Alabanda
Encyclopedia
Alabanda – also hê Alabanda, ta Alabanda, Alabandeus, Alabandensis, Alabandenus, and for a time, Antiochia of the Chrysaorians – was an ancient city of Caria
, Anatolia
, the site of which is now located near Doğanyurt
(also called Araphisar), Aydin Province
, in the Asia
n part of Turkey
.
The city is located in the saddle between two heights. The area is noted for its dark marble
and for gemstones that resembled garnet
s. Stephanus of Byzantium
claims that there were two cities named Alabanda (Alabandeus) in Caria, but no other ancient source corroborates this.
According to legend, the city was founded by a Carian hero Alabandus
. In the Carian language
, the name is a combination of the words for horse ala and victory banda. In the early Seleucid
period, the city was part of the Chrysaorian League
, a loose federation of nearby cities linked by economic and defensive ties and, perhaps, by ethnic ties. The city was renamed Antiochia of the Chrysaorians in honor of Seleucid king Antiochus III who preserved the city's peace. It was captured by Philip V of Macedon
in 201 BC. The name reverted to Alabanda after the Seleucid defeat at the Battle of Magnesia
in 190 BC. The Romans
occupied the city shortly thereafter.
In 40 BC, the rebel Quintus Labienus
at the head of a Parthia
n army took the city. After Labienus's garrison was slaughtered by the city's inhabitants, the Parthian army stripped the city of its treasures. Under the Roman Empire
, the city became a conventus (Pliny
, V, xxix, 105) and Strabo
reports on its reputation for high-living and decadence. The city minted its own coins down to the mid-third century. During the Byzantine Empire
, the city was a created a bishopric
. A list of its bishops is known from 451 to 879. Alabanda remains a titular see
of the Roman Catholic Church
, Alabandensis; the seat has been vacant since 1968. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2a64.html
Famous residents included the orators Menecles and Hierocles, who were brothers.
The ruins of Alabanda are a eight km west of Çine
and consist of the remains of a theatre and a number of other buildings, but excavations have yielded very few inscriptions.
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
, Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, the site of which is now located near Doğanyurt
Doganyurt
Doğanyurt, formerly Hoşalay, is a town and district of the Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 9,668 of which 1,470 live in the town of Doğanyurt. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of...
(also called Araphisar), Aydin Province
Aydin Province
Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...
, in the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n part of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The city is located in the saddle between two heights. The area is noted for its dark marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and for gemstones that resembled garnet
Garnet
The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" may come from either the Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', or the Latin granatus , possibly a reference to the Punica granatum , a plant with red seeds...
s. Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
claims that there were two cities named Alabanda (Alabandeus) in Caria, but no other ancient source corroborates this.
According to legend, the city was founded by a Carian hero Alabandus
Alabandus
Alabandus was in Greek mythology a Carian hero, son of Euippus and Callirhoe, although which one is unclear...
. In the Carian language
Carian language
The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwian subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, by the Carians, a name possibly first mentioned in...
, the name is a combination of the words for horse ala and victory banda. In the early Seleucid
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
period, the city was part of the Chrysaorian League
Chrysaorian League
The Chrysaorian League was an informal loose federation of several cities in ancient region of Caria, Anatolia that was apparently formed in the early Seleucid period and lasted at least until 203 BC. The League had its primary focus on unified defense, and secondarily on trade, and may have been...
, a loose federation of nearby cities linked by economic and defensive ties and, perhaps, by ethnic ties. The city was renamed Antiochia of the Chrysaorians in honor of Seleucid king Antiochus III who preserved the city's peace. It was captured by Philip V of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
in 201 BC. The name reverted to Alabanda after the Seleucid defeat at the Battle of Magnesia
Battle of Magnesia
The Battle of Magnesia was fought in 190 BC near Magnesia ad Sipylum, on the plains of Lydia , between the Romans, led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio and his brother, the famed general Scipio Africanus, with their ally Eumenes II of Pergamum against the army of Antiochus III the Great of the...
in 190 BC. The Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
occupied the city shortly thereafter.
In 40 BC, the rebel Quintus Labienus
Quintus Labienus
Quintus Labienus , the son of Titus Labienus, was a Roman republican general, later in the service of Parthia.After Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BC, Labienus took the side of Brutus and Cassius, the latter whom he served in the capacity of an ambassador to the Parthians...
at the head of a Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n army took the city. After Labienus's garrison was slaughtered by the city's inhabitants, the Parthian army stripped the city of its treasures. Under the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the city became a conventus (Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, V, xxix, 105) and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
reports on its reputation for high-living and decadence. The city minted its own coins down to the mid-third century. During the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, the city was a created a bishopric
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
. A list of its bishops is known from 451 to 879. Alabanda remains a titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Alabandensis; the seat has been vacant since 1968. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2a64.html
Famous residents included the orators Menecles and Hierocles, who were brothers.
The ruins of Alabanda are a eight km west of Çine
Çine
Çine is a town and a district of Aydın Province, in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın, on the road to Muğla.- Geography :Formerly known as Kıroba, Çine is an attractive rural district in the southern part of the valley of the Büyük Menderes River, on the southern flank of Madran...
and consist of the remains of a theatre and a number of other buildings, but excavations have yielded very few inscriptions.