Ain Diwar Bridge
Ruined Roman bridge in Syria
title: "Ain Diwar Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["roman-bridges-in-syria", "stone-bridges-in-syria", "crusade-places", "buildings-and-structures-in-al-hasakah-governorate", "archaeological-sites-in-al-hasakah-governorate", "bridges-over-the-tigris-river", "arch-bridges", "zengid-architecture"] description: "Ruined Roman bridge in Syria" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain_Diwar_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ruined Roman bridge in Syria ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox Bridge"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| bridge_name | Ain Diwar Bridge |
| image | Ain Diwar 1.jpg |
| caption | The remaining span of the bridge at Ain Diwar; the Tigris flows in the distance |
| crosses | formerly crossed the Tigris River |
| locale | Close to Ain Diwar, Syria |
| design | Arch bridge |
| material | Stone |
| spans | 1 existing |
| :: |
|bridge_name = Ain Diwar Bridge |image = Ain Diwar 1.jpg |caption = The remaining span of the bridge at Ain Diwar; the Tigris flows in the distance |official_name = |carries = |crosses = formerly crossed the Tigris River |locale = Close to Ain Diwar, Syria |maint = |id = |designer = |design = Arch bridge |material = Stone |spans = 1 existing |pierswater = |mainspan = |length = |width = |height = |load = |clearance = |below = |traffic = |begin = |complete = |open = |heritage = |collapsed = |preceded = |followed = |closed = |toll = |map_cue = |map_image = |map_text = |map_width = |coordinates = |lat = |long = |extra =
The Ain Diwar Bridge, also known as the Zangid Bridge, is a ruined masonry arch bridge in Cizre, 3.5 km northeast of the town of Ain Diwar, Syria. The bridge is within vicinity of the Syria, Iraq and Turkey border region and about 500 m west of the Tigris River which it previously crossed.
According to some sources, the Ain Diwar bridge was built in the 2nd century by the Romans to give them access to Upper Mesopotamia. The Romans also previously set up the Bezabde Camp (modern day Cizre, Turkey) nearby. It was refurbished by the Seljuks and Arabs in the late 12th or early 13th century. The Ain Diwar Bridge is often referred to as a great example of Islamic architecture and civil engineering. Stone carvings on the bridge depict astrological figures, zodiac signs and cavalrymen, which are attributed to Zengid architecture.
The structure is listed neither by O'Connor nor Galliazzo in their comprehensive surveys of Roman bridges.
According to a recent (2014) reappraisal by David Nicolle, the bridge is entirely Zengid in origin, without any previous construction. It was built from 1146 to 1163 AD.
::quote[attribution="Quṭb al-Dīn Mawdūd Ibn Zangī]], the Zangid ruler of [[Mosul]]."] Contrary to information still found in some non-academic publications, the bridge which either spanned or was intended to span the river Tigris a few kilometers downstream from what is now the Turkish frontier town of Cizre is not a Roman construction. Nor is there real evidence that any pre-Islamic bridge was ever built at this location. Arabic historical sources make clear that the existing, largely ruined or perhaps never completed bridge dates from between 541 AH (1146/7 AD) and 559 AH (1163/4 AD) 1163 AD. It was constructed on the orders of, or sponsored by Ǧamāl al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Iṣfahānī Ibn ʿAlī Ibn Abī Manṣūr, the wazīr or chief minister of [[Qutb al-Din Mawdud ::
| align = center | direction =horizontal | image1 = Remains of the Tigris bridge near Ayn Dīwār viewed from downriver a few years before the outbreak of the First World War, at a time when the Tigris was in flood (The Gertrude Bell Archive, Newcastle University).jpg | caption1 = The bridge, pre-World-War I | image2 = Carved Zodiac panels on the Tigris bridge near Ayn Dīwār as they appeared shortly before the outbreak of the First World War (The Gertrude Bell Archive, Newcastle University).jpg | caption2 = Reliefs of Zengid zodiacal signs | footer=
References
- {{Citation | last = O’Connor | first = Colin | title = Roman Bridges | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1993 | 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
References
- David Nicolle. (2014). "The Zangid bridge of Ǧazīrat ibn ʿUmar (ʿAyn Dīwār/Cizre): a New Look at the carved panel of an armoured horseman". Bulletin d'Études Orientales.
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=GOJ80DlXwwMC&dq=ain+diwar+bridge&pg=PA397 Syria & Lebanon handbook: the travel guide By Ivan Mannheim, 2001, pg. 397]
- (30 April 2014). "The Zangid bridge of Ǧazīrat ibn ʿUmar (ʿAyn Dīwār/Cizre): a New Look at the carved panel of an armoured horseman". Bulletin d'études orientales.
- {{harvnb. O’Connor. 1993; {{harvnb. Galliazzo. 1994
- (30 April 2014). "The Zangid bridge of Ǧazīrat ibn ʿUmar (ʿAyn Dīwār/Cizre): a New Look at the carved panel of an armoured horseman". Bulletin d'études orientales.
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