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Shahba, is a small, welcoming town lying 90 km south of Damascus and only 19 km north of Sweida, capital of the mohafazat of the same name. Shahba can be easily visited at any time of the year.

Although the site was probably occupied by the Nabatean Arabs, nothing remains from this period. Shahba, originally known as Philippopolis reached its height during the reign of the roman emperor Philip the Arab (A.D. 244 – 249), who was a native of Shahba. The Emperor wished to give Shahba a monumental form from which it could rival the great Roman cities of the East. No doubt the Emperor retained some of the earlier buildings, but, in the main, he constructed a new city with buildings that, even in their present state, give a glimpse of the magnificence and artistic brilliance achieved by a town in a very short period of time. Rome itself seems to have served as the model for the planning of Philippopolis and its embezzlement with public buildings such as temples, piazzas, palaces, baths theatres and triumphal arch. At the same time, the rich families of the town must have built luxurious and richly decorated houses. Shahba is a rear example of a new Eastern town organised in a typically Roman plan: The North – South and east –west axial streets crossing at right angles with their point of intersection being marked by a tetra pylon surrounded by an oval piazza. The town was also protected by ramparts. The great majority of the monuments that survive to our days and give Shahba its exceptional interest can probably be attributed to this period: second half of the 3rd. Century A.D.

However, “modernization” is becoming a trend in Syrian archaeological sites and, unfortunately, Shahba is also paying its price as in recent months some careless reconstruction has considerably changed the main Roman street leading to some of the most symbolic monuments of the town. This changes are irreversible.