RAQQA ~ A CITY FOUNDED BY SELEUCUS

Raqqa (Arabic: الرقة‎ ar-Raqqah), also called Raqa, Rakka and ar-Raqqah, is a city in Syria located on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 kilometres east of Aleppo. It is located 40 kilometres east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate between 796 and 809, under the reign of Harun al-Rashid. It was also the capital of isil between 2014 and 2017 under abu bakr al-baghdadi. Raqqa is one of largest cities in Syria.

The modern city traces its history to the Hellenistic period, with the foundation of the city of Nikephorion (Ancient Greek: Νικηφόριον, Latinized as Nicephorion or Nicephorium) by the Seleucid King Seleucus I Nicator (reigned 301–281 BCE). His successor, Seleucus II Callinicus (r. 246–225 BCE), enlarged the city and renamed it after himself as Kallinikos (Καλλίνικος, Latinized as Callinicum). Isidore of Charax, in the Parthian Stations, writes that it was a Greek city, founded by Alexander the Great.

In Roman times, it was part of the Roman province of Osrhoene, but it had declined by the 4th century. Rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Leo I (r. 457–474 CE) in 466, it was named Leontopolis (in Greek Λεοντόπολις or "city of Leon") after him, but the name Kallinikos prevailed. The city played an important role in the Byzantine Empire's relation with Sasanid Persia and the wars fought between the two empires. By treaty, the city was recognized as one of the few official cross-border trading posts between the two empires, along with Nisibis and Artaxata.

The town was near the site of a battle in 531 CE between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanid Empire, when the latter tried to invade the Byzantine territories, surprisingly via arid regions in Syria, in order to turn the tide of the Iberian War. The Persians won the battle, but the casualties on both sides were high. In 542 CE, the city was destroyed by the Persian Emperor Khusrau I (r. 531–579), who razed its fortifications and deported its population to Persia, but it was subsequently rebuilt by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). In 580, during another war with Persia, the future Emperor Maurice scored a victory over the Persians near the city during his retreat from an abortive expedition to capture Ctesiphon.

Source: Wikipedia