Raqqa
Rusafa, known in antiquity as Sergiopolis, is a walled desert city south-west of Raqqa that grew up around the shrine of the Christian martyr Sergius. The…
Rusafa, known in antiquity as Sergiopolis, is a walled desert city south-west of Raqqa that grew up around the shrine of the Christian martyr Sergius. The Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, who ruled from 105 to 125 AH, made it his favourite residence, building palaces outside the walls and a congregational mosque beside the great basilica, and he passed away here in 125 AH. The city's massive walls, gates and cisterns and the remains of its churches and Umayyad mosque still stand in the desert. It should not be confused with the Isma'ili castle of al-Rusafa near Masyaf.