Temple of Artemis Azzanathkona

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The temple of Artemis Azzanathkona is located in Dura Europos in the east of present-day Syria . He is best known for a military archive of the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum , which was found in one of the temple rooms. The archive consists of numerous papyri and parchments. It is the most important find that sheds light on the organization of Roman military units.

The temple complex was excavated in 1931–32. Smaller follow-up examinations took place between 2007 and 2010. The temple had been in operation since the beginning of the first century AD. The oldest inscription in the temple is dated 13 AD. An inscription from 161 AD testifies that Artemis , the goddess named Azzanathkona , was worshiped here. Azzanathkona is otherwise not attested. However, its name suggests that it comes from Anath, an island in the Euphrates . It is possible that her husband, whose name has not been recorded, was also venerated in the temple.

The temple district is located in the north of the city directly on the city wall and consists of a courtyard, which had an entrance in the east that was decorated with columns. In the west of the courtyard are the actual temple buildings, which follow Mesopotamian types. The southern one consists of an anteroom and two longitudinal rooms behind it, the latter being subdivided again. There was also a cult image here. The northern temple consists of two longitudinal rooms, with the rear one being divided into two rooms. Behind these two temples there are further rooms whose function is not always guaranteed. In Roman times these rooms were included in the military camp set up in the north of Dura Europos. One of the rooms was covered with graffiti and drawings and it was believed that the room was used by military scribes. In Roman times, a second entrance was built into the existing western wall of the complex with an extra anteroom.

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Coordinates: 90 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  N