Mopsuestia
Encyclopedia
Mopsuestia later Mamistra, is the ancient city of Cilicia Campestris on the Pyramus (now Ceyhan Nehri) river located approximately 20 km east of ancient Antiochia in Cilicia (present-day Adana
in Adana Province
, Turkey
).
The founding of this city is attributed in legend to the soothsayer, Mopsus
, who lived before the Trojan war
, although it is scarcely mentioned before the Christian
era. Pliny the Elder
calls it the free city of Mopsos (Hist. nat., V, 22), but the ordinary name is Mopsuestia, as found in Stephanus of Byzantium
and all the Christian geographers and chroniclers. Under the Seleucid Empire
, the city took the name of Seleucia on the Pyramus (classical Greek: Σελεύκεια πρὸς τὸν Πύραμον, Seleukeia pros ton Pyramon; ), but gave it up at the time of the Roman
conquest; under Hadrian
it was called Hadriana, under Decius
Decia, etc., as we know from the inscriptions and the coins of the city. Constantius II
built there a magnificent bridge over the Pyramus (Malalas
, Chronographia, XIII; P.G., XCVII, 488) afterwards restored by Justinian
(Procopius
, De Edificiis, V. 5) and has been restored again recently.
Christianity
seems to have been introduced very early into Mopsuestia and during the 3rd century there is mention of a bishop, Theodorus, the adversary of Paul of Samosata
. Other famous residents of the early Christian period in the city’s history include Saint Auxentius
(d. 360), and Theodore
, bishop
from 392–428, the teacher of Nestorius
. The city was taken by the Arabs at the very beginning of Islam
; in 686 all the surrounding forts were conquered by them and in 700 they fortified the city itself (Theophanes
, "Chronogr.", A. M. 6178, 6193). Because of its position on the frontier, the city was repeatedly fought over and was recaptured from time to time by the Byzantines
: it was besieged in vain by the Byzantine troops of John I Tzimisces in 964 but was taken the following year after a long and difficult siege by Nicephorus Phocas.
Mopsuestia then numbered 200,000 inhabitants, some of whom were Muslim, and the Byzantines made efforts to re-Christianize the city. Its river, the Pyramus, formed a great harbour extending twelve miles to the sea. In 1097 the Crusaders took possession of the city and engaged in a fratricidal war under its walls; it remained in the possession of Tancred
who annexed it to the Principality of Antioch
. It suffered much from internecine war between Crusaders, Armenians
, and Greeks
who lost it and recaptured it alternately notably in 1106, in 1152, and in 1171. The Greeks finally abandoned it to the Armenians. Set on fire in 1266, Mamistra, as it was called in the Middle Ages
, became two years afterwards the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
, at the time that a council was held there. Although it was by this time in a state of decline it still possessed at least four Armenian churches, and the Greek
diocese
still existed at the beginning of the fourteenth century (Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, II, 1002 ). In 1322, the Armenians suffered a great defeat under its walls. In 1432 the Frenchman Bertrandon reported the city being ruled by the Muslims and largely destroyed. Since then it steadily declined and became, under the Turkish
name Misis, a little village. Misis was renamed Yakapınar in the 1960s. Misis Mosaic Museum
was founded in 1959 to exhibit the mosaics found in the area.
Mopsuestia remains a titular see
of the Roman Catholic Church
, the seat has been vacant since the death of the last bishop in 1963. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d3m51.html
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
in Adana Province
Adana Province
Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...
, 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 founding of this city is attributed in legend to the soothsayer, Mopsus
Mopsus
Mopsus or Mopsos was the name of two famous seers in Greek mythology. A historical/legendary Mopsus was the founder of a house in power at widespread sites in the coastal plains of Pamphylia and Cilicia during the early Iron Age.-Son of Manto and Rhacius or Apollo:Mopsus, a celebrated seer and...
, who lived before the Trojan war
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, although it is scarcely mentioned before the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
era. Pliny the Elder
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...
calls it the free city of Mopsos (Hist. nat., V, 22), but the ordinary name is Mopsuestia, as found in Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
and all the Christian geographers and chroniclers. Under the Seleucid Empire
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...
