ABILA (I)  a city of ancient Syria, the capital of the tetrarchy of Abilene, a territory whose extent it is impossible to define . It is generally called -Abila of Lysanias, to distinguish it from (2) below .. Abilawas an important town on the imperial high-way from Damascus to Heliopolis (Baalbek) . The site is indicated by ruins of a temple, aqueducts, &c., and inscriptions on the banks of the river Barada at Suk Wadi Barada, a village called by early Arab geographers Abil-es-Suk, between Baalbek and Damascus . Though the names All and Abila differ in derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the tradition that this was the place of Abel's burial . According to Josephus, Abilene was a separate Iturean kingdom till A.D . 37, when it was granted by Caligula to Agrippa I.; in 52 Claudius granted it to Agrippa IT . (See also LYSANIAS.) (2) A city in Perea, now Abil-ez-Zeit .