Listed 100 (total found 114) sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "CENTRAL ASIA MINOR Region TURKEY" .
AKMONIA (Ancient city) FRYGIA
Acmonia (Akmonia: Eth. Akmonieus, Akmonios, Acmonensis), a city of Phrygia, mentioned
by Cicero (Pro Flacc. 15.) It was on the road from Dorylaeum to Philadelphia,
36 Roman miles SW. of Cotyaeum; and under the Romans belonged to the Conventus
Juridicus of Apamea. The site has been fixed at Ahatkoi; but it still seems doubtful.
(Hamilton, Researches, &c. vol. i. p. 115.)
ANGYRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Ancyra (Ankura: Eth. Ankuranos, Ancyranus.) (Angora or Engareh), a
town of Galatia, near a small stream, which seems to enter the Sangarius. Ancyra
originally belonged to Phrygia. The mythical founder was Midas, the son of Gordius.
(Paus. i. 4.) Midas found an anchor on the spot, and accordingly gave the name
to the town; a story which, would imply that the name for anchor (ankura) was
the same in the Greek and in the Phrygian languages. Pausanias confirms the story
by saying that the anchor remained to his time in the temple of Zeus. Stephanus
(s. v. Ankura) gives another story about the name, which is chronologically false,
if Ancyra was so called in the time of Alexander. (Arrian. Anab. ii. 4.) The town
became the chief place of the Tectosages (Strab. p. 567), a Gallic tribe from
the neighbourhood of Toulouse, which settled in these parts about B.C. 277. The
Galatae were subjected by the Romans under Cn. Manlius, B.C. 189, who advanced
as far as An. cyra, and fought a battle with the Tectosages near the town. (Liv.
xxxviii. 24.) When Galatia was formally made a Roman province, B.C. 25, Ancyra
was dignified with the name Sebaste, which is equivalent to Augusta, with the
addition of Tectosagum, to distinguish it from Pessinus and Tavium, which were
honoured with the same title of Sebaste. Ancyra had also the title of Metropolis,
as the coins from Nero's time show. Most of the coins of Ancyra have a figure
of an anchor on them.
The position of Ancyra made it a place of great trade, for it lay
on the road from Byzantium to Tavium and Armenia, and also on the road from Byzantium
to Syria. It is probable, also, that the silky hair of the Angora goat may, in
ancient as in modern times, have formed one of the staples of the place. The hills
about Angora are favourable to the feeding of the goat. The chief monument of
antiquity at Ancyra is the marble temple of Augustus, which was built in the lifetime
of the emperor. The walls appear to be entire, with the exception of a small portion
of one side of the cella. On the inside of the antae of the temple is the Latin
inscription commonly called the Monumentum or Marmor Ancyranum. Augustus (Suet.
Aug. 101) left behind him a record of his actions, which, it was his will, should
be cut on bronze tablets, which were to be placed in front of his Mausoleum. A
copy of this memorable record was cut on the walls of this temple at Ancyra, both
in Greek and Latin. We must suppose that the Ancyrani obtained permission from
the Roman senate or Tiberius to have a transcript of this record to place in the
temple of Augustus, to whom they had given divine honours in his lifetime, as
the passage from Josephus (Antiq. Jud. xvi. 10), when properly corrected, shows.
(See Is. Casaub. in Ancyran. Marmor. Animadv.) The Latin inscription appears to
have been first copied by Busbequius about the middle of the sixteenth century,
and it has been copied by several others since. The latest copy has been made
by Mr. Hamilton, and his copy contains some corrections on former transcripts.
A Greek inscription on the outer wall of the cella had been noticed by Pococke
and Texier, but, with the exception of a small part, it was concealed by houses
built against the temple. By removing the mud wall which was built against the
temple, Hamilton was enabled to copy part of the Greek inscription. So much of
it as is still legible is contained in the Appendix to his second volume of Researches
in Asia Minor, &c. This transcript of the Greek version is valuable, because it
supplies some defects in our copies of the Latin original. A Greek inscription
in front of one of the antae of the temple seems to show that it was dedicated
to the god Augustus and the goddess Rome. Hamilton copied numerous Greek inscriptions
from various parts of the town. (Appendix, vol. ii.) One of the walls of the citadel
contains an immense number of portions of bas-reliefs, inscriptions, funereal
cippi with garlands, and the caput bovis, caryatides, columns and fragments of
architraves, with parts of dedicatory inscriptions, resembling indeed very much
the walls of a rich museum. (Hamilton.)
Angora is still a considerable town, with a large population.
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DORYLEON (Ancient city) TURKEY
Dorylaeum (Aorulaion Eth. Dorulaeus, Dorylensis), a town in Phrygia.
Steph. B. (s. v.) names it Dorylaeium (Dorulaeion), and observes that Demosthenes
calls it Dorylaeum. Strabo also calls it Dorylaeum. Meineke (ed. Steph. B. s.
v. Dorulaeion) has a note on the orthography of the word and the passage of Eustathius
(ad Dionys. Perieg. 815). But it is doubtful if he is right in correcting the
text of Eustathius, which, as it stands, makes also a form Dorulleion, and so
it stands in some editions of Ptolemy (v. 2), who mentions it as a city of Phrygia
Magna in his division of Asia. Meineke conjectures the Demosthenes whom Stephanus
cites to be the Bithynian, and that he used the form Dorylaeum to suit his metre.
The Latin form in Pliny (v. 29) is Dorylaeum, Dorylaum, or Doryleum; doubtful
which. The coins, which are only of the imperial period, have the epigraph Dorulaeon.
