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<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Deir al zor"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Deir al Zor</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Mari"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Mari (Tell Al Hariri)</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Dura Europos"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Dura Europos (Tell Al Salihikye)</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Jaabar"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Jaabar Castle</span></a><br /><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Resafe"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0364ab;">Resafa Sergiopolis</span></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>DE<a name="Deir al zor"></a>IR AL ZOR<br /></strong><br />As a green oasis on the Euphrates riverbank, Deir Ezzor (about 432 km north east of Damascus) and the Euphrates valley date back a long way. Starting in the 3rd century BC, Deir Ezzor was a part of the Akkadian empire under the King Sargon I from 2700 to 2550 BC.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>MARI<a name="Mari"></a> (TELL AL HARIRI) </strong><br /><br />140 km south east of Deir Ezzor, 12 km west-north west of Abu Kemal on Syria/Iraq border, on the Euphrates; lies a site of a central importance, Mari, "a unique example of a Bronze Age palace" giving "an exceptionally concentrated picture of Syro-Mesopotamian world in the words" of its current excavator, Jean-Claude Margueron. The finds in Mari have given large contributions to the unraveling of the history of Syria/Mesopotamia region during the early millennia of recorded history. Its excavation rested for many years in the hands of the French archaeologist, Andre Parrot, who supervised the excavations from 1933 to 1974; a remarkable record. Since 1978, excavations have continued under Margueron with the aim of embracing Mari's role in the wider Euphrates valley.<br /><br /><strong>DURA <a name="Dura Europos"></a>EUROPOS (TELL AL SALIHIKYE)<br /></strong><br />It's on the right bank of the Euphrates about 90 km south east of Deir Ezzor (about 40 km North West of Abu Kemal). When the first paintings at Dura were uncovered by accident by a British expeditionary force in April 1920, few could have expected that the incident was about to provide a new perspective on early Christian and Judaic art. Dura's remains would not only illustrate the part it played in the drawn out struggle between cultural, political and military influences between east and west but shed an unexpected new light on early representational art of the Christian and Jewish traditions.<br /><br /><strong>JAABA<a name="Jaabar"></a>R CASTLE <br /></strong><br />North eastern shore of Lake Assad, 10 km from dam wall; Jaabar Castle uses a central core of high ground, tightly circumscribed by defensive walls and a ditch. However, the entrance gateway and ramp and much of the largely brick walls are worth inspection. It once overlooked an important crossing point on the Euphrates; it has gained in visual impact with the encroachment of the waters of Lake Assad to the base of the castle. The rise on which the castle stood is now an island joined to the shore by a causeway.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>RESAFE SE<a name="Resafe"></a>RGIOPOLIS</strong><br /><br />The nearest main town is Raqqa, 200 km south east of Aleppo. Although associated essentially with Byzantines, the site of Resafe was mentioned in earlier sources, both in Assyrian texts and in the Bible. The Roman Emperor, Diocletian (ruled 284 – 305 AD) established here a frontier fortress to meet the Sassanian threat. The Strata Diocletiana, named after the Emperor, ran from Sura (on the Euphrates) via Resafe south to Palmyra and on to Damascus via Dumeir.<br /></span></p>