Pednelissus or Petnelissus (both forms are used in ancient writings and on the city's coins, the latter form alone appearing in its later coins) () was a city on the border between

Pamphylia Pamphylia (; , ''Pamphylía'' ) was a region in the south of Anatolia, Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the ...

and

Pisidia Pisidia (; , ; ) was a region of ancient Asia Minor located north of Pamphylia, northeast of Lycia, west of Isauria and Cilicia, and south of Phrygia, corresponding roughly to the modern-day province of Antalya in Turkey. Among Pisidia's set ...

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 ...

.''Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor)'', article "Pednelissos"
/ref>

Location

Writing in about AD 530, Hierocles placed it in the later

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) 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 ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

of Pamphylia Secunda, a reckoning accepted also 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, which thus makes

Perge Perga or Perge (Hittite language, Hittite: ''Parha'', ''Perge'', ) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement that later became a Greeks, Greek city in Pamphylia. It was the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, now located in ...

its metropolitan see. Earlier,

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 ...

(64/63 BC – c. AD 24) placed it in Pisidia and said that it was north of

Aspendus Aspendos or Aspendus ( Pamphylian: ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ; Attic: Ἄσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. The site is located 40 km east of the modern city of Antalya. It was situated on the Eurymedon Riv ...

. It was near the

Eurymedon River Eurymedon may refer to: Historical figures *Eurymedon (strategos) (died 413 BC), one of the Athenian generals (strategoi) during the Peloponnesian War *Eurymedon of Myrrhinus, married Plato's sister, Potone; he was the father of Speusippus *Eurym ...

, on the southwestern slope of

Mount Taurus The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a ...

, overlooking the Pamphylian plain.Historic Anatolia, Pednelissos
/ref> The site of the city does not appear to have been identified with certainty; but it is generally believed to be a site near the village of Kozan, Gebiz, Antalya. The ruins of this site are considerable, covering a wide area. Among the better preserved structures are the

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

and a gate-tower. Meagre remains of a Byzantine church can also be found.

History

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

gives a detailed account of a war waged against Pednelissus by the neighbouring city of

Selge Selge () was an important city in ancient Pisidia and later in Pamphylia, on the southern slope of Mount Taurus, modern Antalya Province, Turkey, at the part where the river Eurymedon River () forces its way through the mountains towards the sout ...

. Pendnelissus called in the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

ruler

Achaeus Achaeus is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Achaeus of Eretria (born 484 BC), tragic poet * Achaeus of Syracuse (4th century BC), tragic poet * Achaeus (son of Seleucus I Nicator) (3rd century BC), Greek Macedonian nobleman * Ach ...

, who forced Selge to yield under onerous terms.

, ''Histories''
v. 72
/ref> In 102 BC, Pednelissus became subject to Rome. In 50 BC Cicero was governor of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

and Pisidia and makes mention of Pednelissus. From the time of

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 ...

(98-117 AD) to the late 3rd century, Pednelissus minted bronze coins, which seem not to have had a wide circulation.

References

Populated places in Pisidia Archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region, Turkey Former populated places in Turkey History of Antalya Province Catholic titular sees in Asia Serik District {{Antalya-geo-stub