Dorylaeum is Eski-shehr (Leake, Asia Minor, p. 18), which is traversed by a small
stream, which at the foot of the hills joins the Pursek, or ancient Thymbres:
this river rises to the south of Kutaya, passes by that city, and joins the Sangarius,
a four hours to the north-east of Eski-shehr. The hot baths of Eski-shehr are
mentioned by Athenaeus, and the water is described as being very pleasant to drink
(ii. p. 43). There were ancient roads from Dorylaeum to Philadelphia, to Apameia
Cibotus, to Laodiceia Combusta and Iconium, to Germa, and to Pessinus: a coincidence
which (their remote extremities being nearly certain) will not apply to any point
but Eski-shehr, or some place in its immediate neighbourhood. (Leake.) Dorylaeum
is in an extensive plain. The remains of antiquity do not appear to be of any
note.
The origin of Dorylaeum is not known. The name occurs in the wars
of Lysimachus and Antigonus (Diod. xx. 108), whence we may conclude that the place
is older than the time of Alexander. Lysimachus made an entrenched camp at Dorylaeum,
which place had abundance of corn and other supplies, and a river flowing by it.
The Dorylenses were among those who joined in the prosecution against L. Flaccus,
who was praetor of the province of Asia (B.C. 62), and who was accused of maladministration.
Cicero, who defended him, calls these Dorylenses pastores (pro Flacc. c. 17),
from which we may collect that there was sheep feeding about Dorylaeum then as
there is now. The roads from Dorylaeum and its position show that it must always
have been an important town during the Roman occupation of Asia; and it was a
flourishing place under the Greek empire.
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EFKARPIA (Ancient city) FRYGIA
Eucarpia (Eukarpia: Eth. Eukarpeus, Eucarpenus), a town in Phrygia,
not far from the sources of the Maeander, on the road from Dorylaeum to Apameia
Cibotus; it was situated in a very fertile district, to which it is said to have
been indebted for its name. The vine especially grew there very luxuriously. (Steph.
B. s. v.; Strab. xii. p. 576.) Under the Roman dominion Eucarpia belonged to the
conventus of Synnada, to the southwest of which city it was situated. (Plin. v.
29; comp. Ptol. v. 2. § 24; Hierocl. p. 666; Geogr. Rav.) Both Arundell (Discov.
in As. Min. i. p. 136) and Kiepert place Eucarpia at no great distance from Segiclar,
but its exact site is unknown.
FAFSTINOPOLIS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Faustinopolis, a town in the south of Cappadocia, about 12 miles south
of Tyana. It was named after the empress Faustina, the wife of M. Aurelius, who
died there in a village, which her husband, by establishing a colony in it, raised
to the rank of a town under the name of Faustinopolis. (Jul. Capitol. M. Ant.
Philos. 26.) Hierocles assigns the place to Cappadocia Secunda, and it is mentioned
also in the Antonine and Jerusalem Itineraries. The exact position of the town
has not yet been ascertained, but it must have been close to the defiles of the
Cilician gates.
FILOMILIO (Ancient city) TURKEY
Philomelium, Philomelum (Philomelion: Eth. Philomeleus, Philomeliensis),
a town in the south-eastern part of Phrygia, which perhaps derived its name from
the number of nightingales found in the district. It was situated in a plain not
far from the borders of Lycaonia, on the great road from Synnada to Iconium. (Cic.
ad Fam. iii. 8, xv. 4; Strab. xiv. p. 663, comp. with xii. p. 577; Ptol. v. 2.
§ 25; Steph. B. s. v.) Philomelium belonged to the conventus of Synnada (Plin.
v. 25), and is mentioned in later times as belonging to Pisidia (Hierocl. p. 672;
Ptol. l. c.), the Pisidians in their pronunciation changing its name into Philomede
or Philomene. (Procop. Hist. Arc. 18.) The town is often alluded to by the Byzantine
historians in the wars of the Greek emperors with the sultans of Iconium. (Anna
Comn. p. 473; Procop. l. c.; Nicet. Ann. p. 264.) Col. Leake (Asia Minor, p. 59)
believes that the place was situated near the modern Ilgun; but it is more probable
that we have to look for its site at Akshehr, where ruins and inscriptions attest
the existence of an ancient town. (Hamilton, Researches, i. p. 472, ii. p. 184;
Arundell, Discoveies, i. p. 282, foll.)
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GALATIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
GORDION (Ancient city) TURKEY
Gordium (Gorsion), a town of Bithynia, a little to the north of the
river Sangarius, was in later times called Juliopolis. This city must have been
of considerable antiquity, having been the residence of the ancient Phrygian kings;
but in the time of Strabo (xii. p. 568) it had sunk to the condition of a mere
village it appears, however, that it was rebuilt and enlarged in the time of Augustus
under the name of Juliopolis, and thenceforth it continued to flourish for several
centuries. (Strab. l. c. p. 574; Polyb. xxii. 20; Liv. xxxviii. 18; Plin. v. 42;
Ptol. v. 1. § 14.) In the time of Justinian it had suffered from the inundations
of the river Scopas, and was therefore repaired by that emperor. (Procop. de Aed.
v. 4.) Gordium is celebrated in history as the scene of Alexander's cutting the
famous Gordian knot. This adventure took place in the acropolis of the town, which
had been the palace of king Gordius. (Arrian, Anab. i 29, ii. 3; Q. Curt. iii.
1, 12; Justin, xi. 7.)
