If you come to Gaziantep just to see the ancient city of zeugma, it will last you 1 day. However, we advise you not to go to Antep before you see other historical places in Antep and Antep cuisine.
History of Zeugma Antique City
This ancient city, named Selevkos Nikator, who was one of the great generals of Alexander the Great, took the name Selevkos euphrates (Firat's silifkesi) by combining his name with the Firath River passing by the region. The construction of important architectural works in the city, which has a military and commercial strategic position, progresses day by day.
Selevkos city m.ö. In the 64th year, the Roman Empire was included. The name is changed to 'zeugma', meaning bridge. In this city, where the most productive times have been experienced in these years, the city has become more important since the 'Silk Road', from Antakya, one of the most important tiacetic roads of the period, passed through this city.
The most important factor that enables the ancient city of Zeugma to be found in front of other ancient cities in Anatolia is undoubtedly the sculptural school that developed in this region. Many works of art made during this period are being presented to our country and to different places of the world. The city, which had reached 80 thousand people in the time of the Romans, also continued to play an important role in trade by suppressing its own coins. On one side of these coins was the 'tnyke temple' and on the other side was the 'roman deck' motif.
The city, which was established in the shallowest region of the Euphrates River, received customs tax for passage from those who wanted to go to the city of apameia across the river. As a result of the excavations carried out today, 100.000 stamps called 'bulla' were obtained in the region. It is possible to visit these seals at the Gaziantep Archeology Museum.
Historical Figures and Works from Zeugma
Ares (mars) sculpture: This sculpture is one of the most important historical monuments of the zeugma antique city, reaching as far as the daylight. It is a bronze statue of 1.50 meters long from the time of the romans. It is said that ARES, one of the most important gods for the Romans, symbolizes fertility and power. The sculpture, which has been brought to the surface since about 1,800 years, has undergone extremely careful and careful cleaning. After the cleaning work, they found a burn on the statue. This leave, m.s. It is expressed that the paths that seized the zeugma city in 252 remained from the periods when they attacked the city.
Mosaics; There are many mosaic works in Gaziantep museum zeugma section. We want to talk briefly about the main ones of these works.
Triton: The triton, one of the mosaics that managed to reach as far as the day-to-day, was amphitrite posseidon's baby on this mosaic. (Amphytrite is known as the queen of the seas.)
Poseidon, oceanos and tethys mosaics: In this mosaic, estimated as a pool or dining room floor, there are the gods of the sea. At the top is a posseidon on the creature, called hippocampus, with the front side being attenuated and the back side being fish. Posseidon has a circlet with 3 teeth in his hand. In the lower part of the mosaic, there is also a sea god, oceanos, and a picture of tethys symbolizing the feminine in the seas.
Gypsy mosaic: you are sure that you have already seen this mosaic before. This mosaic, which became the symbol of the ancient city of Zeugma, could not be identified with its identity at the time of its first extraction and was later called 'gypsy mosaic' because it reminded the gypsy girls. According to other sources, it is alleged that this is the god of land.
Footnote: After the end of the excavation work, the zone is expected to be presented as an open air museum. If you have not visited zeugma, which is said to be the largest mosaic collection in the world after Tunisia, you should definitely see it.
