Maiuma or Maiumas was an ancient town at the site of present-day

Rimal Rimal or Remal ( ar, حي الرمال, , sands) is an upscale neighborhood in Gaza City located from the city center. Situated along the coastline, it has been considered the most prosperous neighborhood of Gaza.Jacobs, 1998, p.455. The main s ...

near

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Lebanon * Ghazzeh, a village in ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

History of Maiuma

In antiquity, Gaza port was the principal port on the Mediterranean serving the

Incense Road The Incense Trade Route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant ...

. Strabo and

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 ...

referred to it as ''Gazaion limen''. The port was distinct from the city, which was located opposite it. The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times
1999,

Raphael Patai Raphael Patai (Hebrew רפאל פטאי; November 22, 1910 − July 20, 1996), born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist. Family background Patai was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungar ...

The port of Gaza was at the end of the

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Le ...

spice road where trade was conducted in herbs, spices incense, drapery, glass and food. Goods arrived in the port on the backs of camels from Southern

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

(the

Kingdom of Sheba Sheba (; he, ''Šəḇāʾ''; ar, سبأ ''Sabaʾ''; Ge'ez: ሳባ ''Saba'') is a kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Quran. Sheba features in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian traditions, particularly the Ethiopian Ort ...

) through

Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to the mountain of Ja ...

, the

Arava Valley The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the borde ...

and crossing the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

Desert via

Avdat Avdat ( he, עבדת, ar, عبدة, ''Abdah''), also known as Abdah and Ovdat and Obodat, is a site of a ruined Nabataean city in the Negev desert in southern Israel. It was the most important city on the Incense Route after Petra, between the 1 ...

. At the port of Gaza, these goods were dispatched to the European markets.

Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...

' conquest of Gaza (99 BCE) that denied the Nabateans access to the port and trade with Rome led to Obodas launching a military campaign against the Hasmonean king. The port of Gaza was rebuilt after it was incorporated into the

Roman Empire 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 Medite ...

in 63 BCE under the command of Pompey Magnus and trade routes were reopened. It functioned as the

port of Gaza The Port of Gaza is a small port near the Rimal district of Gaza City. It is the home port of Palestinian fishing-boats and the base of the Palestinian Naval Police, a branch of the Palestinian National Security Forces. Under the Oslo II Accord, ...

(and was sometimes called simply "the port of Gaza",) but was recognized as an independent city since the early Christian era. The Greek name ''Neapolis'' ("the new city") seems to have also been used in reference to it. During the reign of

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

, who granted Maiuma the status of a separate city, it received the name ''Konstanteia'' after the emperor's sister (or son). It has been suggested that Maiuma's residents “collectively opted to

convert to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believe ...

”. Under

Emperor Julian Julian ( la, Flavius Claudius Julianus; grc-gre, Ἰουλιανός ; 331 – 26 June 363) was Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplato ...

, it was downgraded and the name was changed to Maioumas ("harbour place"), or as "the part of Gaza towards the sea". Though it is sometimes associated with a pagan festival also called the ''Maiuma'' or ''Maiouma'', the similarity of these names may be a coincidence. According to 6th-century scholar

John Malalas John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey). Life Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later ...

, "the Mysteries of Dionysus and Aphrodite...is known as the Maioumas because it is celebrated in the month of May-Artemisios."

Christianity in Maiuma

Maiuma seems to have been an early center of the spread of Christianity, which may explain the treatment of its status by Constantine and Julian. Its population was said to have been largely Egyptian in origin. As the city regained its independence from Gaza, for a certain period of time it had its own bishop, due to Gaza's relatively long resistance to introduction of Christianity. The first known bishop of the city was a certain Zenon in the late 4th or early 5th century, mentioned by Sozomenus. Among others known are Paulianus (or Paulinianus), participant in the

First Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

in 431; Paul, who took part in the

Second Council of Ephesus The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 AD convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted as such by the m ...

in 449;

Peter the Iberian Peter the Iberian ( ka, პეტრე იბერი, tr) (c. 417-491) was a Georgian royal prince, theologian and philosopher who was a prominent figure in early Christianity and one of the founders of Christian Neoplatonism. Some have claim ...

who was reluctant to serve in the office but was elected by the citizens in 452 nevertheless;

John Rufus John Rufus, John of Beth Rufina (also spelled Ruphina), or John of Maiuma (born c. AD 450), was an anti-Chalcedonian priest of Antioch, a disciple of Peter the Iberian and an ecclesiastical historian who possibly served as the bishop of Maiuma. He ...