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IKONION (Ancient city) TURKEY
Iconium (Ikonion: Eth. Ikonieus: Cogni, Kunjah, or Koniyeh), was regarded
in the time of Xenophon (Anab. i. 2. § 19) as the easternmost town of Phrygia,
while all later authorities describe it as the principal city of Lycaonia. (Cic.
ad Fam. iii. 6, 8, xv. 3.) Strabo (xii. p. 568) calls it a polichnion, whence
we must infer that it was then still a small place; but he adds that it was well
peopled, and was situated in a fertile district of Lycaonia. Pliny (v. 27), however,
and the Acts of the Apostles, describe it as a very populous city, inhabited by
Greeks and Jews. Hence it would appear that, within a short period, the place
had greatly risen in importance. In Pliny's time the territory of Iconium formed
a tetrarchy comprising 14 towns, of which Iconium was the capital. On coins belonging
to the reign of the emperor Gailienus, the town is called a Roman colony, which
was probably only an assumed title, as no author speaks of it as a colony. Under
the Byzantine emperors it was the metropolis of Lycaonia, and is frequently mentioned
(Hierocl. p. 675); but it was wrested from them first by the Saracens, and afterwards
by the Turks, who made it the capital of an empire, the sovereigns of which took
the title of Sultans of Iconium. Under the Turkish dominion, and during the period
of the Crusades, Iconium acquired its greatest celebrity. It is still a large
and populous town, and the residence of a pasha. The place contains some architectural
remains and inscriptions, but they appear almost all to belong to the Byzantine
period. (Comp. Amm. Marc. xiv. 2; Steph. B. s. v.; Ptol. v. 6. § 16; Leake, Asia
Minor, p. 48; Hamilton, Researches, vol. ii. p. 205, fol. ; Eckhel, vol. iii.
p. 31; Sestini, Geo. Num. p. 48.) The name Iconium led the ancients to derive
it from eikon, which gave rise to the fable that the city derived its name from
an image of Medusa, brought thither by Perseus (Eustath. ad Dionys. Per. 856)
; hence Stephanus B. maintains that the name ought to be spelt Eikonion, a form
actually adopted by Eustathius and the Byzantine writers, and also found on some
coins.
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IRENOUPOLIS (Ancient city) ISAVRIA
Irenopolis (Eirenopolis), a town of the district Lacunitis, in the
north-east of Cilicia. It was situated not far from the river Calycadnus, and
is said to have once borne the name of Neronias (Neronias). (Theodoret. Hist.
Eccles. i. 7, ii. 8; Socrat. ii. 26; Ptol. v. 8. § 6.)
ISAVRIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
Isauria (E Isauria), a district in Asia Minor, bordering in the east
on Lycaonia, in the north on Phrygia, in the west on Pisidia, and in the south
on Cilicia and Pamphylia. Its inhabitants, living in a wild and rugged mountainous
country, were little known to the civilised nations of antiquity. The country
contained but few towns, which existed especially in the northern part, which
was less; mountainous, though the capital, Isaura, was in the south. Strabo, in
a somewhat obscure passage (xii. p. 568), seems to distinguish between Isauria
the northern part, and Isaurike the southern and less known part, which he regards
as belonging to Lycaonia. Later writers, too, designate by the name Isauria only
the northern part of the country, and take no notice of the south, which was to
them almost a terra incognita. The inhabitants of that secluded mountainous region
of Asia, the Isauri or Isaurica gens, appear to have been a kindred race of the
Pisidians. Their principal means of living were derived from plunder and rapine;
from their mountain fastnesses they used to descend into the plains, and to ravage
and plunder wherever they could overcome the inhabitants of the valleys in Cilicia,
Phrygia, and Pisidia. These marauding habits rendered the Isaurians, who also
took part in the piracy of the Cilicians, so dangerous to the neighbouring countries
that, in B.C. 78, the Romans sent against them an army under P. Servilius, who,
after several dangerous campaigns, sueceeded in conquering most of their strongholds
and reducing them to submission, in consequence of which he received the surname
of Isauricus. (Strab. l. c.; Diod. Sic. xviii. 22; Zosim. v. 25; Mela, i. 2; Plin.
v. 23; Eutrop. vi. 3; Liv. Epit. 93; Dion Cass. xlv. 16; Flor. iii. 6; Ptol. v.
4. § 12; Oros. v. 23; Amm. Marc. xiv. 2, xxv. 9.) The Isaurians after this were
quite distinct from the Lycaonians, for Cicero (ad Att. v. 21; comp. ad Fain.
xv. 2) distinguishes between the Forum Lycaonium and the Isauricum. But notwithstanding
the severe measures, of Servilius, who had destroyed their strongholds, and even
their capital of Isaura, they subsequently continued to infest their neighbours,
which induced the tetrarch Amyntas to attempt their extirpation; but he did not
succeed, and lost his life in the attempt. Although the glorious victory of Pompey
over the pirates had put an end to such practices at sea, the Isaurians, who in
the midst of the possessions of Rome maintained their independence, continued
their predatory excursions, and defied the power of Rome; and the Romans, unable
to protect their subjects against the bold mountaineers in any other way, endeavoured
to check them by surrounding their country with a ring of fortresses. (Treb. Poll.
XXX. Tyr. 25.) In this, however, the Romans succeeded but imperfectly, for the
Isaurians frequently broke through the surrounding line of fortifications; and
their successes emboldened them so much that, in the third century of our aera,
they united themselves with their kinsmen, the Cilicians, into one nation. From
that time the inhabitants of the highlands of Cilicia also are comprised under
the name of Isauri, and the two, united, undertook expeditions on a very large
scale. The strongest and most flourishing cities were attacked and plundered by
them, and they remained the terror of the. surrounding nations. In the third century,
Trebellianus, a chief of the Cilician Isaurians, even assumed the title and dignity
of Roman emperor. The Romans, indeed, conquered and put him to death; but were
unable, to reduce the Isaurians. The emperor Probus, for a time, succeeded in,
reducing, them to submission; but they soon shook off the yoke. (Vopisc. Prob.
16; Zosim. i. 69, 70.) To the Greek emperors they were particularly formidable,
for whole armies are said to have been cut to, pieces and destroyed by them. (Suid.
s. v. Bruchios and Erakleios; Philostorg. Hist. Eccles. xi. 8.) Once the Isaurians
even had the honour of giving an emperor to the East in the person of Zeno, surnamed
the Isaurian; but they were subsequently much reduced by the emperor Anastasius,
so that in the time of Justinian they had ceased to be formidable. (Comp. Gibbon,
Hist. of the Decline, &c., chap. xl.) The Isaurians are described as an ugly race,
of low stature, and badly armed; in the open field they were bad soldiers, but
as hardened mountaineers they were irresistible in what is called guerilla warfare.
