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Qasr Bshir

Jordan

Qasr Bshir

Qasr Bshir (Arabic: قصر بشير; Latin: Praetorii Mobeni) is an ancient Roman fortification in what is now Jordan. Isolated in an area of the desert rippled with shallow valleys that drain into the Wadi Mujib, it is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of the capital city, Amman. The structure is not visi

ble from any settlement or Jordan's Desert Highway. It measures about 57 metres (187 ft) square and stands three storeys tall at the towers. Qasr Bshir is one of the best-preserved examples of a castellum (a small Roman fort), and the best surviving example of the four-towered forts that Rome built during the 3rd and 4th centuries; it retains a 1700-year-old Latin inscription above the entrance. The castrum was part of the Limes Arabicus, a chain of forts and watchtowers on the eastern desert frontier of the Roman Empire. The Limes Arabicus offered protection for the Roman frontiers from raids by Arab nomads, while also promoting trade and allowing Rome to control access to water. The fortifications were just far enough apart to maintain communication. Although it is now located where the Syrian Desert meets the semi-arid steppe country in the Jordanian Highlands, the area once experienced...

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