Zeugma Ancient Site
Zeugma Ancient site is the location of twin settlements split by the Euphrates river. As the two settlements grew they became known as Zeugma, which is translated as bridge or crossing due to the two pontoons that connected them. The settlement on the western bank is considered to be what is considered Zeugma, however, the original name was Seleucia after the founder with the eastern settlement was called Apamea after his Persian wife Apama.
This city was prosperous and collected my fine artworks and treasures, this was done by two acts. One was due to the Seleucus being part of Alexander the Greats army, he collected treasures and things of beauty during his time. The other way was done by economics, the bridge the joined the two settlements was one of the few safe ways to cross the river. As merchants brought their wares to sell them to those in the east, however, they got to the city and became rich without travelling further.
Zeugma was abandoned in the mid-3rd century, it has been considered to be caused by a large war with the Sasanian Empire. While this would not have ended the city as a whole there was a large earthquake that buried much of the city beneath itself in the rubble. While the settlement continued to rebuilt it was again abandoned due to wars of the era.
Today a large section of the site is submerged underwater, this was due to a dam being created on the Euphrates river. During the early stages of planning the dam, excavations got underway to remove most of the mosaics and much of the other treasure to the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep City.