Samandag
Encyclopedia
Seleucia Pieria was a town in antiquity, the capital of Seleucus I Nicator
, in Syria Prima. It was the port of the western Seleucid
capital of Antioch
, lying close to the mouth of the Orontes
. Its ruins lie at the seaside village of Çevlik
near the town of Samandağ
in the Hatay Province
of Turkey
. Seleucia, Apamea
, Laodicea
, and Antioch
formed the Syrian tetrapolis
.
and Malalas
, there appears to have been a previous city here named Palaeopolis ("Old City").
Seleucia Pieria was built by Seleucus I Nicator
in ca. 300 BC. It lay near the mouth of the Orontes
not far from Mount Casius, and functioned as the commercial and naval seaport of Antioch on the Orontes (now Antakya
). Its first colonists were the Greeks of Antigonia
and some Jews
. Seleucia was of great importance in the struggle between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies; it was captured by Ptolemy Euergetes in 246. As the Ptolemies (Lagids) and Seleucids fought over the city, it changed hands several times until 219 BC, when the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great
recaptured it. Then it obtained its freedom and kept it even to the end of the Roman
occupation. It had long enjoyed the right of coinage.
As the port of Antioch of Syria, "Seleucia on sea"--so called to distinguish it from other cities of the same name--is most notable as the precise point of embarkation from which the Apostle Paul [in AD 45] set forth on the first of his great missionary journeys, as chronicled in the Bible (Acts 13:4). At the end of that same journey he must have made landfall at Seleucia before going to Antioch (see Acts 14:26). His route at the beginning of the second journey was by land and probably bypassed Seleucia (see Acts 15:40-41), though on returning, he must have passed through it again (see Acts 18:22). Once more taking a land route when setting out on his third journey, Paul may have missed Seleucia (see Acts 19:1), and at that journey's end he did not return to Antioch and so missed Seleucia again (see Acts 21:7-8). This means that Paul passed through Seleucia at least three times, and probably several more on pre-missionary visits to Antioch of Syria (see Acts 11:26; 12:25).
Famous residents included Apollophanes, a physician of Antiochus I Soter
(third century), and Firmus
who aroused Palmyra
and Egypt
against Rome in 272 AD.
Seleucia became a city of great importance, and was made a "free city" by Pompey
. The harbour was enlarged several times under Diocletian
and Constantius
.
The city had two ports, but both were continually being silted up. In the fifth century the fight to keep them open was finally given up. It suffered severely in the devastating 526 Antioch earthquake
, and when the Sasanians captured the city around 540, it was undefended. It never recovered as a port, but Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, Ummayad Caliph from 705-715, built a fortress in the city. St Symeon
, the modern Samandağ, became the port of Antioch in the Crusader
period.
and Saint Barnabas sailed from this port on their first missionary journey (Acts
13:4). The city was Christianized early. The oldest bishop
known is Zenobius, present at the Council of Nicaea
in 325. Other known bishops include Eusebius, an Arian
, and Bizus in the fourth century, with twelve others cited by Le Quien (Oriens Christianus, II, 777-780). In the sixth century the Notitia Episcopatuum
of Antioch, gives Seleucia Pieria as an autocephalous archbishopric, suffragan of Antioch (Echos d'Orient, X 144); the diocese existed until the tenth century, and its boundaries are known (Echos d'Orient, X, 97). For some Roman Catholic titularies see Eubel, Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 468.
The city is still a titular see
of the Roman Catholic Church
, Seleuciensis Pierius; the seat is vacant following the death of the last bishop in 1980.
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2s74.html
of little interest, some irrigation works, and some fortifications very much damaged. Considerable remains are still visible: the chief are those of a cutting through the solid rock nearly 1100 yds. long, which Polybius
describes as the road from the city to the sea; the triple line of walls; amphitheatre, cemetery, citadel, and temples.
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
, in Syria Prima. It was the port of the western Seleucid
Seleucid dynasty
The Seleucid dynasty or the Seleucidae was a Greek Macedonian royal family, founded by Seleucus I Nicator , which ruled the Seleucid Kingdom centered in the Near East and regions of the Asian part of the earlier Achaemenid Persian Empire during the Hellenistic period.-History:Seleucus was an...
capital of Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, lying close to the mouth of the Orontes
Orontes River
The Orontes or ‘Āṣī is a river of Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.It was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius...
. Its ruins lie at the seaside village of Çevlik
near the town of Samandağ
Samandag
Seleucia Pieria was a town in antiquity, the capital of Seleucus I Nicator, in Syria Prima. It was the port of the western Seleucid capital of Antioch, lying close to the mouth of the Orontes. Its ruins lie at the seaside village of Çevliknear the town of Samandağ in the Hatay Province of Turkey...
in the Hatay Province
Hatay Province
Hatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...
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...
. Seleucia, Apamea
Apamea (Syria)
Apamea was a treasure city and stud-depot of the Seleucid kings, was capital of Apamene, on the right bank of the Orontes River. . Its site is found about to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley...
, Laodicea
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
, and Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
formed the Syrian tetrapolis
Syrian tetrapolis
The Syrian Tetrapolis consisted of the cities Antioch, Seleucia Pieria, Apamea, and Laodicea in Syria.-References:* Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., s.v. 'Seleucia'....
.
History
According to PausaniasPausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
and 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...