Their country, though for the most part consisting of rugged mountains, was not
altogether barren, and the vine was cultivated to a considerable extent. (Amm.
Marc. xiv. 8.) Traditions originating in the favourite pursuits of the ancient
Isaurians are still current among the present inhabitants of the country, and
an interesting specimen is related in Hamilton's Researches, vol. ii. p. 331.
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ISSAVROS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Isaura (ta Isaura: Eth. Isaureus), the capital of Isauria, situated
in the south-west of the country; it was a wealthy, populous, and well-fortified
city at the foot of Mount Taurus. Of its earlier history nothing is known; but
we learn from Diodorus (xviii. 22) that when it was besieged by Perdiccas, and
the inhabitants were no longer able to hold out, they set fire to the city, and
destroyed themselves with all they possessed. Large quantities of molten gold
were found afterwards by the Macedonians among the ashes and ruins. The town was
rebuilt, but was destroyed a second time by the Roman, Servilius Isauricus, and
thenceforth it remained a heap of ruins. Strabo (xii p. 568) states that the place
was ceded by the Romans to Amyntas of Galatia, who built out of the ruins of the
ancient city a new one in the neighbourhood, which he surrounded with a wall;
but he did not live to complete the work. In the third century of our aera Isaura
was the residence of the rival emperor Trebellianus (Trebell. Poll. XXX. Tyran.
25); but in the time of Ammianus Marcellinus (xiv. 8) nearly all traces of its
former magnificence had vanished. At a later period it is still mentioned, under
the name Isauropolis, as a town in the province of Lycaonia. (Hierocl. p. 675;
Concil. Chalced. p. 673; comp. Strab. xiv. p. 665; Ptol. v. 4. § 12; Steph. B.
s. v.; Plin. v. 27.) Of Old Isaura no ruins appear to be found, though D'Anville
and others have identified it with the modern Bei Sheher; they also believe that
Seidi Sheher occupies the site of New Isaura, while some travellers regard Serki
Serai as the representative of New Isaura; but Hamilton (Researches, vol. ii.
pp. 330, foll.) has given good reasons for thinking that certain ruins, among
which are the remains of al triumphal arch of the emperor Hadrian and a gateway.on
a hill near the village of Olou Bounar mark the site of New Isaura. The walls
of the city can still be traced all around the place. The Isaurians were a people
of robbers, and the site of their city was particularly favourable to such a mode
of life.
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KESSARIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Caesareia (Kaisareia: Eth. Kaisareus), (Kaisariyeh), a city of the
district Cilicia in Cappadocia, at the base of the mountain Argaeus. It was originally
called Mazaca, afterwards Eusebeia. (Steph. s. v. Kaisareia, quoting Strab. p.
537.) The site in the volcanic country at the foot of Argaeus exposed the people
to many inconveniences. It was, however, the residence of the kings of Cappadocia.
Tigranes, the ally of Mithridates the Great, took the town (Strab. p. 539; Appian,
Mithrid. c. 67), and carried off the people with other Cappadocians to his new
town Tigranocerta; but some of them returned after the Romans took Tigranocerta.
Strabo has a story that the people of Mazaca used the code of Charondas and kept
a law-man (nomodos) to explain the law; his functions corresponded to those of
a Roman jurisconsultus (nomikos). The Roman emperor Tiberius, after the death
of Archelaus, made Cappadocia a Roman province, and changed the name of Mazaca
to Caesareia (Eutrop. vii. 11; Suidas, s. v. Tiberios). The change of name was
made after Strabo wrote his description of Cappadocia. The first writer who mentions
Mazaca under the name of Caesareia is Pliny (vi. 3): the name Caesareia also occurs
in Ptolemy. It was an important place under the later empire. In the reign of
Valerian it was taken by Sapor, who put to death many thousands of the citizens;
at this time it was said to have a population of 400,000 (Zonar. xii. p. 630).
Justinian afterwards repaired the walls of Caesareia (Procop. Aed. v. 4). Caesareia
was the metropolis of Cappadocia from the time of Tiberius; and in the later division
of Cappadocia into Prima and Secunda, it was the metropolis of Cappadocia Prima.
It was the birth-place of Basilius the Great, who became bishop of Caesareia,
A.D. 370.
There are many ruins, and much rubbish of ancient constructions about
Kaisaryeh. No coins with the epigraph Mazaca are known, but there are numerous
medals with the epigraph Eusebeia, and Kaisareia, and Kais. pros Argaio.
Strabo, who is very particular in his description of the position
of Mazaca, places it about 800 stadia from the Pontus, which must mean the province
Pontus; somewhat less than twice this distance from the Euphrates, and six days'
journey from the Pylae Ciliciae. He mentions a river Melas, about 40 stadia from
the city, which flows into the Euphrates, which is manifestly a mistake.
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KYVISTRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Cybistra (ta Kubistra: Eth. Kubistreus, coin). Strabo, after mentioning
Tyana, says that not far from it are Castabala and Cybistra, forts which are still
nearer to the mountain, by which he means Taurus. Cybistra and Castabala were
in that division of Cappadocia which was called Cilicia. Leake (Asia Minor, p.
