The stunning mosaic museum of Zeugma

It appears that I have missed the construction of the new museum for the mosaics saved from Zeugma. Since 2011, the Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology has housed the rich collection from the earlier Zeugma Mosaic Museum, and in 2017, the revamped museum finally reopened to the public. With its 1700 square meters of mosaics, it claims to display the biggest collection in the world. 

Zeugma reached headlines in 1990 when the Dam of Ataturk on the Euphrates River reached completion as part of the vast GAP project covering both the Euphrates and the Tigris. This is the fourth-largest dam in the world. As the remains of old Zeugma were to be flooded forever, thousands of people had been expelled from their homes and lands. Archaeologists from everywhere scrambled to save what they could before the river and sediments obliterated the ruins forever. For me, such an act of destruction is unforgivable, and I wrote several blogs on the disasters of building dams (see: My heart is bleeding for Allianoi, Damned dams! and Damned dams, once again) 

Looking at the events from the positive side, I have to admit that parts of Zeugma have been saved and preserved. They include the Hellenistic Agora, the Roman Agora, two sanctuaries, a theater, a Stadium, two bathhouses, and several necropolises. The Romans left their marks with a Legion’s Military Base, the city walls, and a good number of residential quarters. Archaeologists recognize the historical significance of this once prosperous city that has preserved testimonies from the ancient Semitic culture, Hellenistic and Roman occupation, and beyond. 

Since its foundation as Seleucia by Seleucos I, the city was a vital hub on the trade routes and flourished, especially during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. It was the Romans who, after their conquest of 64 BC, gave the town the name of Zeugma, which means “bridge” or “crossing” in ancient Greek. In 253 AD, the Persian Sassanids expelled the Romans, and their reign initiated the decline of Zeugma (see:  Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River) 

As can be expected, most of the mosaics exhibited at The Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology date from the 2^nd century BC and are very much Hellenistic in style and imagery. However, there are exceptions where the scenes are purely Roman or display Greek and Roman gods side by side. Less often mentioned are the rare mural frescos that survived the earthquakes and mudslides that led to the abandonment of Zeugma. 

Several exceptional mosaics have been recovered in extremis from one of the residential villas, of which there must be many more. Imagine how much of old Seleucia is being lost because of a dam that will no longer exist, and justify its construction in the next century. How can we condemn IS for blowing up Palmyra and accept the willful destruction of our heritage here in Zeugma? 

Zeugma, Border-town along the Euphrates River

Looking at the map of Syria, it is undeniable that most of its cities are concentrated in the west, along or close to the Mediterranean Sea. As soon as we turn to the east, the landscape becomes pretty desolate until we reach the Euphrates River, where a narrow stretch of land on either side is cultivated thanks to irrigation. The only road here follows the river's bends, dotted with occasional settlements frozen in a timeless time.

The Romans handily used the river as a natural frontier and built an entire string of forts in the style of the “limes” along the Rhine River, the Arabic Limes. They needed them as protection against possible invasions, mainly by the Sassanids from Persia. Looking at the map, we find a succession of towns and strongholds erected on the Euphrates River's western bank. Starting upstream, I read names like Zeugma, Hierapolis, Barablissos (on Lake Assad), Sura (where the Euphrates turns east), Rasaffa, Halabiye, Dura Europos, all the way down to Babylon in today’s Iraq. I think it is worthwhile to take a closer look at these names to see what they stand for and what heritage they have left for us.

Although there may have been some kind of fort at this location, it is generally agreed that Zeugma was founded by Seleucos I Nicator, one of Alexander’s generals, in 300 BC under the name of Seleucia-on-the-Euphrates. It was a strategic location on the trade route to the east connecting Antioch-on-the-Orontes with China. In 64 BC, this prosperous city was conquered by the Romans, who named it Zeugma, meaning as much as the “bridge of boats,” probably because of the pontoon bridge across the Euphrates River, which constituted, at that time, the border with the Persian Empire.