, there appears to have been a previous city here named Palaeopolis ("Old City").
Seleucia Pieria was built by Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
in ca. 300 BC. It lay near the mouth of the Orontes
Orontes River
The Orontes or ‘Āṣī is a river of Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.It was anciently the chief river of the Levant, also called Draco, Typhon and Axius...
not far from Mount Casius, and functioned as the commercial and naval seaport of Antioch on the Orontes (now Antakya
Antakya
Antakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. The mayor is Lütfü Savaş.Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city has historical significance for Christianity, as it was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first...
). Its first colonists were the Greeks of Antigonia
Antigonia
Antigonia may refer to:*Any of several Hellenistic cities , including:**Antigonia and related Archaeological National park of Antigonea, near Saraqinisht, southern Albania, known in antiquity as a place in Chaonia, Epirus...
and some Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. Seleucia was of great importance in the struggle between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies; it was captured by Ptolemy Euergetes in 246. As the Ptolemies (Lagids) and Seleucids fought over the city, it changed hands several times until 219 BC, when the Seleucid Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great Seleucid Greek king who became the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire as a youth of about eighteen in 223 BC. Antiochus was an ambitious ruler who ruled over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC...
recaptured it. Then it obtained its freedom and kept it even to the end of the Roman
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....
occupation. It had long enjoyed the right of coinage.
As the port of Antioch of Syria, "Seleucia on sea"--so called to distinguish it from other cities of the same name--is most notable as the precise point of embarkation from which the Apostle Paul [in AD 45] set forth on the first of his great missionary journeys, as chronicled in the Bible (Acts 13:4). At the end of that same journey he must have made landfall at Seleucia before going to Antioch (see Acts 14:26). His route at the beginning of the second journey was by land and probably bypassed Seleucia (see Acts 15:40-41), though on returning, he must have passed through it again (see Acts 18:22). Once more taking a land route when setting out on his third journey, Paul may have missed Seleucia (see Acts 19:1), and at that journey's end he did not return to Antioch and so missed Seleucia again (see Acts 21:7-8). This means that Paul passed through Seleucia at least three times, and probably several more on pre-missionary visits to Antioch of Syria (see Acts 11:26; 12:25).
Famous residents included Apollophanes, a physician of Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter
Antiochus I Soter , was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He reigned from 281 BC - 261 BC....
(third century), and Firmus
Firmus
Firmus was a Roman usurper against Aurelian. His story is told by the often unreliable Historia Augusta twice, with the first account the most sketchy and reliable.- Life of the historical Firmus :...
who aroused Palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
against Rome in 272 AD.
Seleucia became a city of great importance, and was made a "free city" by Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
. The harbour was enlarged several times under Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
and Constantius
Constantius Chlorus
Constantius I , commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Roman Emperor from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar he defeated the usurper Allectus in Britain and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the...
.
The city had two ports, but both were continually being silted up. In the fifth century the fight to keep them open was finally given up. It suffered severely in the devastating 526 Antioch earthquake
526 Antioch earthquake
The 526 Antioch earthquake was a major earthquake that hit Syria and Antioch in the Byzantine Empire in 526. It struck during late May, probably between May 20–29, at mid-morning, killing approximately 250,000 people. The earthquake was followed by a fire that destroyed most of the buildings left...
, and when the Sasanians captured the city around 540, it was undefended. It never recovered as a port, but Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, Ummayad Caliph from 705-715, built a fortress in the city. St Symeon
St Symeon
St Symeon St Symeon St Symeon (modern name Samandağ or SuadiyeSt Symeon (modern name Samandağ or SuadiyeSt Symeon (modern name Samandağ or SuadiyeSteven Runciman, A History of the Crusades: Volume 1, The First Crusade, Cambridge University Press, 1951, p. 216) was the medieval port of Antioch,...
, the modern Samandağ, became the port of Antioch in the Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
period.
Church history
Paul of TarsusPaul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
and Saint Barnabas sailed from this port on their first missionary journey (Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
13:4). The city was Christianized early. The oldest 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...
known is Zenobius, present at the Council of Nicaea
First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...
in 325. Other known bishops include Eusebius, an Arian
Arianism
Arianism is the theological teaching attributed to Arius , a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, concerning the relationship of the entities of the Trinity and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father...
, and Bizus in the fourth century, with twelve others cited by Le Quien (Oriens Christianus, II, 777-780). In the sixth century the Notitia Episcopatuum
Notitiae Episcopatuum
The Notitiae Episcopatuum are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church....
of Antioch, gives Seleucia Pieria as an autocephalous archbishopric, suffragan of Antioch (Echos d'Orient, X 144); the diocese existed until the tenth century, and its boundaries are known (Echos d'Orient, X, 97). For some Roman Catholic titularies see Eubel, Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 468.
The city is still 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...
, Seleuciensis Pierius; the seat is vacant following the death of the last bishop in 1980.
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2s74.html
Ruins
The upper city, about 13 km in circumference, is still distinguishable. The lower city, smaller than the preceding one, was more thickly populated. Among the curiosities are a necropolisNecropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
of little interest, some irrigation works, and some fortifications very much damaged. Considerable remains are still visible: the chief are those of a cutting through the solid rock nearly 1100 yds. long, which Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
describes as the road from the city to the sea; the triple line of walls; amphitheatre, cemetery, citadel, and temples.