62) says that Strabo places Cybistra 300 stadia from Mazaca: but the obscure text
seems to mean that it is 300 stadia from Tyana to Cybistra. Strabo makes it six
days' journey from Mazaca to the Pylae Ciliciae, through Tyana, which is about
half way; then he makes it 300 stadia, or about two days' journey, from Tyana
to Cybistra, which leaves about a day's journey from Cybistra to the Pylae; and
this is consistent with the passage already cited. Leake further observes, We
learn also from the Table that Cybistra was on the road from Tyana to Mazaca,
and sixty-four Roman miles from the former. He thinks that these data are sufficient
to fix the site of Cybistra at Karahissar, where are considerable remains of an
ancient city. Karahissar is about 30 miles SSW. of Mazaca (Kaisariyeh). But Hamilton
(Researches, vol. ii. p. 293), who visited Karahissar, says that it contains no
vestiges of antiquity; and besides this, it is plain that, if Strabo's description
is right, Karahissar is a long way from Cybistra. Hamilton adds, in a note, that
it is stated on German authority that Cybistra is at a place called Pasmaktchi,
on the road from Caesareia to the Cilician pass; but no more precise indication
is given. Ptolemy (v. 7) places Cybistra in Cataonia, but he mentions Cyzistra
as one of the towns of the Cilicia of Cappadocia, and Mazaca as another. It appears,
then, that his Cyzistra corresponds to Strabo's Cybistra, which certainly is not
in Cataonia.
When M. Cicero was proconsul of Cilicia, he led his troops southwards
towards the Taurus through that part of Cappadocia which borders on Cilicia, and
he encamped on the verge of Cappadocia, not far from Taurus, at a town Cybistra,
in order to defend Cilicia, and at the same time hold Cappadocia (ad Fans. xv.
2, 4). Cicero stayed five days at Cybistra, and on hearing that the Parthians
were a long way off that entrance into Cappadocia, and were hanging on the borders
of Cilicia, he immediately marched into Cilicia through the Pylae of the Taurus,
and came to Tarsus (ad Att. v. 20). This is quite consistent with Strabo, and
shows that Leake has misplaced Cybistra. The exact site remains to be determined,
unless the German authority has indicated it.
Whether Cyzistra is really a different place from Cybistra, as some
geographers assume, may be doubted.
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LYSTRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Lystra (Lustra he, or ta), a town of Lycaonia or Isauria, which is
mentioned by Pliny (v. 42: Eth. Lystreni) and Ptolemy (v. 4. § 12), and repeatedly
in the New Testament History. (Acts, xiv. 8, 21; Timoth. iii. 11; comp. Hierocl.
p. 675.) A bishop of Lystra was present at the Council of Chalcedon. Leake (Asia
Minor, p. 102) is inclined to place the town at Khatoun Serai, about 30 miles
south of Iconium; but Hamilton (Researches, vol. ii. p. 313), with more appearance
of probability, identifies its site with the ruins of Kaadagh, which are generally
believed to be the remains of Derbe.
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NAZIANZOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Nazianzus (Nazianzos), a town in the southwest of Cappadocia, in the
district called Garsauria, 24 miles to the south-east of Archelais. The place
is not mentioned by the early writers, and owes its celebrity to the fact that
it was the place where Gregory of Nazianzus was educated, and where he afterwards
became bishop. (Hierocl. p. 700; Socrat. Hist. Eccles. iv. 11; Greg. Naz. Vita
Carm. v. 25, Epist. 50; Conc. Const. ii. p. 97; It. Ant. p. 144; It. Hieros. p.
577, where it is miswritten Nathiangus; comp. Diocaesareia) Hamilton (Researches,
vol. ii. p. 228) is inclined to believe that the modern place called Euran Sheher,
near Haval Dere, marks the site of Nazianzus, though others identify the village
of Mimisu with it.
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PARNASSOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Parnassus. (Parnassos) a town in the northern part of Cappadocia, on the right bank of the Halys, and on or near a hill, to which it owed its name, on the road between Ancyra and Archelais, about 63 miles west of the latter town. (Polyb. xxv. 4; It. Ant. pp. 144, 206; It. Hieros. p. 576; Geogr. Sacr. p. 255.)
PESSINOUS (Ancient city) TURKEY
Pessinus, Pesinus (Pessinous, Pesinous: Eth. Pessinountios), the principal
town of the Tolistoboii, in the west of Galatia, situated on the southern slope
of Mount Dindymus or Agdistis, near the left bank of the river Sangarius, from.
whose sources it was about 15 miles distant. (Paus. i. 4. § 5; Strab. xii. p.
567.) It was 16 miles south of Germa, on the road from Ancyra to Amorium. (It.
Ant. pp. 201, 202.) It was the greatest commercial town in those parts, and was
believed to have derived its name from the image of its great patron divinity,
which was said to have fallen (pesein) from heaven. (Herodian, i. 11; Amm. Marc.
xxii. 9.) Pessinus owes its greatest celebrity to the goddess Rhea or Cybele,
whom the natives called Agdistis, and to whom an immensely rich temple was dedicated.
Her priests were anciently the rulers of the place ; but in later times their
honours and powers were greatly reduced. (Strab. l. c., x. p. 469; Diod. Sic.
iii. 58, &c.) Her temple contained her image, which, according to some, was of
stone (Liv. xxix. 10, 11), or, according to others, of wood, and was believed
to have fallen from heaven. (Apollod. iii. 11; Amm. Marc. l. c.) The fame of the
goddess appears to have extended all over the ancient world; and in B.C. 204,
in accordance with a command of the Sibylline books, the Romans sent a special
embassy to Pessinus to fetch her statue, it being believed that the safety of
Rome depended on its removal to Italy. (Liv. l. c.; Strab. xii. p. 567.) The statue
was set up in the temple of Victory, on the Palatine. The goddess, however, continued
nevertheless to be worshipped at Pessinus; and the Galli, her priests, sent a
deputation to Manlius when he was encamped on the banks of the Sangarius. (Liv.
xxxviii. 18; Polyb. xx. 4.) At a still later period, the emperor Julian worshipped
the goddess in her ancient temple. (Amm. Marc. l. c.) The kings of Pergamum adorned
the sanctuary with a magnificent temple, and porticoes of white marble, and surrounded
it with a beautiful grove. Under the Roman dominion the town of Pessinus began
to decay, although in the new division of the empire under Constantine it was
made the capital of the province Galatia Salutaris. (Hierocl. p. 697.) After the
sixth century the town is no longer mentioned in history. Considerable ruins of
Pessinus, especially a well-preserved theatre, exist at a distance of 9 or 10
miles to the south-east of Sevri Hissar, where they were first discovered by Texier.
