Dara Archaeological Site

Dara, also called Anastasiopolis, lies about 30 km south-east of Mardin, near Nusaybin and close to the Syrian border, at the southern foot of the Tur Abdin hills above the Mesopotamian plain. The name may go back to a military base of the Persian king Darius III, and an ancient author records a city called Dara founded by the Parthian king Arsaces in a naturally defended spot with plentiful water and woodland.

The city we see today dates to the early sixth century. Emperor Anastasius chose a small settlement near Nisibis, a site strong, well watered and commanding the plain, and built a garrison city here between about 505 and 507, naming it Anastasiopolis and making it the administrative and military base of Mesopotamia. Dara was a major front line between Rome and Persia and, in fact, was held by the Sasanians in the late sixth and early seventh centuries.

After the Arab conquest of 640 it passed between Byzantines, Seljuks and others, was taken by the Artuqid Timurtaş in 1150 and badly damaged by the Ilkhanids in the 1250s. It slowly emptied and shrank to a small village by the fourteenth century. Today's village dates from the late eighteenth century and sits on top of the great Roman city.