Dura-Europos , also spelled
Dura-Europus, was a
Hellenistic,
Parthian and
Roman border
city built on an
escarpment 90 m above the right bank of the
Euphrates river. It is located near the village of
Salhiyé, in today's
Syria. It was conquered in 114 AD and finally captured in 165 AD by the
Romans (who greatly enlarged it as their easternmost stronghold in
Mesopotamia) and destroyed after a
Sassanian siege in 257 AD. After it was abandoned, it was covered by sand and mud and disappeared from sight.