(Descript. de l'Asie Mineure). They extend over three hills, separated by valleys
or ravines. The marble seats of the theatre are nearly entire, but the scena is
entirely destroyed; the whole district is covered with blocks of marble, shafts
of columns, and other fragments, showing that the place must have been one of
unusual magnificence. (Hamilton, Researches, i. p. 438, foll.; Leake, Asia Minor,
p. 82, foll., who seems to be mistaken in looking for Pessinus on the right bank
of the Sangarius.)
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SEVASTIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Sebasteia, a town in the south of Pontus, on the north bank of the
Upper Halys. As it was near the frontier, Pliny (vi. 3) regards it as not belonging
to Pontus, but to Colopene in Cappadocia. (Ptol. v. 6. § 10; Hierocl. p. 702;
It. Ant. pp. 204, 205.) The town existed as a small place before the dominion
of the Romans in those parts, but its ancient name is unknown. Pompey increased
the town, and gave it the name of Megalopolis (Strab. xii. p. 560). The name Sebastia
must have been given to it before the time of Pliny, he being the first to use
it. During the imperial period it appears to have risen to considerable importance,
so that in the later division of the Empire it was made the capital of Armenia
Minor. The identity of Sebastia with the modern Siwas is established partly by
the resemblance of the names, and partlyby the agreement of the site of Siwas
with the description of Gregory of Nyssa, who states that the town was situated
in the valley of the Halys. A small stream, moreover, flowed through the town,
and fell into a neighbouring lake, which communicated with the Halys (Orat. I.
in XL. Mart. p. 501, Orat. II. p. 510; comp. Basil. M. Epist. viii.). In the time
of the Byzantine empire Sebasteia is mentioned as a large and flourishing town
of Cappadocia (Nicet. Ann. p. 76; Ducas, p. 31); while Stephanus B. (s. v.) and
some ecclesiastical writers refer it to Armenia. (Sozom. Hist. Eccl. iv. 24; Theodoret.
Hist. Eccl. ii. 24.) In the Itinerary its name appears in the form of Sevastia,
and in Abulfeda it is actually written Siwas. The emperor Justinian restored its
decayed walls. (Procop. de Aed. iii. 4.) The town of Siwas is still large and
populous, and in its vicinity some, though not very important, remains of antiquity
are seen. (Fontanier, Voyages en Orient. i. p. 179, foil.)
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TAVION (Ancient city) TURKEY
Tavium (Taouion, Tauion) or Tavia, a town in the central part of eastern
Galatia, at some distance from the eastern bank of the river Halys, was the chief
town of the Galatian tribe of the Trocmi, and a place of considerable commercial
importance, being the point at which five or six of the great roads met. (Plin.
v. 42; Strab. xii. p. 567; Ptol. v. 4. § 9; Steph. B. s. v. Ankura; Hierocl. p.
696; It. Ant. pp. 201, 203.) It contained a temple with a colossal bronze statue
of Zeus. Leake (Asia Minor, p. 311) is strongly inclined to believe that Tshorum
occupies the site of ancient Tavium; but Hamilton (Researches, i. p. 379, &c.)
and most other geographers, with much more probability, regard the ruins of Boghaz
Kieui, 6 leagues to the north-west of Jazgat or Juzghat, as the remains of Tavium.
They are situated on the slope of lofty and steep rocks of limestone, some of
which are adorned with sculptures in relief. There are also the foundations of
an immense building, which are believed to be remains of the temple of Zeus. (Comp.
Hamilton in the Journal of the Roy. Geogr. Soc. vol. vii. p. 74, fell.; Cramer,
Asia Minor, ii. p. 98.)
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THEMISONION (Ancient city) FRYGIA
Themisonium (Themisonion: Eth. Themisonios), a town of Phrygia, near
the borders of Pisidia, whence in later times it was regarded as a town of Pisidia.
(Strab. xii. p. 576; Paus. x. 32; Ptol. v. 2. § 26; Steph. B. s. v.; Plin. v.
29; Hierocl. p. 674; Geogr. Rav. i. 18.) Pausanias relates that the Themisonians
showed a cave, about 30 stadia from their town, in which, on the advice of Heracles,
Apollo, and Hermes, they had concealed their wives and children during an invasion
of the Celts, and in which afterwards they set up statues of these divinities.
According to the Peuting. Table, Themisonium was 34 miles from Laodiceia. Arundell
(Discoveries, ii. p. 136), guided by a coin of the place, fixes its site on the
river Azanes, and believes the ruins at Kai Hissar to be those of Themisonium;
but Kiepert (in Franz's Funf Inschriften, p. 29) thinks that the ruins of Kisel
Hisser, which Arundell takes to mark the site of Cibyra, are those of Themisonium.
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TYANA (Ancient city) TURKEY
(Ta Tuana: Eth. Tuaneus or Tuanites). Also called Thyana or Thiana,
and originally Thoana, from Thoas, a Thracian king, who was believed to have pursued
Orestes and Pylades thus far, and to have founded the town (Arrian, Peripl. P.
E. p. 6; Steph. B. s. v.). Report said that it was built, like Zela in Pontus,
on a causeway of Semiramis; but it is certain that it was situated in Cappadocia
at the foot of Mount Taurus, near the Cilician gates, and on a small tributary
of the Lamus (Strab. xii. p. 537, xiii. p. 587.) It stood on the highroad to Cilicia
and Syria at a distance of 300 stadia from Cybistra, and 400 stadia (according
to the Peut. Table 73 miles) from Mazaca (Strab. l. c.; Ptol. v. 6. § 18; comp.
