Late Roman Empire, Heliodoros, an Actuarius, c 200 –256
This plaster-covered clay tile features a painting ofHeliodoros, an Actuarius (c 200 –256). It measures 30.5 × 44 × 6.7 cm and is part of the collection of Yale University Art Gallery. It originates from the ceiling of the sitting room in the House of Roman Scribes in Dura-Europos in Syria [1]. Built by Macedonian Greeks in around 300 BCE Dura-Europos was a Hellenistic outpost overlooking the Euphrates [2]. In 113 BCE it was conquered by the Parthians who established it as a fortress and a trading post [2,3]. In 165 CE, the Romans seized the city and developed it into a major border garrison town [2,3]; swelling its population by up to 2000 soldiers and 6000 dependants, servants and others [4]. Under Roman occupation the town was multicultural and multilingual; the languages used included Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Parthian, Hebrew and Safaitic [3]. Diverse faiths were followed; places of worship included temples to Greek, Persian, Roman and Syrian gods, a synagogue and the world ’s oldest Christian church dating to around 250 CE [5]. In 256 CE the town fell to the Sasanian (Iranian) Empire that had succeeded the Parthian Empire. Thereafter, the town was abandoned and eventually became buried under the sands of the desert [2].
Source: Occupational Medicine - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research
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