Temple of Artemis Azzanathkona

The Temple of Artemis Azzanathkona is located in Dura Europos in the east of present-day Syria, and was dedicated to a syncretic belief of Artemis and Azzanathkona.

In the Roman period the temple became a headquarters for the Cohors XX Palmyrenorum, a infantry and cavalry unit. A military archive of the Cohors was found in one of the temple rooms. The archive consists of numerous papyri and parchments; it is one the most important finds that sheds light on the organization of Roman military units.

The temple complex was excavated in 1931–32. Smaller follow-up examinations took place between 2007 and 2010.

Description
The temple was built against the north wall near the Temple of Bel. The earliest inscriptions are dated to 12/13 CE. The temple and the next building weren't in a good state when found, so its hard to know how they were related. The temple had an almost square precinct surrounded by rooms built at different periods; it had two sanctuary units, both dated approximately to the first century CE. The building was very close to the wall, Von Gerkan stated that because of that "the defensive function of the wall had at that time fallen into neglect". A wall tower was included into the temple's precinct; Clark Hopkins suggested that "the room in the tower was built relatively late (though apparently before the earthquake of 160/161 CE), as it is bounded in part by a late portion of the city wall".

In the Roman period, these rooms were included in the military camp set up in the north of Dura Europos. One of the rooms contains graffiti and drawings and it has been suggested that the room was used by military scribes. In Roman times, a second entrance was broken into the existing western wall of the complex and an extra anteroom was built for it.

Cult
An inscription from 161 AD said that the temple was dedicated to Artemis Azzanathkona; her followers believed in a "syncretized combination" of a Greek goddess Artemis and local Syrian deity Azzanathkona (Atargatis).