Plin. vi. 3; It. Ant. p. 145). Its situation on that road and close to so important
a pass must have rendered Tyana a place of great consequence, both in a commercial
and a military point of view. The plain around it moreover, was extensive and
fertile, and the whole district received from the town of Tyana the name of Tyanitis
(Tuanitis, Strab. l. c.). From its coins we learn that in the reign of Caracalla
the city became a Roman colony; afterwards, having for a time belonged to the
empire of Palmyra, it was conquered by Aurelian, in A.D. 272 (Vopisc. Aurel. 22,
foll.), and Valens raised it to the rank of the capital of Cappadocia Secunda
(Basil. Magn. Epist. 74, 75; Hierocl. p. 700; Malala, Chron.; Not. Imp.) Its capture
by the Turks is related by Cedrenus. Tyana is celebrated in history as the native
place of the famous impostor Apollonius, of whom we have a detailed biography
by Philostratus. ln the vicinity of the town there was a temple of Zeus on the
borders of a lake in a marshy plain. The water of the lake itself was cold, but
a hot well sacred to Zeus, issued from it (Philostr. Vit. Apoll. i. 4; Amm. Marc.
xxiii. 6; Aristot. Mir. Ausc. 163.) This well was called Asmabaeon, and from it
Zeus himself was surnamed Asmabaeus. These details about the locality of Tyana
have led in modern times to the discovery of the true site of the ancient city.
It was formerly believed that Kara Hissar marked the site of Tyana; for in that
district many ruins exist, and its inhabitants still maintain that their town
once was the capital of Cappadocia. But this place is too far north to be identified
with Tyana; and Hamilton (Researches, ii. p. 302, foil.) has shown most satisfactorily,
what others had conjectured before him, that the true site of Tyana is at a place
now called Kiz Hissar, south-west of Nigdeh, and between this place and Erekli.
The ruins of Tyana are considerable, but the most conspicuous is an aqueduct of
granite, extending seven or eight miles to the foot of the mountains. There are
also massy foundations of several large buildings, shafts, pillars, and one handsome
column still standing. Two miles south of these ruins, the hot spring also still
bubbles forth in a cold swamp or lake. (Leake, Asia Minor, 61; Eckhel, iii. p.
195; Sestini, p. 60.)
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URANOUPOLIS (Ancient city) TURKEY
ZARA (Town) TURKEY
A town in the northern part of Armenia Minor, or perhaps more correctly in Pontus,
on the road from Caesarea to Satala, and at the same time on that from Arabissus
to Nicopolis. It still bears the name of Zara or Sara. (It. Ant. pp. 182, 207,
213.)
DORYLEON (Ancient city) TURKEY
A town in Phrygia Epictetus, on the river Thymbris, with warm baths, which are used at the present day.
FILOMILIO (Ancient city) TURKEY
or Philomelum (Philomelion, or in the Pisidian dialect Philomede.
A city of Phrygia Parorios, on the borders of Lycaonia and Pisidia, said to have
been named from the numbers of nightingales in its neighbourhood. It is mentioned
several times by Cicero. According to the division of the provinces under Constantine,
it belonged to Pisidia. It is still found mentioned at the time of the Crusades
by the name of Philomene.
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FRYGIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
(Phrugia). A country of Asia Minor, which was of different extent
at different periods. Under the Roman Empire Phrygia was bounded on the west by
Mysia, Lydia, and Caria; on the south by Lycia and Pisidia; on the east by Lycaonia
(which is often reckoned as a part of Phrygia) and Galatia (which formerly belonged
to Phrygia), and on the north by Bithynia. The Phrygians are mentioned by Homer
as settled on the banks of the Sangarius, where later writers tell us of the powerful
Phrygian kingdom of Gordius and Midas. It would seem that they were a branch of
the great Thracian family, originally settled in the northwest of Asia Minor as
far as the shores of the Hellespont and Propontis, and that the successive migrations
of other Thracian peoples, as the Thyni, Bithyni, Mysians, and Teucrians, drove
them farther inland. They were not, however, entirely displaced by the Mysians
and Teucrians from the country between the shores of the Hellespont and Propontis
and Mounts Ida and Olympus, where they continued side by side with the Greek colonies,
and where their name was preserved in that of the district under all subsequent
changes--namely, Phrygia Minor or Phrygia Hellespontus. The kingdom of Phrygia
was conquered by Croesus, and formed part of the Persian, Macedonian, and Syro-Grecian
Empires; but, under the last, the northeastern part, adjacent to Paphlagonia and
the Halys, was conquered by the Gauls, and formed the western part of Galatia;
and under the Romans was included in the province of Asia. In connection with
the early intellectual culture of Greece, Phrygia is highly important. The earliest
Greek music, especially that of the flute, was borrowed in part, through the Asiatic
colonies, from Phrygia. With this country also were closely associated the orgies
of Dionysus and of Cybele, the Mother of the Gods, the Phrygia Mater of the Roman
poets. After the Persian conquest, however, the Phrygians seem to have lost all
intellectual activity, and they became proverbial among the Greeks and Romans
for submissiveness and stupidity. The Roman poets constantly use the epithet Phrygian
as equivalent to Trojan.
But scanty remains of the Phrygian language survive, chiefly
in the shape of brief inscriptions. It was probably an Indo-European dialect closely
related to the Armenian, and some such relation is implied in the notices of Herodotus
and Strabo.
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GALATIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
(Galatia). A country of Asia Minor, composed of parts of Phrygia
and Cappadocia, and bounded on the west, south, and southeast by those countries,
and on the northeast, north, and northwest by Pontus, Paphlagonia, and Bithynia.
