PISIDIA
Pisidian Antioch / Yalvaç
 Seventeen ancient cities in Turkey were named Antioch, but only two are
remembered by any but scholars today. One is Antakya (the
ancient Antioch in Syria) and the others is Antioch in Pisida. Both figure largely in
ancient and early Christian history, and the latter in particular is celebrated for its
architecture. Pisidian Antioch is located 1 km north of Yalvaç in the province of Isparta
in southern Turkey. The first excavations were carried out here in 1913-14 and 1924 by the
archaeologists W. Ramsay and D. M. Robinson, revealing that there had been a settlement
here since the neolithic age.
According to written sources and archaeological finds the city was founded by Antioch I
in 280 BC. The city proper, or polis, covers an area of 14 m² km, but the lands which
belonged to it stretched from Sultan Dağı to the southern shore of Lake Eğirdir, and
southwest as far as Gelendost. It stood at a junction of two main roads stretching from
west to east and from north to south, and this strategic importance combined with its
fertile lands meant that it was an important settlement in the region for many centuries.
In 25 BC Antiocheia became a Roman military colony known as Colonia Caesareia
Antiocheia. Of all the other colonies cities such as Olbasa, Komama, Kremna, Parlais, and
Lystra, Psidian Antioch was the oldest, largest and most romanized. It was appointed the
second Roman capital in Anatolia by the Emperor August, and three thousand veterans from
Rome were brought to settle here. Its districts were named after those of Rome, and the
discovery of the important Latin inscription known as the Res Gestae on the site
illustrates the importance attached to Pisidian Antioch as a sister city of Rome.
Antioch became one of the first Anatolian cities to accept Christianity. St. Paul came to Antioch in the 1 st century AD and chose it as a
centre for his missionary activities. Having proclaimed the Christian religion in the
city, St. Paul gave his sermon to the congregation of a synagogue, on the site of which
the first and largest church dedicated to St. Paul was later constructed. Antioch was
founded in the 3rd century BC as the metropolis of the province of Pisida, and from coins
minted around that time and contemporary buildings it is evident that the city rose to a
pinnacle of economic prosperity. The population of the city at that time has been put at
over one hundred thousand.
The city was razed by the Arabs in the year 713, and although attempts were made to
rebuild it, its former splendor had gone never to return. Its walls were rebuilt to
surround a smaller area, and the deterioration in quality of the building materials is
further evidence of decline. The city can be traced up to the end of the 12th century BC,
but was finally abandoned entirely when the settlement of Yalvaç was established in the
second half of the 13th century.
In those last years of its existence two important events put Pisidian Antioch on the
map of history once more. The first was the arrival of the crusader army, which took
refuge here after its defeat by the Seljuks at Eskişehir in 1097. The second was the
battle of Miryakefalon between the Byzantines and Turkish Seljuks, which took place just
the Byzantines and Turkish Seljuks, which took place just outside the city in 1176.
 Excavations at Pisidian Antioch were resumed in 1979, and revealed the
remains of many important buildings dating from the Roman and subsequent eras of this
important Christian and commercial centre. One of these finds was the foundations of the
city portal built as a monument commemorating the victory of the Roman emperor Septimus
Severus over the Parthians. This was a triple gate with four pylons, one at either side
and two in the centre.
On a rocky outcrop at the highest point of the city the Emperor Augusts built the
Augustus Temple which was dedicated to the mother goddess Kybele. This remarkable building
with unique architectural features was used as an open-air church around 400 AD.
The church dedicated to St. Paul stands on the west side of the city and was its
largest church. Most of the walls have disappeared, but the superb mosaics and
inscriptions which entirely cover the floor are worth seeing.
Other buildings include a theatre seating fifteen thousand, a Roman bath, monumental
fountain, well built aqueducts, a horseshoe shaped stadium seating thirty thousand, and
the Men sanctuary. On the nearby Limenia Island in Lake Eğirdir is a temple of Artemis,
rock tombs and St. Mary’s Monastery. Pisidian Antioch, which is mentioned in the bible,
is one of the places sought out by Christians interested in the early history of their
faith in Anatolia. Although only ten percent of the city has so far been revealed, this
once magnificent ancient capital city in the centre of Anatolia is fascinating place to
visit.
- Source:
- By Dr. Mehmet Taşlıalan
SKYLIFE 09/98
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