Al-Masmiyah (Phaena): The Roman Capital of Trachonitis

Al-Masmiyah is the modern name of Phaena, capital of the Roman district of Trachonitis. The temple that made it famous, known as the ‘Praetorium’, is gone. In 1875 the Ottoman army took it apart and carried its stones to the barracks at Buraq. What you see today is an Ottoman guard post built from pieces of the old building and, south of the town, a well-preserved stretch of Roman road paving.

What Phaena was

A Greek inscription in the temple states the town’s rank plainly: ‘From Julius Saturninus to the people of Phaena, capital of the Trachon.’ In the 3rd century the settlement was a metrokomia, a ‘mother village’. Under Byzantium it became a bishopric and sent bishops to the councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451).

The Praetorium temple

The building went up between 160 and 169. Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus were ruling jointly, and the commander of the Legio III Gallica paid for it. Under Byzantium it was turned into a church, and its plan is counted among the earliest examples of Byzantine church design. European travellers reached it early: Burckhardt came in 1810, and Bankes and Barry drew its plan in 1819. Drawings by de Laborde followed in 1827 and by Rey in 1860. Those drawings are now the best record of what the building looked like.

What you can see today

The Ottoman guard post was rebuilt with stones from the older building: a two-storey tower-fort measuring 45 by 18 metres. It has two entrances, on the south and north sides, and a stone stair leads to the upper floor. South of the town, the paving of the Roman road linking Damascus and Bosra is in good condition, with its kerbstones and central strip. Under Abdulhamid II the land became an imperial estate; in 1915 the town had 300 Melkites.

How long it takes

About an hour. Half an hour at the guard post, half an hour on the Roman road.

What not to miss

The Roman road. The temple is gone; the road is not. On the paving south of the town, the kerbstones and the central strip are still in place. This is the surface travellers walked on between Damascus and Bosra.

Where it stands now

What is known about the guard post and the Roman road comes from sources dated between 2007 and 2009; their condition after the war has not been confirmed. This page tells you what Al-Masmiyah is; it does not promise what you will find there today.