[32] ‘On the Asiatic shore of the Propontis, at a small distance to the east of Chalcedon, the costly palace and gardens of Heræum were prepared for the summer residence of Justinian, and more especially of Theodora.’—Gibbon, ch. xl. (S.)
[33] Now Diarbekr, on the Tigris, about twelve miles from Nisebin.
[34] ‘Military architecture had a special character during the reign of Justinian, and his successors departed but little from the principles laid down by the engineers of his time. The walls were flanked with towers, usually round. The most commanding part was occupied by a square redoubt defended at the angles by towers. The gates were protected by an advanced work. The fortifications of many towns in Mesopotamia, e.g. Edessa, date from the time of Justinian, and are constructed on the same principle.’—Abridged from Texier and Pullan, pp. 23, 24. (L.)
[35] ‘The fortifications of Dara were almost entirely rebuilt by the Emperor Anastasius, A.D. 503. Hastily constructed, they fell into ruins in a few years. Justinian rebuilt the town, A.D. 537. The line of its ramparts, which were built of large blocks of limestone, can be traced throughout, certain portions being still 30 feet high.’—Abridged from Texier and Pullan, p. 53. (L.)
[36] ‘The fortifications of Dara,’ says Gibbon, ‘may represent the military architecture of the age. The city was surrounded by two walls, and the interval between them, of fifty paces, afforded a retreat to the cattle of the besieged. The inner wall was a monument of strength and beauty: it measured sixty feet from the ground, and the height of the towers was one hundred feet; the loopholes, from whence an enemy might be annoyed with missile weapons, were small, but numerous; the soldiers were placed along the rampart, under the shelter of double galleries, and a third platform, spacious and secure, was raised on the summit of the towers. The exterior wall seems to have been less lofty, but more solid; and each tower was protected by a quadrangular bulwark. A hard rocky soil resisted the tools of the miners, and on the south-east, where the ground was more tractable, their approach was retarded by a new work, which advanced in the shape of a half-moon. The double and treble ditches were filled with a stream of water; and in the management of the river, the most skilful labour was employed to supply the inhabitants, to distress the besiegers, and to prevent the mischiefs of a natural or artificial inundation.’—Gibbon, ch. xl. (S.) See Note, page 58.
[37] ‘The Church of Dara is in a perfect state of preservation owing to the extreme solidity of its construction—a parallelogram 97·6 by 68·3. In the interior, the nave, with the adjoining chapels, forms a perfect square. A building adjoining, supposed to have been the baptistry, is ruined. Mr. Ainsworth says there are seven or eight churches in the town.’—Texier and Pullan, p. 52.
[38] Rabdium, near Jezireh-ibn-Omar. A fine old castle. ‘This appears to be the Rabdium of the Byzantines. The remains of an ancient bridge are seen crossing the Tigris at a short distance.’—Chesney’s ‘Euphrates.’ (L.)
[39] Mejafarkîn, north-east of Diarbekr. (W.)
[40] Founded by Theodosius II. V. ‘De Bello Persico,’ i. 10.—Gibbon. (S.) Now probably Ras el ‘Ain on the Khabûr. (W.)
[41] River Aborrhas. The Chaboras at the juncture of the Khabûr and the Euphrates: the Chaboras of Ptolemy and Pliny and probably the Araxes of Xenophon; now the Khabûr. (W.)