The ancient city of Anastasiapolis (Roman fortress city of Dara) is located some thirty kilometers southeast of Mardin city, eighteen kilometers north-west of Nusaybin and seven kilometers north of the city of Amuda in Syria. Geographically the ancient city of Dara was situated near the southern outskirt of the Tur Abdin Mountains to the north of the Mesopotamian Plain.

circa 500 CE

Foundation by Anastasius I Dicorus
During the Anastasian War (502–506 CE), the Roman Empire struggled against the Sassanid Persians, partly due to the lack of a fortified base near the frontier. This logistical disadvantage spurred Emperor Anastasius I to rebuild the village of Dara in 505 CE, strategically located just 18 kilometers from the Persian stronghold of Nisibis. Historical accounts, such as the Chronicle of Zacharias of Mytilene, reveal that this decision aimed to create a military refuge, armory, and protective buffer for the empire’s eastern borders. Construction efforts mobilized resources and labor from across Mesopotamia, transforming Dara into Anastasiopolis, a fortified city with a citadel, storage facilities, public baths, and cisterns. This rapid development underscored the Roman emphasis on securing vital defensive positions in volatile border regions.

Reconstruction by Emperor Justinian
The initial construction under Anastasius, though ambitious, suffered from structural weaknesses exacerbated by the harsh Mesopotamian climate. Recognizing its strategic importance, Emperor Justinian I initiated a comprehensive reconstruction program, renaming the city Iustiniana Nova. According to Procopius, Justinian fortified the city with significantly taller walls—reaching 20 meters in height—and reinforced its towers to three stories, approximately 35 meters tall. These enhancements were complemented by a wide moat for added defense. Justinian’s engineers demonstrated ingenuity by redirecting the Cordes River through the city to ensure a stable water supply while denying access to besieging forces through an underground channel. To address flooding, which had previously devastated Dara, they constructed an advanced arch dam, an engineering feat for its time. The city also gained new barracks and two prominent churches, showcasing a blend of military strategy and civic development.

Later History
Dara's strategic importance made it a focal point in the protracted conflicts between the Roman and Sassanid Empires. It was besieged and captured by the Persian king Khosrau I in 573–574 CE, only to be returned to Roman control under a treaty in 591 CE. Khosrau II recaptured it in 604–605 CE, following a nine-month siege, but it was reclaimed by Emperor Heraclius during his campaigns. The city’s decline began with its final capture in 639 CE by Arab Muslim forces. No longer a military linchpin, Dara’s significance waned, leading to its gradual abandonment. Today, its ruins stand as a testament to centuries of conflict and engineering innovation in the Roman-Persian frontier zone.

circa 500 CE

Church Cistern
The so-called Church Cistern is the largest Roman era cistern situated some hundred meters to the north west of the main Agora street. The cistern has a capacity to hold some two thousand cubic meters of water. The original entrance of the cistern, built with regular ashlar, is in its eastern facade. Although, the related buildings and auxiliary structures are still under earth and a residential structure has been built on top of the cistern during the modern period, the most of the structure has retained its architectural profile.

According to the Procopius (a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima), writing in mid sixth century CE, there were two notable churches in Anastasiapolis (Dara).One of these was called "the great church" and the other one was called "saint Bartholomew's church". Historian Theodora Lector, Saint Bartholomew appeared in a dream to emperor Anastasius I and asked him to protect the city. In return, Anastasius I had the reics of saint Bartholomew carried from Cyprus to Dara. Until the fourteenth century CE, this cathedral was the center of the Assyrian Metropolite.

circa 500 CE

Grand Gallery Tomb
The large gallaried tomb is the most striking and notable burial complex; with its extended plan and interior decorations. The tomb-complex is a large three storied chamber carved completely in the bedrock.

The structure is oriented north-south and rectangular in plan. THe upper storey was planned as a corridor or balcony that ran around the central open space on three sides (west, south and east). On the pediment of the monumental entrance gate situated at the north, religious scenes as well as floral ornaments were carved. The dorr tympanum of the grave gallery ornamented with religious scenes of reincarnation such the prophet Ezekiel (known as Dhul Kifl in Islam) reanimating the deceased, is believed to have been built after the Sassanid invasion of 573 CE, in order to commemorate the people who died in the battles.

During the exavations conducted in 2009 CE, hundreds of human bones were revealed in the lower storey of the building, which were apparently collected and buried in to this grave area, in a belief in the mircale like that of prophet Ezekiel.

circa 500 CE

Western Cistern
The western cistern is built outside the main fortifications, to the south-west of the larger "church-cistern". It is relatively smaller than its nearyby counterpart, with a holding capacity of some fifteen hundred cubic meters of water. It is though that the cistern served commercial caravans hosted outside the city and to the necropolis area. The building is covered by a cross-vault, carried by two stone piers. The earth that filled the cistern in the past has been partially excavated, providing a glimpse of the architectural details of the historic Roman cistern.

circa 500 CE

Fortifications
The fortifications of the ancient city of Dara, also known as the Anastasiapolis, had four main gates facing the four cardinal directions. The names of the gates corresponded with these directions, soutern gate, eastern gate, northern gate and western gate. The south and north gates are located in the arched sections where the Cordis (Kordes) river passes. The water enters the city from the arched opening in the northern fortification wall. This opening was covered with a double iron portcullis, which is still quite solid. On the south gate, where the water left the city, a similar structure was built.

There are large towers on either side of the gates that have four entrances to the city. These gate types are called as double-tower doors are general examples to keep entrances safer. AS a result of the measurments in the doors, the door widths were determined to be approximately five meters. The water gates are 1.5 meters wide and 3.7 meters deep.

circa 500 CE

Necropolis of Anastasiapolis
The rock-cut tombs of ancient Dara (Anastasiapolis) are one of the most impressive carved burial structures in the world. The magnificient structures are directly carved in to the bed-rock. The wide hills, situated at the western side of the ancien town, were used as a stone quarry for the building activities in the city during the beginning of the sixth century CE.

The flat facades obtained after cutting out the stone were later converted in to a necropolis complex. On the hills extending to the west of the city, the dep and widely carved gorges on natural bedrock thus served as a cemetery. In this area, three different tomb types can be distinguised. These include rock-cut tombs from the sixth century CE, sarcophagai from the sixth to the eighth century CE and the simple cist-tombs dating back to the eighth until the fourteenth century CE.

During this period, the dead were buried in to the rock cut chambers, with a beief in the reincarnation or rebirth, honouring the god Mithra. The god Mithras was believed to have been born out of a rock in pagan and Mithras cults. In these chamber tombs, multiple burials were made by the inhabitants of Dara (Anastasiapolis) who aparently did not lose their pagan beliefs until quite late in the medieval period despite their conversion to Christianity.

The paganism is a very old belief system relying on respect to nature and sanctity of every soul living, be it an animal earth, plant or rock. A sarcophagus is an intended home for a Roman's afterlife. The soul of the deceased will be dwelling and protected in this home. The Roman sarcophagi were shaped based on this belief. With the traditionalization of Christianity, simple cist graves became more and more popular.

circa 500 CE

Castellum Aqua
The "covered water tank" (Castellum Aqua), or the vaulted water reservoir, was carved into the rock on the southern slopes of the Anastasiapolis Acropolis. Water was brought over the hills to the north through the means of canals at a distance of some four kilometers from the Castellum Aqua. The collected water was then channeled and distributed via canals to the number of buildings of the city and other underground cisterns, like the "church cistern". This cistern-complex consists of ten parallel elongated chambers, covered with barrel vaults and extending in an east-west direction.