A single route proceeds south in the Orontes valley. the road from the Euphratean ford at Thapsacus, which skirts the fringe of the Syrian steppe.the roads from eastern Commagene and the Euphratean crossings at Samosata (now Samsat) and Apamea Zeugma (Birejik), which descend the valleys of the Afrin and the Queiq, and.the road from the Amanian Gate (Baghche Pass) and western Commagene, which descends the valley of the Karasu to the Afrin River,.Two routes from the Mediterranean Sea, lying through the Orontes river gorge and the Belen Pass, converge in the plain of the Antioch Lake, now called Lake Amik, and are met there by The city is sacred for Muslim pilgrims who visit the Habib-i Najjar Mosque, which is the site containing the tomb of Habib the Carpenter, mentioned in the Surah Yā-Sīn of the Koran. The city still lends its name to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, one of the most important modern churches of the Levant and eastern Mediterranean. The city declined to relative insignificance during the Middle Ages due to warfare, repeated earthquakes, and a change in trade routes. The Christian New Testament asserts that the name "Christian" first emerged in Antioch. As one of the cities of the pentarchy, Antioch was called "the cradle of Christianity" as a result of its longevity and the pivotal role that it played in the emergence of early Christianity. The city was also the main center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. The Romans provided the city with walls that encompassed almost 450 hectares (1,100 acres), of which one quarter was mountainous, leaving 300 ha (750 acres) – about one-fifth the area of Rome within the Aurelian Walls. From the early fourth century, Antioch was the seat of the Count of the Orient, head of the Diocese of the East. During the late Hellenistic and Roman Principate periods, Antioch's population may have reached a peak of over 500,000 inhabitants (most generally estimate between 200,000 and 250,000), making the city the third largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria and one of the most important cities in the eastern Mediterranean. The city was the capital of the Seleucid Empire from 240 BC until 63 BC, when the Romans took control, making it the capital of the province of Syria and later of Coele Syria. The city's location offered geographical, military, and economic benefits to its occupants Antioch was heavily involved in the spice trade and laid within close reach of the Silk Road and the Royal Road. Seleucus encouraged Greeks from all over the Mediterranean to settle in the city. The modern city of Antakya, in Hatay Province of Turkey, was named after the ancient city, which lies in ruins on the Orontes River and did not overlap in habitation with the modern city.Īntioch was founded near the end of the fourth century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, as one of the tetrapoleis of Seleucis of Syria. Its inhabitants were known as Antiochenes. During the Crusades, Antioch served as the capital of the Principality of Antioch, one of four Crusader states that were founded in the Levant. The city served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire and later as regional capital to both the Roman and Byzantine Empire. It was one of the greatest and most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period. ɒ k/ Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou, pronounced ) was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Armenian, Mesopotamian, Arab, Byzantine, Outremer, TurkishĪntioch on the Orontes ( / ˈ æ n t i. Insignificant by the end of the 15th century
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