Qal'at Sem'an

Abstract Qal'at Sem'an, or Telanissos, to the northeast of Antioch In Syria, is a shrine‐church complex built where St. Symeon The Stylite The Elder (ca. 390–459 CE ) lived for thirty‐odd years atop a series of columns, each taller than the last. The site was a hilltop near the monastery to which he was attached, and pious visitors made it a place of pilgrimage that doubtless saw some architectural development during Symeon's lifetime. The main element, however, in which four, large, three‐aisled basilicas form an equal‐armed cross, is of a grandeur consistent with imperial patronage, and this is generally assigned to the emperor Zeno (474–491). The sanctuary is at the east end of the eastern basilica, where there are three apses and side chambers ( pastophoria ), so this was the location for services. The main entrance to the complex is through the western basilica, making north and south basilicas effectively transepts, and providing space for large numbers of pilgrims. At their inner ends, the four basilicas are linked by an octagon of arches spanning each nave and linking the arcade of one basilica to that of the next, thus forming an octagonal space around the saint's last (and tallest) column. It has been proposed that this space had timber roofing when built, but it is described as unroofed by a late fifthcentury source and was probably always so, leaving the column in the open air, as it was when the saint lived on it. Shortly after his death in 459, Symeon's body was removed to Antioch, but Qal'at Sem'an retained its importance as a center of pilgrimage, and by the end of the fifth century there were three large monasteries, each with considerable pandocheia (inns) to accommodate the pilgrims, and a large baptistery with a church attached to it. The buildings are of high‐quality limestone ashlar, with arches, doors, and windows decorated with the strong carved moldings characteristic of fifth‐century north Syrian architecture, as are the finely carved acanthus capitals.