In 66 AD, the Romans had a particular legion (the Fourth Legion Scythica) stationed at Zeugma to protect their empire against invasions from the Parthians and Armenians. The soldiers must have spent their money lavishly if we consider the wealth in mosaics and frescoes that have been discovered. By the time the Romans annexed the Commagene Empire in 72 AD, the city had reached its highest prosperity, and the population must have risen to 80,000 people at least. But, like always, good times don’t last. In 256, Zeugma was invaded by the Sassanid King Shapur I with catastrophic consequences from which the city never recovered, especially since its decline was amplified by the violent earthquake that buried most of it. During the 5th and 6th centuries, it became part of the Byzantine Empire, and after ongoing Arab raids, it was abandoned again. We had to wait till the 10th and 12th centuries for a small Abbasid town to arise in Zeugma.

Zeugma reached headlines in 1990 when the Dam of Ataturk on the Euphrates was completed as part of the vast GAP project that covers both the Euphrates and the Tigris. This is the fourth largest dam in the world and belongs with 22 others to this project developed to irrigate a territory as large as Belgium. Thousands of people were expelled from their homes and lands as the remains of old Zeugma were flooded forever. Archaeologists worldwide scrambled to save whatever they could before the river and sediments obliterated the ruins. I consider such an act of destruction unforgivable. A proud city that withstood eons has to make way for money and politics, more so if you think that a dam has an average lifespan of 30 to 40 years, after which the irrigated lands become worthless because of the heavy alkali (salt) deposits in the soil. Besides, other countries located downstream of the Euphrates, like Syria, Iran, and Iraq, are claiming and fighting for their share of the water, with little result, I’m afraid.

The excavation work done in extremis at Zeugma has brought many gorgeous mosaics to light, which have been transferred to the nearby museum in Gaziantep. A few remains of plastered and painted walls have also been saved, together with some columns, statues, and all kinds of smaller household objects, coins, etc.

The mosaics, however, are of exceptional quality and very well preserved. They mainly pertain to one single villa with endless rooms paved with familiar scenes of gods and goddesses. For instance, Poseidon, Oceanus, and his sister/wife Tethys; a large floor mosaic of Oceanus and Tethys together; the classical birth of Aphrodite; Perseus who saved Andromeda from certain death; a lively scene of Daidalos and his son Ikarios; a picture of Demeter from a doorway; the river god Acheloos, King of Euphrates on one of the frames; a very colorful rendering of the wedding of Dionysus; a clearly Roman representation of Eros and Psyche; an absolutely fascinating gypsy girl, Gaia, with penetrating eyes; another Dionysus, this time with Bakkha under supervision of Niké; a devilish portrait of Silenos, companion of Dionysus; another image of Methiokos who was in love with Partenope; the god of the Euphrates in all his majesty; Achilles (Akhilleus) from a courtyard that once held a central fountain; a vivid portrait of Europa; Poseidon on his horse-drawn chariot with a bust of Oceanus and Tethys in the foreground; and many, many more. I had to scramble to see them all within the allotted time for the museum visit, and I didn’t want to miss the various wall frescos that were put back in their original place around the floor mosaics. An exquisite collection that is absolutely worth a visit by itself!

According to the latest news, there may still be some parts of Zeugma that remain visible to the anxious tourist, but I have yet to be there to see them for myself. I was lucky, after all, to have paid a visit to the magnificent collection at the Museum of Gaziantep!

Seleucos Nicator, in the wake of Alexander

Here I was in Syria, visiting Apamea. The Cardo Maximus is at least two kilometers long, flanked by rows and rows of columns. Initially, there were 1200 of them, now about 400 still standing – an awe-inspiring view.

I hear that Seleucos (later called Seleucos Nicator, i.e., the Victorious) built this city and named it after his wife, Apame. During the mass wedding party that Alexander the Great organized in Susa in 324 B.C. as a symbolic fusion between east and west, between Macedonians and Persians, Apame, the daughter of Spitamenes the Bactrian, became Seleucos' bride. It seems to have been one of the few successful marriages, for she accompanied her husband on all his expeditions, even as far as India – even though traveling cannot have been very comfortable in those days.

