Circesium (Al Buşayrah)
Circesium ( Qerqesīn, Κιρκήσιον), known in Arabic as al-Qarqisiya, was a Roman fortress city near the junction of the Euphrates and Khabur rivers, located at the empire's eastern frontier with the Sasanian Empire. It was later conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century and was often a point of contention between various Muslim states due to its strategic location between Syria and Iraq. The modern town of al-Busayra corresponds with the site of Circesium.
The name Circesium or castrum Circense is of Graeco-Roman origin and translates as "the castle with the circus". Qerqusion (also spelled Qarqūsyōn) and al-Qarqīsiyā (also spelled 'Qarqīsīā) are the Syriac and Arabic versions of the Latin name, respectively. The Parthian transliteration, attested in Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, is Krksyʾ. The etymology of the name was known to the medieval Muslim geographer, Hamza al-Isfahani, who wrote al-Qarqīsiyā stemmed from qirqīs, the Arabicized form of "circus". The ancient site was situated at the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the confluence of the Khabur River.
The name Circesium or castrum Circense is of Graeco-Roman origin and translates as "the castle with the circus". Qerqusion (also spelled Qarqūsyōn) and al-Qarqīsiyā (also spelled 'Qarqīsīā) are the Syriac and Arabic versions of the Latin name, respectively. The Parthian transliteration, attested in Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht, is Krksyʾ. The etymology of the name was known to the medieval Muslim geographer, Hamza al-Isfahani, who wrote al-Qarqīsiyā stemmed from qirqīs, the Arabicized form of "circus". The ancient site was situated at the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the confluence of the Khabur River.
Map - Circesium (Al Buşayrah)
Map
Country - Syria
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| Flag of Syria | |
The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule. After a period as a French mandate (1923–1946), the newly-created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a democratic parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945 when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate (although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946).
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| SYP | Syrian pound | £ or لس | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| AR | Arabic language |
| HY | Armenian language |
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| KU | Kurdish language |