Castabala ( el, Καστάβαλα), also known as Hieropolis and Hierapolis ( el, Ίεράπολις) was a city in

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern co ...

(modern southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

), near the

Ceyhan River The Ceyhan River (historically Pyramos or Pyramus ( el, Πύραμος), Leucosyrus ( el, Λευκόσυρος) or Jihun) is a river in Anatolia in the south of Turkey. Course of the river The Ceyhan River (Pyramus) has its source (known as ' ...

(ancient Pyramus). The Turkish town of Kırmıtlı, in the Osmaniye district of

Osmaniye Province Osmaniye Province ( tr, ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It was named Cebel-i Bereket () in the early republic until 1933, when it was incorporated into Adana Province. It was made a province again in 1996. It covers an area of 3,767&nbs ...

, sits atop the ruins of the ancient city. The ruins were first identified from inscriptions in March 1890 by the British explorer J. Theodore Bent.

Early history

Castabala was one of the cities of the Late Hitite period. The name Castabala was probably of

Luwian The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fam ...

origin. The city was captured by

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

and became part of the Cilician satrapy and then by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. First mentioned in literature when Alexander the Great made a stage before the Battle of Issos.The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, HIEROPOLIS CASTABALA Cilicia Campestris, Turkey.
/ref> During the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

and

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

it was called ''Hieropolis'', known as either Hieropolis on the Pyramos or as Hieropolis Castabala. In the first century BC, after the

Cilician pirates Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the ter ...

were defeated, it became the capital of Tarcondimotus a ruler of a small client kingdom. Later, the city became a part of Cappadocia Province in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. At the city there was the sanctuary of

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with ...

Perasia (Περασίας Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερόν).Strabo, Geography, 12.2.7
/ref> According to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, the priestesses were walking with naked feet over hot embers without pain. He also added that "''some tell us over and over the same story of

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness an ...

and Tauropolus, asserting that she was called Perasian because she was brought from the other side.''"

Roman Period

The city was important enough in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Cilicia Secunda Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

to become a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of its capital

Anazarbus Anazarbus ( grc, Ἀναζαρβός, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ar, عَيْنُ زَرْبَة) was an ancient Cilician city. Under the late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuilt ...

's Metropolitan Archbishopric, but would fade.

Titular see

The

Diocese of Castabala The Diocese of Castabala is a titular see in Turkey. During Late Antiquity, the Diocese of Castabala was a suffragan to Anazarbus, the metropolis of the province of Cilicia Secunda. The names of seven of its diocesan bishops are known. Th ...

is a

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 860 reflecting its active status in

Late Antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...

. It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * John Milner 1803.03.06 – 1826.04.19) * John Murdoch (1833.06.04 – 1865.12.15) * Louis Aloysius Lootens (1868.03.03 – 1898.01.12)Belgian, as

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

of Idaho and Montana (USA) (1868.03.03 – 1876.02.27) and as Auxiliary Bishop of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

(Canada) (1876.02.27 – 1898.01.12) * Rocco Tornatore,

Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME ( la, Pontificium Institutum pro Missionibus Exteris; it, Pontificio Istituto Missioni Estere) is a society of secular priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities ...

(1889.11.18 – 1908) * John William Shaw (1910.02.07 – 1911.03.11) as

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

(Texas, USA) (1910.02.07 – 1911.03.11), later succeeding as Bishop of San Antonio (1911.03.11 – 1918.01.25), later Metropolitan Archbishop of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

(USA) (1918.01.25 – 1934.11.02) * Juan José Marcos Zapata (1913.05.30 – 1951.05.13) * Doroteo Fernández y Fernández (1956.03.06 – 1971.07.22) * Patrick Ebosele Ekpu (1971.06.05 – 1973.07.05) (later Archbishop) * Felipe Tejeda García,

Missionaries of the Holy Spirit The Missionaries of the Holy Spirit (MSpS) are a Catholic religious institute founded in Mexico City in 1914 by French missionary Félix de Jesús Rougier. Father Rougier was a priest and a member of another religious order, the Society of Mary ...

(M.Sp.S.) (2000.01.29 – ... ):, Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

(Mexico)

Gallery

File:Castabala (city) 1.JPG File:Castabala 2.JPG File:Castabala 3.JPG

References

Source and External links