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Shehbā (Philippopolis) May 23-25, 1900

The ruins of Shehbā belong apparently to
a single short period. The Emperor Philip
seems to have founded this city in or near
the place of his birth and to have seen it
completed or nearly so during his brief reign.

There can be little doubt that a settlement
existed here before Philip's time as inscriptions
anterior to that period have been found here,
but the little imperial city as we have it
must be almost entirely of Philip's creation.

It is totally unlike the ancient cities
of Syria, almost perfectly quadrangular
well walled and entered through
monumental gates - Broad paved streets
intersected the city at right angles, these
were provided with splendid colonnades.
Temples, baths, a theater and great
public buildings adorned this imitation
of Imperial Rome setup inside the black
lava fields of the Ledjā. All are much
ruined now but still offer interesting
subjects for study.