Editing Damascus (section)

=== Roman period ===
[[File:The Jupiter temple in Damascus.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Temple of Jupiter, Damascus|Jupiter Temple]] at the entrance of [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]]]]In 64 BC, the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and subsequently incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the [[Decapolis]]<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|title= Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire|author= Warwick Ball|page= 181|year= 2002|publisher= Routledge|isbn= 9781134823871|access-date= 15 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161124091527/https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|archive-date= 24 November 2016|url-status= live}}</ref> which themselves were incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy.<ref>Skolnik, Fred; Michael Berenbaum ( 2007) ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' Volume 5 Granite Hill Publishers pg 527</ref>

The city of Damascus was entirely redesigned by the Romans after [[Pompey]] conquered the region. Still today the Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus (east-west; known today as the ''Via Recta'') and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long. The Romans built a monumental gate which still survives at the eastern end of Decumanus Maximus. The gate originally had three arches: the central arch was for chariots while the side arches were for pedestrians.<ref name="romeartlover">romeartlover, [http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html "Damascus: the ancient town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008020818/http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html |date=8 October 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient City of Damascus-107623.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Remnants of ancient Damascus]]
In 23 BC, [[Herod the Great]] was given lands controlled by [[Zenodorus son of Lysanias|Zenodorus]] by [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]]<ref>Knoblet, Jerry (2005) ''Herod the Great'' University Press of America.</ref> and some scholars believe that Herod was also granted control of Damascus as well.<ref>Burns, Ross (2007) ''Damascus: A History'' Routledge pg 52</ref> The control of Damascus reverted to Syria either upon the death of Herod the Great or was part of the lands given to Herod Philip which were given to Syria with his death in 33/34 AD.

It is speculated that control of Damascus was gained by [[Aretas IV Philopatris]] of [[Nabataean kingdom|Nabatea]] between the death of [[Herod Philip II.|Herod Philip]] in 33/34 AD and the death of Aretas in 40 AD but there is substantial evidence against Aretas controlling the city before 37 AD and many reasons why it could not have been a gift from [[Caligula]] between 37 and 40 AD.<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 73–89</ref><ref>Hengel, Martin (1997) ''Paul Between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years'' Westminster John Knox Press pg 130</ref> In fact, all these theories stem not from any actual evidence outside the New Testament but rather "a certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32" and in reality "neither from archaeological evidence, secular-historical sources, nor New Testament texts can Nabatean sovereignty over Damascus in the first century AD be proven."<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 83–84, 89</ref> Roman emperor [[Trajan]] who annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of [[Arabia Petraea]], had previously been in Damascus, as his father [[Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)|Marcus Ulpius Traianus]] served as governor of Syria from 73 to 74 AD, where he met the Nabatean architect and engineer, [[Apollodorus of Damascus]], who joined him in [[Rome]] when he was a [[consul]] in 91 AD, and later built several monuments during the 2nd century AD.{{sfn|Abdulkarim|2003|pp=35–37}}

Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a ''colonia'' by the Emperor [[Septimius Severus]]. During the ''[[Pax Romana]]'', Damascus and the Roman province of Syria in general began to prosper. Damascus's importance as a [[caravan city]] was evident with the trade routes from southern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], [[Palmyra]], [[Petra]], and [[the Silk Road]] all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries. Circa 125 AD the Roman emperor [[Hadrian]] promoted the city of Damascus to "Metropolis of [[Coele-Syria]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Butcher|first=Kevin|title=Coinage in Roman Syria: Northern Syria, 64 BC-AD 253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Royal Numismatic Society|isbn=978-0-901405-58-6|page=220|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124092353/https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Barclay Vincent Head|title=Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|year=1887|page=662|chapter=VII. Coele-Syria|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124151745/https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city did have a lasting effect. The Roman architects brought together the Greek and Aramaean foundations of the city and fused them into a new layout measuring approximately {{convert|1500|by|750|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}, surrounded by a city wall. The city wall contained seven gates, but only the eastern gate, [[Bab Sharqi]], remains from the Roman period. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} below the modern city.

[[File:Bab Sharqi Street, Damascus.jpg|left|thumb|The Biblical [[Street called Straight]] of Damascus]]The old borough of [[Bab Tuma]] was developed at the end of the Roman/Byzantine era by the local [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] community. According to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], Saint Paul and [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] both lived in that neighborhood. Roman Catholic historians also consider Bab Tuma to be the birthplace of several [[Popes]] such as [[Pope John V|John V]] and [[Pope Gregory III|Gregory III]]. Accordingly, there was a community of [[Jewish Christians]] who converted to Christianity with the advent of Saint Paul's proselytization.

During the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], the city was besieged and captured by [[Shahrbaraz]] in 613, along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners,{{sfn|Kaegi|2003|pp=75–77}} and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.{{sfn|Crawford|2013|pp=42–43}}