Antioch: Difference between revisions

'''Antioch on the Orontes''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|n|t|i|.|ɒ|k}}; {{lang-grc|Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου|Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou}}, {{IPA-el|anti.ó.kʰeː.a|pron}})<ref group=note>{{lang-grc-koi|Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ}} "Antioch on Daphne"; or {{lang|grc|Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη}} "Antioch the Great"; {{lang-la|Antiochia ad Orontem}}; {{lang-hy|Անտիոք}} ''Antiokʽ''; {{lang-syr|ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ}} ''Anṭiokya''; {{lang-he|אנטיוכיה}}, ''Anṭiyokhya''; {{lang-ar|أنطاكية}}, ''Anṭākiya''; {{lang-fa|انطاکیه}}; {{lang-tr|[[Antakya]]}}.</ref> was a [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic Greek]] city<ref>{{cite book|last=Sacks|first=David|title=Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World |series=Facts on File Library of World History |publisher=Facts on File Inc|isbn=978-0816057221|page=32|author2=Oswyn Murray|editor=Lisa R. Brody|year=2005}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Rice |first=E.E. |url= |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece |date=2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-97334-2 |editor-last=Wilson |editor-first=Nigel Guy |pages=592 |language=en |chapter=Political History 323–31 BC}}</ref> founded by [[Seleucus I Nicator]] in 300 &nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Antioch-modern-and-ancient-city-south-central-Turkey |title=Antioch modern and ancient city, south-central Turkey |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref> One of the most important Greek cities of the [[Hellenistic period]],<ref name=":0" /> it served as the capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]] and later as regional capital to both the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Byzantine Empire]]. During the [[Crusades]], Antioch served as the capital of the [[Principality of Antioch]], one of four [[Crusader states]] that were founded in the [[Levant]]. Its inhabitants were known as ''Antiochenes''. 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.

Antioch 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]]. Seleucus encouraged [[Greeks]] from all over the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] to settle in the city.<ref name=":0" /> The city's location offered geographical, military, and economic benefits to its occupants; Antioch was heavily involved in the [[spice trade]] and lay within close reach of the [[Silk Road]] and the [[Royal Road]]. The city was the capital of the [[Seleucid Empire]] from 240 &nbsp;BC until 63&nbsp;BC, when the Romans took control, making it the capital of the [[Roman Syria|province of Syria]] and later of [[Coele Syria (Roman province)|Coele Syria]]. 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),<ref>Kloeg, Paul. "Antioch the Great: Population and Economy of Second-Century Antioch." Masters, Leiden University, 2013. https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/21549.</ref> 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]]. From the early fourth century, Antioch was the seat of the [[Comes Orientis|Count of the Orient]], head of the [[Diocese of the East]]. The Romans provided the city with walls that encompassed almost {{convert|1100|acre|ha|order=flip}}, of which one quarter was mountainous, leaving {{convert|750|acre|ha|abbr=on|order=flip}} – about one-fifth the area of Rome within the [[Aurelian Walls]].