Severan Bridge
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Severan Bridge
|image = Portuguese Bridge (Severan Bridge)2.jpg
|caption = Severan Bridge with the columns of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and his second wife Julia Domna seen from the south.
|official_name = Cendere Köprüsü
|carries = Road traffic and pedestrians
|crosses = Chabinas Creek (Cendere Çayı)
|locale = Between Kahta and Sincik in Adıyaman Province, Turkey
|maint =
|id =
|design = Simple, unadorned, single majestic arch
|mainspan = {{convert|34.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|length = {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|width = {{convert|7|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|height =
|load =
|clearance =
|below =
|traffic =
|begin =
|complete = c200J. B. Leaning, "The Date of the Repair of the Bridge over the River Chabina: L. Alfenus Senecio and L.
Marius Perpetuus in Syria Coele", Latomus 30:2:386-389 (April–June 1971) {{JSTOR|41527947}}
|open =
|closed =
|toll =
|coordinates = {{coord|37.9328|38.6085|format=dms|type:landmark_region:TR|display=inline,title}}
}}
The Severan Bridge (also known as Chabinas Bridge or Cendere Bridge or Septimius Severus Bridge; {{langx|tr|Cendere Köprüsü}}) is a late Roman bridge located near the ancient city of Arsameia (today Eskikale), {{convert|55|km|mi|abbr=on}} north east of Adıyaman in southeastern Turkey. It spans the Cendere Çayı (Chabinas Creek), a tributary of Kâhta Creek, on provincial road 02-03 from Kâhta to Sincik in Adıyaman Province. This bridge was described and pictured in 1883 by archeologists Osman Hamdi Bey and Osgan Efendi.{{in lang|fr}} Edhem Eldem, Le voyage à Nemrud Dağı d'Osman Hamdi Bey et Osgan Efendi (1883). Récit de voyage et photographies publiés et annotés, Istanbul, Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes-Georges Dumézil, 2010. 144 pages [http://www.persee.fr/doc/anatv_1013-9559_2010_mon_23_1], pp. 10, 12, 59, 63, picture p. 109 It has a photo and description in David George Hogarth's Wandering Scholar.{{cite book | first=David George | last=Hogarth | author-mask=2 | title=A wandering scholar in the Levant | location=London | publisher=J. Murray | year=1896 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QYI2AAAAMAAJ}} Chapter 4, a description of an 1894 visit.
Description and history
The bridge is constructed as a simple, unadorned, single arch on two rocks at the narrowest point of the creek. At {{convert|34.2|m|ft|abbr=on}} clear span, the structure is quite possibly the second largest extant Roman arch bridge. It is {{convert|120|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|7|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide.[https://turkisharchaeonews.net/object/severan-cendere-bridge Description of the Severan Bridge] Retrieved 22 July 2023.
File:Severan Bridge, Turkey 04.jpg
The bridge was rebuilt by the Legio XVI Gallica, garrisoned in the ancient city of Samosata (today Samsat) to begin a war with Parthia. Commagenean cities built four Corinthian columns on the bridge, in honor of the Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (193–211), his second wife Julia Domna, and their sons Caracalla and Publius Septimius Geta as stated on the inscription in Latin on the bridge.Inscriptions {{CIL|03|06709|R=}} et {{CIL|03|06710|R=}} Two columns on the Kâhta side are dedicated to Septimius Severus himself and his wife, and two more on the Sincik side are dedicated to Caracalla and Geta, all in 9–10 m in height. Geta's column, however, was removed after his assassination by his brother Caracalla, who damned Geta's memory and ordered his name to be removed from all inscriptions.
The Severan Bridge is situated within one of the most important national parks in Turkey, which contains Nemrut Dağı with the famous remains of Commagene civilization on top, declared as World Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO. In 1997, the bridge was restored. Vehicular traffic was restricted to 5 tons or less. The bridge is now closed to vehicles, and a new road bridge has been built {{convert|500|m|yd|abbr=on}} east of the old bridge.
See also
Notes
Further reading
- {{Citation
| last = O’Connor
| first = Colin
| title = Roman Bridges
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| year = 1993
| pages = 127–129 (E36)
| isbn = 0-521-39326-4
}}
- {{Citation
| last = Galliazzo
| first = Vittorio
| title = I ponti romani. Catalogo generale
| volume = 2
| year = 1994
| publisher = Edizioni Canova
| location = Treviso
| isbn = 88-85066-66-6
| pages = 390–394 (No. 824)
}}
External links
{{Commons category|Severan Bridge}}
- {{Structurae|id=20012812|title=Cendere Bridge}}
- [https://www.livius.org/cb-cf/cendere/cendere.html Livius.org: Cendere bridge]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080528061612/http://traianus.rediris.es/ Traianus] – Technical investigation of Roman public works
{{Roman bridges}}
{{Bridges in Turkey}}
Category:Roman bridges in Turkey
Category:Stone bridges in Turkey
Category:Bridges completed in the 3rd century
Category:Buildings and structures in Adıyaman Province
Category:Tourist attractions in Adıyaman Province