The site contains ruins of a temple, aqueducts, and other remains, and inscriptions, on the banks of the river. Though the names Abel and Abila differ in derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the tradition that this was the place of
Abel's burial. The city is mentioned in the
New Testament (
Luke 3:1). According to
Josephus, Abilene was a separate
Iturean kingdom until AD 37, when it was granted by
Caligula to
Agrippa I; in 52
Claudius granted it to
Agrippa II. The site is currently that of the village of
Souq Wadi Barada (called
Abil-es-Suk by early
Arab geographers), circa northwest of
Damascus,
Syria. It has also been identified by some as the village of
Abil just south of
Homs in central Syria. The city's surname is derived from
Lysanias, a governor of the region.
William Smith cites a dissertation in the
Transactions of the Academy of Belles Lettres showing that this Abila is the same with
Leucas on the river Chrysorrhoas, which at one period assumed the name of
Claudiopolis, as shown by some coins described by
Joseph Hilarius Eckhel. == Bishopric ==