Abila Lysaniou
Abila Lysaniou or Abila Lysaniae or Abila was an ancient city, on the Abana River and capital of ancient Abilene, Coele-Syria. The site is currently that of the village Suk Wadi Barada (called Abil-es-Suk by early Arab geographers), circa 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Damascus, Syria. The city's surname is derived from Lysanias, a governor of the region.
The site contains ruins of a temple, aqueducts, and other remains, and inscriptions, on the banks of the river. Though the names Abel and Abila differ in derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the tradition that this was the place of Abel's burial. The city is mentioned in the New Testament (Luke 3:1). The city remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church, Abilenus Lysaniae; the current bishop is Georges Kahhalé Zouhaïraty (since 1995). [1]
Abila is also written as "Abilant" [1] or "Abelant," and in those forms appears as a castle or city, a character from that place (a princess, king, sultan, as in Rouge-Lion d'Abilant) or even a Saracen's formal name, in The Jerusalem Continuations: The London and Turin Redactions of the Old French Crusade cycle, Simon de Puille: Chanson de geste, Karlamagnús saga: The Saga of Charlemagne and His Heroes, and Gloriant.
[edit] See Also
[edit] References
- ^ Toynbee, Paget Jackson (ed). Specimens of Old French: (IX-XV centuries). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1892.
 |
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Abila. |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.- This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.
- Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), p. 69.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°37′36″N 36°06′21″E / 33.62667°N 36.10583°E
