الرفنية | |
 1936 aerial view of Raphanea | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Location | Syria |
|---|---|
| Region | Hama Governorate |
| Coordinates | 34°56′03″N 36°23′48″E / 34.93417°N 36.39667°E |
Raphanea or Raphaneae (Ancient Greek: Ῥαφάνεια;[1] Arabic: الرفنية, romanized: al-Rafaniyya; colloquial: Rafniye) was a city of the late Roman province of Syria Secunda. Its bishopric was a suffragan of Apamea.
Josephus mentions Raphanea in connection with a river Σαββατικον, referred now to as Sambatiyon that flowed only every seventh days (probably an intermittent spring now called Fuwar ed-Deir) and that was viewed by Titus on his way northward from Berytus after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.[2]
Near Emesa, Raphanea was the fortified headquarters of the Legio III Gallica from which was launched the successful bid of 14-year-old Elagabalus to become Roman Emperor in 218.[3]
Raphanea issued coins under Elagabalus,[4] and many of its coins are extant.[5][6][7]
Hierocles[8] and Georgius Cyprius[9] mention Raphanea among the towns of Syria Secunda. The crusaders passed through it at the end of 1099; it was taken by Baldwin I and was given to the Count of Tripoli.[10] It was then known as Rafania.[11]
The only bishops of Raphanea known are:[11][12]
The see is mentioned as late as the 10th century in the Notitia episcopatuum of Antioch.[11][13]