It derived its name from its inhabitants, who were Gauls that had invaded and
settled in Asia Minor at various periods during the third century B.C. They speedily
overran all Asia Minor within the Taurus, and exacted tribute from its various
princes; but Attalus I. gained a complete victory over them (B.C. 230), and compelled
them to settle down within the limits of the country thenceforth called Galatia,
and also, on account of the mixture of Greeks with the Celtic inhabitants which
speedily took place, GraecoGalatia and Gallograecia. The people of Galatia adopted
to a great extent Greek habits and manners and religious observances, but preserved
their own language, so that even in the fourth century A.D. Jerome says that the
speech of the Galatians resembles the local dialect of the Treviri in Gaul. They
retained also their political divisions and forms of government. They consisted
of three great tribes -- the Tolistobogi, the Trocmi, and the Tectosages--each
subdivided into four parts, Coin of Galatia, with the head of Roman emperor. called
by the Greeks tetrarchiai. At the head of each of these twelve tetrarchies was
a chief or tetrarch. At length one of the tetrarchs, Deiotarus, was rewarded for
his services to the Romans in the Mithridatic war by the title of king, together
with a grant of Pontus and Armenia Minor; and after the death of his successor,
Amyntas, Galatia was made by Augustus a Roman province (B.C. 25). Its only important
cities were: in the southwest, Pessinus, the capital of the Tolistobogi; in the
centre, Ancyra, the capital of the Tectosages; and in the northeast, Tavium, the
capital of the Trocmi. From the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians, we learn
that the Christian churches in Galatia consisted in great part of Jewish converts.
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GORDION (Ancient city) TURKEY
(Gordion, also Gordieion). The ancient capital of Phrygia, situated on the Sangarius; the royal residence of the kings of the dynasty of Gordius, and the scene of Alexander's celebrated exploit of cutting the Gordian knot.
IKONION (Ancient city) TURKEY
(Ikonion). The modern Koniyeh; the capital of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor, and when visited by St. Paul a flourishing city. During the Middle Ages it was of great importance in the history of the Crusades.
ISAVRIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
A district of Asia Minor, on the northern side of the Taurus,
between Pisidia and Cilicia, whose inhabitants, the Isauri, were daring robbers.
They were defeated by the Roman consul, L. Servilius, in B.C. 75, who received
in consequence the surname of Isauricus. Two Byzantine emperors (Zeno I. and Leo
III.) were Isaurians.
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KESSARIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
Caesarea ad Argaeum, the capital of Cappadocia, called by this
name in the reign of Tiberius, previously Mazaca. It was situate at the foot of
Mount Argaeus, as its name indicates, and was a place of great antiquity, its
foundation having even been ascribed by some writers to Mesech, the son of Japhet.
The modern name is Kaisarieh.
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KYVISTRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
(ta Kubistra). An ancient city of Asia Minor, lying at the foot of Mount Taurus, in the part of Cappadocia bordering on Cilicia.
LYSTRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
(he Lustra). A city of Lycaonia, on the confines of Isauria, celebrated as one chief scene of the preaching of Paul and Barnabas.
NAZIANZOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
A city of Cappadocia, celebrated as the diocese of a distinguished Father of the Church--Gregory Nazianzenus.
PESSINOUS (Ancient city) TURKEY
(Pessinous) or Pesinus (Pesinous). A city in the southwest corner
of Galatia, on the southern slope of Mount Dindymus or Agdistis, was celebrated
as a chief seat of the worship of Cybele, under the surname of Agdistis, whose
temple, crowded with riches, stood on a hill outside the city. In this temple
was an image of the goddess, which was removed to Rome to satisfy an oracle in
the Sibylline Books.
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TRAJANOPOLIS (Ancient city) FRYGIA
A town in Mysia on the borders of Phrygia, refounded by Trajan in A.D. 117.
TYANA (Ancient city) TURKEY
A great city of Cappadocia, probably the same as the later Tyana.
Now Kiz Hisar; a city of Asia Minor, stood in the south of Cappadocia, at the northern foot of Mount Taurus. Tyana was the native place of Apollonius, the supposed worker of miracles. The southern district of Cappadocia, in which the city stood, was called Tyanitis. Near Tyana in Roman times was a great temple of Iupiter.
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ANASTASIOUPOLIS (Ancient city) GALATIA
The modern ANGORA, a titular see of Galatia
in Asia Minor, suffragan
of Laodicea. It was said
to have been founded by Midas, was a chief place of the Gallic conquerors of Asia
Minor (c. 277, B.C.), and in imperial times a centre of great commercial importance.
It is also famous for the official record of the Acts of Augustus,
known as the “Monumentum Ancyranum,” an inscription cut in marble
on the walls of an ancient temple, several times copied and edited since the sixteenth
century.
The ruins of Ancyra furnish to-day valuable bas-reliefs. inscriptions,
and other architectural fragments.
Thomas J. Shahan, ed.
Transcribed by: John Fobian
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
EVDOXIAS (Ancient city) TURKEY
IRENOUPOLIS (Ancient city) ISAVRIA
ISSAVROS (Ancient city) TURKEY
KESSARIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
KYVISTRA (Ancient city) TURKEY
NAZIANZOS (Ancient city) TURKEY
A titular metropolitan see of Cappadocia Tertia. Nazianzus was a small town the history which is completely unknown. It is the modern village of Nenizi east of Ak-Serai (formerly Archelais), in the villayet of Koniah, but has sometimes been wrongly identified with Diocaesarea. At the beginning of the fourth century Nazianzus was suffragan to Caesarea; under Valens it formed part of Cappadocia Secunda, the metropolis of which was Tyana. Later it depended on Cappadocia Tertia and on Mocessus and finally became a metropolitan see under the Emperor Diogenes. In 1370 it was united to the metropolitan See of Caesarea. Up to the year 1200, fourteen of its bishops are known. Its name is inseparably connected with its illustrious doctor and poet-bishop, St. Gregory.
PESSINOUS (Ancient city) TURKEY
SEVASTIA (Ancient city) TURKEY
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