, his successor; and Procopius, chronologically the last known bishop of Maiuma, known to have participated in the Synod of Jerusalem of 581.The Madaba Mosaic Mapbr>webpage
/ref> Mention must also be made of St.

Cosmas of Maiuma Saint Cosmas of Maiuma, also called Cosmas Hagiopolites ("of the Holy City"), Cosmas of Jerusalem, Cosmas the Melodist, or Cosmas the Poet (d. 773 or 794), was a bishop and an important hymnographer in the East. He is venerated as a saint by the ...

. The city was famous for the fact that the tomb of a Saint Victor was located in it (although it is unclear which Saint Victor this was).

Bishops of Gaza

Maiuma is identified as the seat of the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

Diocese of Gaza. An incomplete list of

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s includes: * Philemon (New Testament person) *

Porphyry of Gaza Saint Porphyrius ( la, Porphyrius; grc-gre, Πορφύριος, ''Porphyrios''; Slavonic: Порфирий, ''Porfiriy''; –420) was bishop of Gaza from 395 to 420, known, from the account in his ''Life'', for Christianizing the recalcitrant ...

c. 347–420 *

Paul of Gaza Paul may refer to: * Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

308 * Timothy 304 Bishop of Gaza *

Hieromartyr Silvanus of Gaza, bishop, and with him 40 martyrs In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, a hieromartyr is a martyr (one who dies for his beliefs) who was a bishop or priest. Analogously, a monk who is a priest is known as a hieromonk. See also *New Martyr The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr ( el ...

(311)May 4, The Roman Martyrology. * Bishop Asclepas 325AD attendee at the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effor ...

* Zeno (or Zenon) around 400AD Bishop of Gaza *

c. 411-491 elected c 453 * John Rufus, Peter's successor c491 * Paulinianus, c 431AD participant in the

* Paul, c 449AD attendee at the

Samonas Bishop of Gaza Samonas ( el, , 875 – after 908) was an Arab-born eunuch, who was captured by the Byzantines and became one of the most influential officials of the Byzantine Empire during the first decade of the 10th century. Biography Samonas was born i ...

St. Cosmas of Maiuma Saint Cosmas of Maiuma, also called Cosmas Hagiopolites ("of the Holy City"), Cosmas of Jerusalem, Cosmas the Melodist, or Cosmas the Poet (d. 773 or 794), was a bishop and an important hymnographer in the East. He is venerated as a saint by t ...

. c742AD * Procopius, chronologically the last known bishop of Maiuma, known to have participated in the Synod of Jerusalem of 581AD *

Henricus van de Wetering Henricus van de Wetering (; 26 November 1850 – 16 November 1929) was a Dutch Catholic archbishop. Van de Wetering was appointed Titular Archbishop of Gaza and Coadjutor of the metropolitan see of Utrecht, on 8 February 1895. He was conse ...

( Titular Archbishop of Gaza)

Remains of Maiuma

Maiuma is identified with ''al-Mina'', about 4 kilometers from Gaza towards the sea. Remarkable archaeological findings from the site include the mosaic floor of a synagogue representing King David with a lyre, dated to the early 6th century AD and discovered in the mid-1960s. The city appears to have been fortified, but the enclosure wall still seems hard to trace.

Notes

{{reflist , 25em

Sources

* '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Band XIV, Halbband 27, Lysimachos-Mantike (1928), s. 610.
Jordan: The Madaba Mosaic Map. DISCUSSION: Ascalon, Gaza, Negev and Sinai. 124. Maiumas, which is also Neapolis - (al-Minah)
Accessed January 11, 2013. Gaza Strip History of Palestine (region) Populated places of the Byzantine Empire