The So-called Palace of Trajan in Bosra

In Bosra’s eastern quarter, two wings stand on either side of a large square courtyard. Locals call the building Qasr al-Deir al-Dracan, and today’s sources call it the Palace of Trajan. The name misleads. The building has nothing to do with the Roman emperor Trajan; current research identifies it as a Byzantine residence of the 5th and 6th centuries. It covers 1850 square metres today and is the only large Byzantine house still standing in Bosra.

Where it is and how to get there

In the eastern quarter of the city, near the Nabataean Arch, the large church of the quarter and Birket al-Hajj. The exact spot is not marked on maps, which is why this page has no map. Once you reach the Nabataean Arch, asking nearby is the simplest way.

Why the name is wrong

H. C. Butler took the building for the palace of the Roman governor, and the name Trajan stuck from that reading. Later research showed it was built in the Byzantine period and reuses 2nd- and 3rd-century structures in places. Arabic Wikipedia calls it the bishop’s palace. There is a separate bishop’s palace beside the cathedral; the two are different buildings and are often confused.

What to see

Two wings stand to the north and south of the courtyard; the east and west wings are less well preserved. The north, south and east wings were long and narrow, linked by a portico along their fronts. The portico is gone. A row of consoles along the facade and a few column remains prove it was there. It gave access to the upper rooms, and two staircases, at the north-west and south-west, climbed to the upper gallery.

On the outer face of the east wing, rectangular and semicircular niches alternate in two rows. Between the rows you can see the sockets for the portico beams. Of the west wing only a long wall and a small door on the north remain.

What not to miss

The three-apsed hall on the upper floor of the south wing is the most striking room in the building. A square central space opens through a wide door to the gallery on the north. There is a semicircular apse to the east and west and a rectangular one to the south, each a step higher than the centre. It reads as the reception hall of a Byzantine house.

Current state

Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums reported damage to the south wall in June 2014; damage lists class it as minor. Whether it has been repaired, and whether you can go inside, could not be confirmed.