods

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The Praetorium was transformed into a church during theByzantineperiod and the structural plan makes it one of the oldest examples of Byzantine church architecture.[clarification needed][10]During the Byzantine period it became anepiscopal see,whose bishops participated in theecumenical councilsofEphesus(431) and Chalcedon(451).[4][5]

Ottoman period

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19th century

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In 1810, Swiss explorerJohann Burckhardtwas the first contemporary scholar to visit al-Masmiyah and he was later followed by Bankes and Barry, who sketched a precise plan of the Praetorium, in 1819.[11]In 1838, Biblical scholarEli Smithreported thatKurdsinhabited the village.[12]By the late 1860s a few impoverishedArabfamilies from the Sulut tribe reportedly lived inside the ruins of al-Masmiyah.[13]Apparently, the village was abandoned most of the time, but was occasionally occupied by nomadic Arab families seeking shelter in its ruins.[3]

In the 1870s, al-Masmiyah was an uninhabited village.[4]However, it was later settled when theOttomansultanAbdul Hamid II(1876–1909) acquired al-Masmiyah and six other nearby Hauran villages in the late 19th century as a personal estate. The farmers he employed in the village were afforded security, giving them protection from nomadic raiders. They were also exempt from conscription, protected from monetary collections from local notables and at times were loaned money without interest. These factors resulted in the prosperity of al-Masmiyah and the larger estate.[14]

In 1875, before Abdul Hamid's reign, theOttoman armytook apart the Praetorium for the construction material used to build a nearby army barracks atBurraq.[11]

In 1886, al-Masmiyah was briefly occupied by theDruzeclans ofAtrashand Halabi during a quarrel with the Sulut tribe.[15]

20th century

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Following theYoung Turk Revolutionin 1908, the sultan ceded estate to the treasury department of theDamascus governmentand consequently, the inhabitants, who were both tenants of the government and permanent residents of the villages, had to pay 20–22% of their agricultural products to the authorities. Nonetheless, the conditions of the inhabitants of the government estate were better than the estates of the notables.[14]In 1915 the population of al-Masmiyah was estimated as 300Melkites(Greek Catholics) and 20Sunni Muslims.

Archaeological remains

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According to Western travelerJosias Leslie Porterwho visited the region in the late 1850s, the ruins of al-Masmiyah "are among the most interesting and beautiful in the Hauran," not least due to its numerous Greek inscriptions.[3]The majority of the ancient city's homes were in rubble, but a number of public buildings were relatively well-preserved.[3]Porter further remarked that except for the Roman temple "there are several other buildings... but they are not remarkable either for their size or architecture.[5]

Roman temple

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The temple was destroyed in 1875 or 76 by the Ottoman army, who used its stones to build a barracks atBurraq.The temple had earlier been photographed byTancrède Dumas.[11]It still remained the subject of study by scholars inGreco-Roman architectureafter its dismantlement.

This is a description based on traveler reports predating the 1875 destruction.

Along with the Roman temple dedicated toTychein nearbyal-Sanamayn,the so-called "Praetorium" of al-Masmiyah is the only Roman temple in theLevantthat contains niches for statues in thecella.This unique feature in Roman architecture was likely inspired by pre-Roman architecture, particularly the temple ofBaal-Shaminin theSyrian Deserttown ofPalmyraor in variousArabiancities.[16]The Praetorium was situated atop a podium in atemenossurrounded by colonnades.[11]

It was relatively small, measuring 24.8 x 16.4 meters.[11]It has a rectangular ground plan with a semi-circularapsethat projects onto one side of the building opposite of the doorway.[17]Both sides of the doorway contained niches reserved for statues.[18]The interior space consisted of a single room, which was thenaos,[11]and measured 15.09 x 13.78 meters.[19]

The Praetorium was formerly topped by a square domed roof, likely acloister vault,which had since collapsed.[17][18]The roof is supported by four free-standing columns fixed at the inner angles ofcross-vaultedarches,[7]which together form aGreek cross.[10]On the opposite end of each columns stood a half-column, making for a total of four main columns, eight half-columns, and four quarter columns (situated at each corner) inside thenaos.[19]The arches sit onlintelsthat span the space between the outer wall and the columns supporting the roof.[7]

There were six niches against the walls that were reserved for the placement of statues and in the center of them was the main space, theadyton,used to hold the main statue of the pagan cult. Theadytonwas topped by a conch-shaped half-dome.[20]The building had two windows, a rare feature in Classical pagan temples, and a total of three entryways.[19]Of the entryways, there was a principal central doorway that was higher and broader than the two side-doors.[21]

The temple ruins contained a partially destroyedporticowith six columns.[10]The material used for the building was dry stone.[17]Other than the dome and the portico, the building had been well preserved until the 19th century.[18]

Demographics

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According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS), al-Masmiyah had a population of 1,498 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Masmiyahnahiyah( "subdistrict" ) which consists of 16 localities with a collective population of 8,773 in 2004.[22]As of the early 20th century, its inhabitants were largelyMelkite Christians,though there was a small Muslim community as well. In 2004, the village still had a significant Melkite Christian population.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Sturgis (1907), p.291.
  2. ^Mismiyah Map.Mapcarta. Map depicts al-Masmiyah and nearby localities.
  3. ^abcdPorter (1858), pp. 502-503.
  4. ^abcSocin (1876), p.422.
  5. ^abcdPorter (1858), p. 503.
  6. ^Freshfield (1869), p.57.
  7. ^abcVan Millingen (2010), p.2.
  8. ^Ball (2002), pp.242-243.
  9. ^Donahue (1988, p. 172.
  10. ^abcLongfellow (1903), p.238.
  11. ^abcdefSegal (2008), p.110.
  12. ^Smith;in Robinson and Smith (1841), vol 3, Second appendix, B, p.155.
  13. ^Freshfield (1869), p.59.
  14. ^abIssawi (1988), p. 330.
  15. ^Firro (1992), pp.216-217.
  16. ^Segal (2008), p.107.
  17. ^abcSturgis (1907), p.292.
  18. ^abcFreshfield (1869), p.56.
  19. ^abcSegal (2008), p.111.
  20. ^Segal (2008), p.112.
  21. ^Segal (2008), p.117
  22. ^General Census of Population and Housing 2004.Syria Central Bureau of Statistics(CBS). Daraa Governorate.(in Arabic)
  23. ^Dick, Marlin (May–June 2004)."Deep Roots in a Fertile Land".ONE Magazine.Catholic Near East Welfare Association.Retrieved4 November2018.

Bibliography

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