Location of Isauria-Asia Minor Map, Classical Atlas, 1886, Keith Johnston

Isauropolis ( grc, Ἰσαυρόπολις) was a

Roman 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

-era town in southern Turkey. Possibly also known as Isaura Vetus, the city was in the Anatolian countryside of what was

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; el, Λυκαονία, ''Lykaonia''; tr, Likaonya) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west b ...

in today's southern Turkey and may have been the chief town of Isauria (Ἰσαυρία) district.W. M. Ramsay, ''The Historical Geography of Asia Minor'' (2010
p395
The town was mentioned by

Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...

, and Heirocles. About 450

Maximinus Maximin or Maximinus or similar may refer to: People *Maximinus Thrax (173–238), Roman emperor, also known as Maximinus I *Maximinus II (270–313), Roman emperor, also known as Maximinus Daia * Gaius Julius Verus Maximus (died 238; 217/220– ...

entered the town in his war with

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

. Its location is not known, but suggestions include Siristat or

Tris Maden Tris, or tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, or known during medical use as tromethamine or THAM, is an organic compound with the formula (HOCH2)3CNH2, one of the twenty Good's buffers. It is extensively used in biochemistry and molecular biolog ...

, about west of

Isaura Isauria ( or ; grc, Ἰσαυρία), in ancient geography, is a rugged, isolated, district in the interior of Asia Minor, of very different extent at different periods, but generally covering what is now the district of Bozkır and its surrou ...

, or Isaura Vetus. It must have been near

Isaura Nova Isaura Nea ( grc, Ἴσαυρα Νέα), in Latin Isaura Nova, both meaning 'New Isaura', was a town of the Roman and Byzantine era, so called in juxtaposition with the settlement of Isaura Palaea. It also bore the name Leontopolis, and in later d ...

with which it was joined.

Bishopric

The city was also the site of an ancient

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

which dates from the

early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

era. Bishops from here attended both Council of Nicea and

Chalcedon Chalcedon ( or ; , sometimes transliterated as ''Chalkedon'') was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the c ...

. There is no mention of Isauropolis in any

Notitiae episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lati ...

, so Ramsay supposes that the Diocese was joined with that of

Leontopolis Leontopolis was an ancient Egyptian city located in the Nile Delta, Lower Egypt. It served as a provincial capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric. The archaeological site and settlement are known today as Kafr Al Muqdam. Name Known most popular ...

which is mentioned in all the "Notitiae". The see was resurrected in 1925 as a

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 archbis ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Known bishops

Ancient bishopric *Silvanus of Isauropolis at Council of Nicaea *Ilyrius of Isauropolis ( Council of Constantinople 381) *Aetius, 451 Titular see * Bernard Gozdzki Auxiliary Bishop in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

(Poland-Lithuania) July 6, 1722 – March 16, 1725. * Gregorio de Molleda y Clerque September 26, 1725 – August 3, 1729 * Louis-Mathias-Joseph de Barral Coadjutor Bishop of Troyes (France) September 15, 1788 – December 22, 1790 *

Michele Di Pietro Michele di Pietro J.U.D. (18 January 1747 – 2 July 1821) was an Roman Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Prefect of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. He was an uncle ...

(February 21, 1794 – August 9, 1802) *

Jean-Louis Taberd Jean-Louis Taberd (1794–1840) was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, and titular bishop of Isauropolis, '' in partibus infidelium''. Career Born in Saint-Étienne, Jean-Louis Taberd was ordained priest in Lyon in 1817 ...

MEP Vicar Apostolic of Cochin (Vietnam) September 18, 1827 – July 31, 1840 *

Dominique Lefebvre Dominique Lefebvre is a French politician. He was the first deputy for Val-d'Oise's 10th constituency The 10th constituency of Val-d'Oise is a French legislative constituency in the Val-d'Oise ''département''. It is currently represented ...

(Vicar Apostolic of Western Cochin) (Vietnam) December 10, 1839 – April 30, 1865. *

Tomás Badía Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of '' Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás Belarmi ...

January 19, 1842 – September 10, 1844 * Stanislas-Gabriel-Henri Baudry Apostolic Vicar of Ningyüan (Republic of China) March 18, 1927 – April 11, 1946. * Jean-Baptiste Urrutia MEP Apostolic Vicar of Hue (Vietnam) February 21, 1948 – November 24, 1960. *

Philip Francis Pocock Philip Francis Pocock (2 July 1906 – 6 September 1984) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from 1971 to 1978. Early years Pocock was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, on 2 July 1906. After studying theology at St. Peter's Semi ...

(February 18, 1961 – March 30, 1971)David M. Chene
Isauroplis
at catholic-hierarchy.org. (2016).

References

{{Authority control Catholic titular sees in Asia Populated places in ancient Isauria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Lost ancient cities and towns