It was to a British detachment that there was a fortuitous Discovery of Dura-Europos on 30 March 1920. What was not the surprise of the soldiers who were to install a machine gun when, behind a wall of wall thrown under the weight of arms, were huge statesmen frescoes dating back to the beginning of our era!In 1922, France, then strong in its mandate on Syria, made the first decommitments with the assistance of the army and continued until 1937 with the assistance of a Yale University mission.The site is then delivered to the weather until 1982, when the CNRS organizes three missions on site. The point is that: the site must be preserved while verifying and supplementing the conclusions established at the beginning of the century. A huge task, given the importance of the site. Dura-Europos, «Pompeii of the Syrian Desert» (Rostovtzeff), has 73 ha.The city was founded around 313 BC by one of the successors of Alexander the Great, the illustrious founder of the Seleucids dynasty. Born in Europos, Macedonia, he naturally gave this name to the new city. The site is beautifully chosen since it has the natural defences offered by the cliffs and the Euphrates, and ravines in both the north and the south. Inside the enclosure, the city was built by small islands of 2 500 m ², bounded by streets that cut off right angles.Embellished in the second century BC, the city fell to the hands of the Parathians in 113. It remains a rich multilingual city, open to Greek, Semitic and Persian influences. The different communities coexist peacefully, each establishing its own places of worship. The rich banks of the Euphrates supply the city that thrives.It is under Lucius Verus (co-emperor with Marc Aurèle), in 165 apr. Que-Europos, which Dura-Europos periodically crosses in the western orbit. Incorporated into the Roman Empire with colony status (211), it regained its role as a defence of the borders, a role lost during the three centuries of integration into the Parthian Empire. Places of worship are still diversifying: Temple of Bêl, synagogue and Christian chapel… Dura-Europos represents an advanced defence for Palmyra.This exceptional prosperity will end abruptly: in 256, the Sassanide Chapur I melts on Dura-Europos, undermines the defences and penetrates into the city. The city will never recover from this battle.

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