The ancient city of Dara is located in the village of Oguz, 30 kilometers southeast of Mardin. It is one of the most important settlements of Upper Mesopotamia in history. It was founded as a military garrison city in 505 AD by the initiatives of Emperor Anastasius (491-518 AD), to protect the eastern borders of the Eastern Roman Empire against the Sassanids. The ancient city of Dara, which consists of structures carved into the rock and spread over a wide area, was protected by a wall of 4 km in length, and the inner fortress was built in the north of the city and on the upper plain on a hill 50 meters high. The city's dungeons, armories and water dam, in addition to this, there are cave houses dating back to the late Roman period around the village.