JEBEL KHALID IN NORTH SYRIA: THE FIRST CAMPAIGNS

The paper starts with a general description of Jebel Khalid, the ancient name of which is unknown. It is situated on the Euphrates, between Carchemish and Emar (Meskene), and has been investigated by an Australian team since 1986. Its fortification, 3.4 km long and with some 30 towers, appears to have been built in one single phase, towards the end of the 4th or at the beginning of the 3rd century BC, as both its plan (characteristic of Early Hellenistic defence systems of the 'great circuit' type) and construction technique (known as emplekton technique) suggest. In many respects it resembles the fortification of Dura-Europos which is also bordered by steep cliffs to the Euphrates. The size of ancient Jebel Khalid's population may never be known, but the extent of the domestic area and the remains of a number of large buildings suggest that it was established from the outset as a military colony, a so-called katoikia, rather than as a simple fort. Settlements of this kind played an important part in the urbanization programme of the Seleucids.