, the city took the name of Seleucia on the Pyramus (classical Greek: Σελεύκεια πρὸς τὸν Πύραμον, Seleukeia pros ton Pyramon; ), but gave it up at the time of the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
conquest; under Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
it was called Hadriana, under Decius
Decius
Trajan Decius , was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until they were both killed in the Battle of Abrittus.-Early life and rise to power:...
Decia, etc., as we know from the inscriptions and the coins of the city. Constantius II
Constantius II
Constantius II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death....
built there a magnificent bridge over the Pyramus (Malalas
John Malalas
John Malalas or Ioannes Malalas was a Greek chronicler from Antioch. Malalas is probably a Syriac word for "rhetor", "orator"; it is first applied to him by John of Damascus .-Life:Malalas was educated in Antioch, and probably was a jurist there, but moved to...
, Chronographia, XIII; P.G., XCVII, 488) afterwards restored by Justinian
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
(Procopius
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent Byzantine scholar from Palestine. Accompanying the general Belisarius in the wars of the Emperor Justinian I, he became the principal historian of the 6th century, writing the Wars of Justinian, the Buildings of Justinian and the celebrated Secret History...
, De Edificiis, V. 5) and has been restored again recently.
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
seems to have been introduced very early into Mopsuestia and during the 3rd century there is mention of a bishop, Theodorus, the adversary of Paul of Samosata
Paul of Samosata
Paul of Samosata was Bishop of Antioch from 260 to 268. He was a believer in monarchianism, and his teachings anticipate adoptionism.-Life:...
. Other famous residents of the early Christian period in the city’s history include Saint Auxentius
Auxentius of Mopsuestia
Auxentius of Mopsuestia was bishop of Mopsuestia, and is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. His feast day is December 18...
(d. 360), and Theodore
Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore the Interpreter was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate...
, bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
from 392–428, the teacher of Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
. The city was taken by the Arabs at the very beginning of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
; in 686 all the surrounding forts were conquered by them and in 700 they fortified the city itself (Theophanes
Theophanes
-Saints:*Theodorus and Theophanes , called the Grapti, proponents of the veneration of images during the second Iconoclastic controversy*Theophanes the Confessor Byzantine 8th-9th century historian*Theophan the Recluse Russian saint...
, "Chronogr.", A. M. 6178, 6193). Because of its position on the frontier, the city was repeatedly fought over and was recaptured from time to time by the Byzantines
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...
: it was besieged in vain by the Byzantine troops of John I Tzimisces in 964 but was taken the following year after a long and difficult siege by Nicephorus Phocas.
Mopsuestia then numbered 200,000 inhabitants, some of whom were Muslim, and the Byzantines made efforts to re-Christianize the city. Its river, the Pyramus, formed a great harbour extending twelve miles to the sea. In 1097 the Crusaders took possession of the city and engaged in a fratricidal war under its walls; it remained in the possession of Tancred
Tancred, Prince of Galilee
Tancred was a Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch...
who annexed it to the Principality of Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
. It suffered much from internecine war between Crusaders, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
who lost it and recaptured it alternately notably in 1106, in 1152, and in 1171. The Greeks finally abandoned it to the Armenians. Set on fire in 1266, Mamistra, as it was called in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, became two years afterwards the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
, at the time that a council was held there. Although it was by this time in a state of decline it still possessed at least four Armenian churches, and the Greek
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
diocese
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...
still existed at the beginning of the fourteenth century (Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, II, 1002 ). In 1322, the Armenians suffered a great defeat under its walls. In 1432 the Frenchman Bertrandon reported the city being ruled by the Muslims and largely destroyed. Since then it steadily declined and became, under the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
name Misis, a little village. Misis was renamed Yakapınar in the 1960s. Misis Mosaic Museum
Misis Mosaic Museum
Misis Mosaic Museum exhibits the works that were excavated from Misis Tumulus, most notable are the mosaics that were on the floor of a 4th century temple in the ancient city of Misis...
was founded in 1959 to exhibit the mosaics found in the area.
Mopsuestia 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...
, the seat has been vacant since the death of the last bishop in 1963. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d3m51.html
External links
- Article on modern Yakapınar in the Turkish Wikipedia
- Pictures of the bridge