evidence: Deir ez-Zor (Arabic: دَيْرُ ٱلزَّوْرِ / دَيْرُ ٱلزُّور, romanized: Dayru z-Zawr / Dayru z-Zūr; Syriac: ܕܝܪܐ ܙܥܘܪܬܐ, romanized: Dayrāʾ Zəʿōrtāʾ) is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates River 450 km (280 mi) to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate.[4] In the 2018 census, it had a population of 271,800. [...] In the third century BC, Alexander the Great crossed the region and built the city of Dura-Europos. Although influenced by Greek culture, the Aramaic language remained prevalent in the city. When Syria came under the Roman Empire in 64 BC, Deir Ez-Zor was a small, marginal village known as Azdra, which the Romans made the center of the region and founded a strong military garrison. Deir Ez-Zor came under the reign of Queen Zenobia of Palmyra in the third century, within an autonomous federation of the Roman Empire.[10] [...] - ^ a b c d Al-Shaheen, Mazen Mohammad Fayez (2009). History of Deir Ezzor Governorate. Syria – Deir ezzor: Dar Alturath. p. 753.