Antiochia ad Taurum

Coordinates: 37°5′N 37°24′E / 37.083°N 37.400°E / 37.083; 37.400
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Antiochia ad Taurum (lit. "Antiochia at Taurus") (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια τοῦ Ταύρου; lit. "Antiochia of Taurus") was a Hellenistic city in ancient Syria east of Mount Amanus of the Taurus mountain range.[1] Later identified as 'ad Taurum montem' (lit. "at Mount Taurus") in the Commagene province of Syria.[2]

Historical geography[edit]

Antiochia ad Taurum was located to the east of Mount Amanus, and in the Second Temple period, Jewish authors seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical borders of the Promised Land, began to construe Mount Hor as a reference to the Amanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain.[3][4]

Most modern scholars locate Antiochia ad Taurum at or near Gaziantep (formerly called Aïntab) in the westernmost part of present-day Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region,[5][6][7] although past scholars tried to associate it with Aleppo (Arabic name Halab), Syria.[8] It has also been identified with Perrhe near Adıyaman.[citation needed]

Locating Antiochia ad Taurum at or near (Gaziantep, Turkey),[9] the city lies in the Islahiye valley which connects the lower Orontes valley to the southern piedmont of the central Taurus mountain range. During the Bronze Age, the region belonged to the Inner Syrian cultural context, and held a highly strategic significance, over the course of time, for the connections between Upper Mesopotamian and Levantine lowlands on the one hand and the Anatolian highlands on the other.[10]

Numismatics[edit]

Coins were minted at Antiochia ad Taurum.[11]

History of Christianity[edit]

During the Roman Period (1st century CE), Antiochia ad Taurum was located within the Roman provinces of Antiochia or Cilicia et Syria, and excluded from Paul's missionary journeys.[12] Antiochia ad Taurum was eventually Christianized and formed a bishopric see as "the episcopal city of Commagene in Syria with the Euphrates river near its border."[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  • Bouillet Chassang, Dictionnaire universel d'histoire et de géographie ("Aintab")
  1. ^ [1] Archived July 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Universität Mannheim - Homepage". Uni-mannheim.de. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  3. ^ Bechard, Dean Philip (1 January 2000). Paul Outside the Walls: A Study of Luke's Socio-geographical Universalism in Acts 14:8-20. Gregorian Biblical BookShop. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-88-7653-143-9. In the Second Temple period, when Jewish authors were seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical definition of the Land, it became customary to construe "Mount Hor" of Num 34:7 as a reference to the Amanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain (Bechard 2000, p. 205, note 98.)
  4. ^ Joseph H. Hertz ed. (1988). The Pentateuch and Haftorahs: Hebrew Text English Translation and Commentary Edition: 2, Soncino Press
  5. ^ Anna Teresa Serventi (1957). "Una statuetta hiittita". Rivista Degli Studi Orientali (in Italian). 32: 241–246. JSTOR 41922836. Aintab, Gazi Antep in Turkish, about 80 km. North-Northeast from Aleppo and about forty km. from the Syrian-Turkish border, is commonly held to be the site of Antiochia ad Taurum
  6. ^ "303-304 (Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 1. A - Barograf)". Runeberg.org. 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  7. ^ [2] Archived August 11, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ E. Halley (1695). "Some Account of the Ancient State of the City of Palmyra, with Short Remarks upon the Inscriptions Found there". Philosophical Transactions. 19 (218). The Royal Society: 160–175. doi:10.1098/rstl.1695.0023. JSTOR 102291.
  9. ^ Anna Teresa Serventi (1957). "Una statuetta hiittita". Rivista Degli Studi Orientali (in Italian). 32: 241–246. JSTOR 41922836. Aintab, Gazi Antep in Turkish, about 80 km. North-Northeast from Aleppo and about forty km. from the Syrian-Turkish border, is commonly held to be the site of Antiochia ad Taurum
  10. ^ "The Tilmen Project The Site of Tilmen Höyük". Orientlab.net. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  11. ^ "WildWinds' Geographical Index of Greek Mints, Rulers & Tribes". Wildwinds.com. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
  12. ^ Anson Rainey and R. Steven Notley, The Sacred Bridge: Carta's Atlas of the Biblical World, Carta: Jerusalem, 2006, see map on p. 377 although no sources are cited.
  13. ^ "Universität Mannheim - Homepage". Uni-mannheim.de. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2015-09-19.

External links[edit]

37°5′N 37°24′E / 37.083°N 37.400°E / 37.083; 37.400