For those who don't know, Seleucos was one of the generals in the army of Alexander the Great. Upon Alexander's death in 323 B.C., he and his fellow generals got caught up in a series of succession wars that went down into history as the Wars of the Diadochi. Those were very confusing times when every general tried to get the best or most prosperous tracts of land since Alexander had not appointed any successor (his son with Roxane, the later Alexander IV, was not born yet, and Heracles, his son with Barsine, was, in fact, a bastard son). The initial division of Alexander's Empire among his generals, in which Seleucos was appointed satrap of Babylon, lasted only a short time. Less than a year later, despite his best intentions, Perdiccas was murdered by his own generals, Seleucos, Peithon, and Antigenes, when he invaded Egypt. Ptolemy, retaining Egypt for himself, came to terms with the murderers by granting them, respectively, the provinces of Babylon, Media, and Susiana.

After that, Seleucos managed to stay more or less out of further conflicts and successive Diadochi Wars, and finally included Persia and Media in his conquests. He even made an alliance with King Chandragupta of India. The Diadochi Wars were over by now, but Alexander's generals' fierce fighting and endless greed were still causing more wars. Seleucos defeated Antigonus Monophthalmus in the Battle of Ipsus and killed Lysimachos on the battlefields of Lycia in 281 B.C. Soon afterward, Seleucos died too, assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, son of Ptolemy I of Egypt, at one time one of Alexander's generals. Brother in arms with Ptolemy for so many years, he is killed by his son in later life. How glorious can one's life be?

If Alexander could have foreseen his own untimely death, I'm sure he would have provided arrangements for his succession. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Yet, there certainly was no room in his mind for the constant wars and futile bloodshed that unfolded.

Between all this fighting and conniving, Seleucos still found time (and money) to expand and structure his Empire. After using Babylon as his kingdom's capital, he moved it to Antioch-on-the-Orontes, today's Antakya in Turkey. He was at ease in this part of the country that he built another marvelous city further inland (initially started by his rival and enemy Antigonus Monophthalmus). He called it Apamea in honor of his wife. It thus became one of his main cities. But he didn't stop there, of course. He also built Laudetia, now Lattakia, the Syrian port on the Mediterranean, which he named after his mother (to keep things in the family), and later on, he founded Seleucia-on-the-Euphrates (named after himself!) as his Empire by then reached from the Mediterranean all the way to the Indus! Alexander's example definitely was not lost on him.

Well, this is what the books have to say. Now I am finding myself in Syria, driving up to Apamea. The first thing I see is a high, flat-topped hill crowned with many towers connected with city walls – 16 km long, they say. Well, well,… The bus drives uphill and stops at the northern end of the Cardo Maximus, at the Antioch Gate, so I can walk down the road to the other end of the city. I'm immediately drawn to the Cardo with all those impressive columns, of course, but I can't help turning around to take a closer look at the rubble behind me, where the very gate is supposed to be. Now that's a surprise! A surprise I am the only one to notice, though, for this gate is Hellenistic! Once you have seen the Hellenistic towers in Perge (inside the Roman walls), you can't miss recognizing them even in ruins – like in Side and Sillyum, all in today's Turkey. And now I find them here, of all places! If ever I expected this! Seleucos had quite a master to follow in his footsteps!

Alexander's achievements did indeed leave an everlasting imprint on his entourage and on his generals. This is what the birth of Hellenism truly means. Even in his boldest and most daring dreams, Alexander the Great could not have envisaged this to happen. Still, it did – and this proves how Alexander has changed history in geography, economy, army tactics, and architecture! The Romans copied him, and so did the Persians, the Indians, the Italians of the Renaissance, the British with Christopher Wren – you just name it! Nothing was left unchanged; nothing was ever the same. As I often say, there was a time before Alexander and the world after Alexander. We owe him so much. We owe so much to his Hellenization!

Alexander never ceases to amaze me, for here again, I saw what he accomplished and instigated others to do so many years after his death! Isn't that amazing?