The ancient city of Dara in northern Mesopotamia lies within the borders of the Dara/Oğuz village in the Artuklu district of Mardin province, Türkiye. It was a garrison city established to protect the eastern borders of Byzantium against the Sassanids. Dara exemplifies unusual urban organization for the Byzantine period because a stream passed through the middle of the city, which was surrounded by walls, and the architecture of the city was shaped according to the route of that stream. Bridges were thus of great importance in the city’s architectural organization. A total of three bridges have been identified within the city walls of Dara, while another bridge was built outside the southern gate of the ancient city. In this study, the Agora Bridge of Dara is examined in detail. In addition, the importance of bridges in construction activities in Dara during the period of Justinian I is evaluated.
Metin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.