Braykah is identified with the ancient village of Borechath Sabaon, which is attested in inscriptions found in the Roman-era sanctuary of Aumos, a local sun god, located a few kilometers away at Dayr al-Laban. An individual from the village attested in these inscriptions is recorded as belonging to the tribe of the Audenoi, which is also attested in the nearby Mardocha.[3]
In 1596 the village appeared in the Ottomantax registers named Burayka, part of the nahiya (Subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya in the Hauran Sanjak. It had a Muslim population consisting of 6 households and 3 bachelors; a total of 9 taxable units. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat (1500 a.), barley (900 a.), summer crops (900 a.), goats and beehives (200 a.); a total of 3,500 akçe.[4]
In 1838, Eli Smith noted that inhabitants of Bureikeh were predominantly Druse and Catholic and "Greek" Christians.[5]
Archaeology
Braykah is home to a Roman temple that was surveyed in 1904 by archaeologist Howard Crosby Butler. The temple, which had been dismantled and rebuilt by the time of Butler's survey, still contained a significant portion of its architectural elements in situ, allowing for a reliable reconstruction.[6]
The temple stands on a rectangular podium and is of the tetrastylosprostyle type, featuring four columns across the front and a single hall. It measures approximately 8.50 × 9.65 meters and is distinguished by its Ionic columns and Syrian pediment, with semicircular niches and engaged half-columns flanking the entrance. The temple's construction and style suggest a date in the early 3rd century CE.[7]
↑Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Second appendix, B, p. 156
↑Segal, Arthur (2022) [2013]. "Brekeh (Boureike) (39)". Temples and sanctuaries in the Roman East: religious architecture in Syria, Iudaea/Palaestina and Provincia Arabia. Oxford and Oakville: Oxbow Books. pp.184–186. ISBN9781842175262. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
↑Segal, Arthur (2022) [2013]. "Brekeh (Boureike) (39)". Temples and sanctuaries in the Roman East: religious architecture in Syria, Iudaea/Palaestina and Provincia Arabia. Oxford and Oakville: Oxbow Books. pp.184–186. ISBN9781842175262. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
