Dansara

Dansara

A titular see in Osrhoene. Stephanus Byzantius mentions Dansara as a town near Edessa (Orfa). Procopius (De ædif., II, 6) says it was one of the castles around Theodosiopolis (Rhæsina), which were fortified by Justinian. Dansara, probably at the same time, became an episcopal see suffragan to Edessa, for it figures in the "Notitia episcopatuum" of the Patriarch of Antioch, Anastasius (Vailhé in Echos d'Orient, X, 90 sqq. and 139 sqq.), and its bishop Nonnus was present at the Fifth Oecumenical Council, held at Constantinople in 553 (Lequien, Or. Christ., II, 983). The see must have disappeared on account of the Arabian invasions, as no other bishop is known. It is not certain that it was still in existence in the tenth century (Vailhé in Echos d'Orient, X, 90 sqq.). The site of the city has not been identified. Its name is often written Dausara; such forms as Lansara, etc. are incorrect. The Latin titular see has recently been suppressed.

S. PÉTRIDÈS