Septimus Severus Bridge / Cendere Köprüsü - Burmapinar (Adiyaman Province, East Turkey) - Ancient Roman Civilization on Waymarking.com

One of the best preserved Roman stone bridges in Turkey, called Septimus Severus Bridge or Severan Bridge or Cendere Bridge (Cendere Köprüsü), you can find near small village Burmapinar in Adiyaman Province.

This bridge over the Cendere creek is 120 m long and 7 m wide, with one large central arch measuring 30 m and one small arch on the east side. The bridge is constructed of 92 stones without mortar, each weighing about 10 tons as a simple, unadorned, single majestic arch on two rocks at the narrowest point of Cendere river at end of the canyon. At 34.2 m clear span, the structure is quite possibly the second largest extant arch bridge by the Romans. It is 120 m long and 7 m wide.

According to an inscription on the bridge, Emperor Septimus Severus had it built in 198-200 by the Legio sexta decima Flavia Firma (16th Steadfast Flavian Legion) at Samosata (Samsat). The bridge was dedicated to his wife, Julia Domna, and featured a columns at each of its four corners to commemorate the members of his immediate family. The bridge was specially built to withstand earthquakes, and three of the columns stand to this day.

The Legio XVI Flavia Firma was a Roman legion established after the surrender of another legion during a revolt in 69 AD. Rather than punishing the disgraced soldiers who had surrendered, Emperor Vespasian reconstituted them as a new legion and transferred them to the eastern provinces of the empire. This new legion was stationed in Samosata, and served in military operations in Cappadocia and Upper Mesopotamia. In 198-200, the legion replaced an older bridge over the Cendere with the "new" bridge that stands to this day. The legion’s symbol was the lion.