Dokimeion
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Docimium, Docimia or Docimeium (
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: and ) was an ancient city of
Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
where there were famous marble quarries. The exact site of Docimium was a matter of some dispute until recently; it is now fixed at the modern
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
town
İscehisar İscehisar is a town of Afyonkarahisar Province in the Aegean Region, Turkey, Aegean region of Turkey, on the road between the city of Afyon and Ankara. It is the seat of İscehisar District.Afyonkarahisar Province Afyonkarahisar Province (), often shortened to Afyon Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Its area is 14,016 km2, and its population is 747,555 (2022). The provincial capital is Afyonkarahisar. Adjacent provinces a ...
.


History

This city, as appears from its coins – which bear the epigraph or – where the inhabitants are called
Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...
ians, may have been founded by
Antigonos Dokimos Antigonos Dokimos, commonly shortened and Latinized as Docimus (; lived 4th century BC), was one of the officers in the Macedonian army. After the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC) he supported the party of Perdiccas. Docimus was tasked with c ...
. The city's name in Greek is Romanized as Dokimeion, Dokimia Kome, Dokimaion, and later Dokimion.
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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
places Docimium somewhere about Synnada: he calls it a village, and says that there is there a quarry of Synnadic stone, as the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
call it, but the people of the country call it Docimites and Docimaea; the quarry at first yielded only small pieces of the stone, but owing to the later efforts of the Romans large columns of one piece are taken out, which in variety come near the Alabastrites, so that, though the transport to the sea of such weights is troublesome, still both columns and slabs were brought to Rome of wondrous size and beauty. The word ''Docimaea'' () in this passage of Strabo appears to be corrupt. It should be either or . Strabo says that the plain of Synnada is about 60 stadia long, and beyond it is Docimium. The
Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...
infers from this that he supposed Docimium to be not far from the limit of the plain. The Table makes it 32 M. P. between Synnada and Docimium, and Docimium is on the road from Synnada to
Dorylaeum Dorylaeum or Dorylaion (; ) was an ancient city in Anatolia. It is now an archaeological site located near the city of Eskişehir, Turkey. Its original location was about 10 km southwest of Eskişehir, at a place now known as Karaca Hisar ...
; but the number is certainly erroneous. Docimium was the most important marble quarry and workshop for
sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ ...
until around the late third century when the production of the famous columnar sarcophagi ended.


Episcopal see

Many Christian inscriptions have been found at this site, dating to the time after Constantine. Docimium was a
suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...
of Synnada in
Phrygia Salutaris In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...
. Six or seven bishops are known, from 344 to 879 (
Lequien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. Biography Le Quien studied at , Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made ...
, ''Oriens Christianus'', I, 853); another bishop is mentioned in an inscription. Docimium is included in 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
's list of
titular see 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 archbi ...
s.


Docimeaen Marble

Historically marble from Docimium was generally referred to as "Docimeaen marble" or "Synnadic marble". "Book 9, chapter 5, section 16" Docimian marble was highly admired and valued for its unique colors and fine grained quality by ancient people such as the Romans. When the Romans took control over Docimian quarries, they were impressed by the beautiful color combinations of Docimian Pavonazzetto, which is a type of white marble with purple veins. These colours which streaked the white marble, taken from the city's holy mountain, were attributed to the drops of blood from the dying god
Attis Attis (; , also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, the '' Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian vegetation deity. Hi ...
. Emperors such as
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
,
Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
and
Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
made extensive use of Docimaean marble to many of their major building projects. These include the Pantheon,
Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum (; ) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the emperor Trajan with the spoils of war f ...
and the
Basilica Aemilia The Basilica Aemilia (), or the Basilica Paulli, was a civil basilica in the Roman Forum. Lucius Aemilius Paullus initiated its construction, but the building was completed by his son, Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, in 34 BCE. Under Augustus, it was ...
(see the main article on
Pavonazzo marble Pavonazzo marble, also known as Pavonazzetto, Docimaean marble or Synnadic marble, "Book 9, chapter 5, section 16" is a whitish marble originally from Docimium, or modern İscehisar, Turkey. Etymology The name derives from the Italian word for ...
for a list of buildings including Docimaean marble).


References

* Hellenistic colonies in Anatolia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Afyonkarahisar Province History of Afyonkarahisar Province Tourist attractions in Afyonkarahisar Province Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Populated places in Phrygia Populated places in ancient Galatia İscehisar District {{Afyonkarahisar-geo-stub