Published: 2023-12-221

Natural conditions of the Bay of Antioch and historical development of the city of Seleucia Pieria (Hellenistic and Roman times)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine the relationship between the historical development of Seleucia Pieria, the largest port city of Syria in Hellenistic and Roman times, and the natural conditions of the nearest region. In the paper I discuss hydrographic conditions (depth, bottom shape, sea currents and tides) and meteorological phenomena (winds, rains, storms, etc.) in the Bay of Antioch, especially in the coastal waters and on the shoreline itself (geological structure, natural resources). The subject has received little scholarly attention – contemporary historiography is dominated by negative assessments of the Syrian coast, considered to be poorly developed and dangerous for navigation. On the other hand, the presence of Greeks (and later Romans) on the Syrian coast has been known sincearchaic times. In the paper I use ancient sources (e.g. Strabo, Pliny, Polybius, Ammianus, Libanius, Julian the Apostate), Byzantine (Malalas), modern ones (descriptions of sailors and travelers from the 17th–19th  centuries), last but not least – contemporary archaeological and geographical research.

Keywords:

Syria, Antioch, Seleucia, Pieria, bay, history

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Citation rules

Filipczak, P. (2023). Natural conditions of the Bay of Antioch and historical development of the city of Seleucia Pieria (Hellenistic and Roman times). Theological Yearbook, 65(2), 323–350. https://doi.org/10.36124/rt.2023.14

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