Syedra ( el, Σύεδρα) was an ancient port city in region of

ancient 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 coas ...

, Pamphylia, or

Isauria 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 ...

, on the southern coast of modern-day Turkey between the towns of Alanya and Gazipaşa. Syedra was settled in the 7th century BCE, and abandoned in the 13th century CE. The town had a port at sea level and an upper town 400m above. Ptolemy places it in Cilicia.

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

assigns it to Isauria. Hierocles places it in Pamphylia. The Roman historians

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

and Florus both mention Syedra as where the Roman General Pompey held his last war council in 48 BCE, before his fatal voyage to Egypt. The city experienced its height around the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, and in 194 Roman Emperor Septimius Severus praised the city's resistance of ongoing Mediterranean piracy. A first century BCE inscription found in the town relates to the piracy, suggesting that the oracle, possibly of Apollo at Claros, advised the Syedrians to resist pirates with "violent battle, either driving away, or binding in unbreakable chains." In 193

Pescennius Niger Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was Roman Emperor from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a riva ...

made a war with Septimius Severus in order to become the Emperor. In 194 the war was over and Pescennius Niger defeated. After the war, Septimius Severus rewarded cities that supported him with new privileges and titles, while cities which went against him were punished, lost their privileges, some even became villages (κῶμαι). Syedra supported Septimius Severus, and took privileges. Coins were minted in Syedra during various time periods going back to that of Roman Emperor Tiberius (r. 14 CE–37 CE). In 374 CE, the early Christian theologian Epiphanius of Salamis wrote his work ''Ancoratus'' (the well anchored man) as a reply letter to the Church at Syedra, describing it as needing to be anchored in a safe harbor. Modern excavations began in 1994 under the Directorate of the Alanya Museum. The main street in the upper town was excavated, as well as a cave decorated with Christian imagery likely used for baptisms. A mosaic found is now on display in the Alanya Museum. Other structures include a temple, a theater, shops, bathhouse, town walls, and several cisterns that provided water to the city. In 2011, archeologist excavating underwater dated relics of a port at Syedra to the Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago.

References

External links

*
Coins found in SyedraTourism info
from VisitAlanya {{Authority control Byzantine sites in Anatolia Former populated places in Turkey Populated places in ancient Cilicia Populated places in ancient Pamphylia Roman towns and cities in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Tourist attractions in Antalya Province Populated places established in the 7th century BC Catholic titular sees in Asia

References

Further reading

External links