World Atlas Core Records · Community

Dura-Europos

c. 235-256 CE · Syria

An adapted courtyard house with a baptistery provides a strong archaeological anchor for pre-Constantinian Christian gathering.

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AI-generated evidence-guided visualization related to Dura-Europos, c. 235-256 CE. — AI-generated visualization based on the cited record and period context. It is not documentary evidence or an authenticated reconstruction of a single event.

How the setting appeared

A fortified Euphrates city contained houses, temples, a synagogue and an adapted Christian meeting space.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Setting and material context · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people lived

Soldiers, families, traders and religious communities shared a frontier city under Roman rule.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Lifeways and community · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people worked

Military service, craft, trade and household labor supported the settlement.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Work, tools and exchange · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Belief, ritual and worship

Christian paintings and baptism space existed beside Jewish and polytheist institutions; this form must not be projected back to Galilee.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Belief, ritual and evidence limits · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

World-atlas stage: Classical regional worlds
Region: West Asia · Syria
Languages and scripts: Not named in this record
Important people: No individual is centered in this record
Events and changes: c. 240 CE: A domestic building was adapted for Christian assembly and baptism; 256 CE: A Sasanian siege embankment buried and preserved the building; 1932 CE: Excavators uncovered the baptistery paintings and removed them for conservation
Evidence confidence: High for the excavated architecture and paintings.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Dates, place, language, people, events and confidence · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Historical geography

A dated anchor, not an exact border

The local map uses modern coastlines only for orientation. The marker identifies this record's geographic anchor, not the full reach of a community or polity.

Map geometry loads only when requested. Modern outlines are orientation only; historical geography and identities changed through time.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCHCIT-CORE069-DURA-YALECIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK Historical-geography anchor and stated limits · 3 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Evidence register

Guides used for this record

Each registered source ID is paired with its institutional URL for independent checking. Source count is transparent, and duplicate URLs count only once.

CIT-CORE-DURA-EUROPOS-CHURCH

Dura-Europos: record evidence guide

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/248151

metmuseum.org

CIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE

The Christian Building

https://duraeuropos.artgallery.yale.edu/christian-building

Yale University Art Gallery

CIT-CORE069-DURA-YALE-BOOK

The World's Oldest Church: Bible, Art, and Ritual at Dura-Europos, Syria

https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300216516/the-worlds-oldest-church/

Yale University Press

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