Founded by the Seleucid ruler Nicator I, Belkis-Zeugma rose to prominence under later Roman rule and was a prosperous city of trading merchants until its destruction by the Sassanid Persian army in AD 252.
Excavations here in the 1990s revealed a treasure-trove of Roman mosaics gracing the floors of the fine Roman villas. The best examples of these mosaics can now be viewed in the Gaziantep Zeugma Mosaic Museum.
