Alinda ( grc, Ἄλινδα) was an inland city and bishopric in

ancient Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the ...

, in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

(

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

). Modern scholars identify Alinda with the Hellenistic foundation of Alexandria ad Latmum (Ἀλεξάνδρεια πρὸς τῷ Λάτμῳ) noted by

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 ...

Location and remains

It is situated near Demircideresi, on a hilltop which commands the modern-day town of

Karpuzlu Karpuzlu is a town and district of Aydın Province, in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın. It became a district centre after separation from Çine in 1990. Karpuzlu is reached by turning off the road from Aydın to Çine. T ...

Aydın Province Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside re ...

, in western Turkey, and overlooks a fertile plain. The non-restored but very well preserved ruins are much visited, especially within the circuit of organized tours (''locally called "

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...

s"'') with departure from either the international tourism center of

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...

or from

Milas Milas ( grc, Μύλασα, Mylasa) is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy and very rich in history and ancient remains, the ter ...

and reaching Karpuzlu through a mountain road from the south. In 2018, four kilometers of the ancient stone road, which connects the ancient cities of Alinda and Latmus, were destroyed by villagers to make way for their

olive groves The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

History

Alinda has perhaps been an important city since the

second millennium BC The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 BC to 1001 BC. In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. The Ancient Near Eastern cultures are well within the historical era: The first half of the mil ...

and has been associated with Ialanti that appear in Hittite sources (J. Garstang, p. 179). It was a member of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

. It was this fortress which was held by the exiled Carian Queen

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, Tur ...

. She greeted

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

here in 334 BC. When Alexander captured Caria, he granted Ada to be the ruler of the whole region. The city was apparently renamed "Alexandria by the Latmos" ( el, Αλεξάνδρεια στη Λάτμο) shortly afterwards, and was recorded as thus by

, although sources disagree as to the exact location of the settlement of that name. The prior name of Alinda was restored by 81 BC at the latest. It appears as "Alinda" in

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 importanc ...

's '' Geographia'' (Book V, ch. 2) of the 2nd century AD. Alinda remained an important commercial city, minting its own coins from the third century BC to the 3rd century AD. Stephanus records that the city had a temple of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

containing a statue of

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

Praxiteles Praxiteles (; el, Πραξιτέλης) of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus the Elder, was the most renowned of the Attica sculptors of the 4th century BC. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form in a life-size statue. While no indubita ...

. Alinda has a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

of Carian tombs and has been partially excavated. Alinda also had a major water system including 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 letter ...

aqueduct, a nearly-intact market place, a 5,000-seat Roman

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

in relatively good condition, and remains of numerous temples and sarcophagi.

Ecclesiastical history

Alinda appears on

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 Constantinopl ...

lists of bishoprics. It was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the Metropolitan of Stauropolis, the capital of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') 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 rule ...

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...

, but was to fade.

Residential Bishops

(incomplete) * Promachios

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

451 *John fl.451 *Theodoretus fl.536Biographical Index of the Middle Ages / Biographischer Index des Mittelalters / Index Biographique du Moyen-Âge (Walter de Gruyter,2008
p.1068

Titular Bishopric

It was nominally restored as a Latin

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 archbish ...

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 ...

but has been vacant since the death of the last

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 ca ...

in 1976, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Alexandre-Louis-Victor-Aimé Le Roy,

Holy Ghost Fathers , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

(C.S.Sp.) (1892.07.03 – 1921.05.13), as Apostolic Vicar of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

(Gabon) (1892.07.03 – 1896.05.24), later

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

(Spiritans, Holy Ghost Fathers) (1896.07 – 1926), Titular Archbishop of

Caria (see) Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia ( Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined ...

(1921.05.13 – 1938.04.21) * Edward Komar (1921.06.16 – 1943.09.29) * Juan Hervás y Benet (1944.01.13 – 1947.12.22) * Eris Norman Michael O’Brien (1948.02.05 – 1951.01.11) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(Australia) (1948.02.05 – 1951.01.11); later Titular Archbishop of

Cyrrhus Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...

(1951.01.11 – 1953.11.16),

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of Canberra and Goulburn (Australia) (1951.01.11 – 1953.11.16), succeeding as Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn (1953.11.16 – 1966.11.20), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of

Apamea in Syria ar, آفاميا , image =Apamea 01.jpg , alt = , caption = View of Apamea ruins , map_type = Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 200 , location = Hama Governorate, Syria , region = Ghab plain , coordinates = , type = settlement ...

(1966.11.20 – 1974.02.28)* Gabriel Manek,

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word ( la, Societas Verbi Divini), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation ...

(S.V.D.) (1951.03.08 – 1961.01.03) as Apostolic Vicar of

Larantuka Larantuka () is a ''kecamatan'' (district) and the seat capital of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong a colonial Portuguese influence. The town ...

(Indonesia) (1951.03.08 – 1961.01.03), later Metropolitan Archbishop of Endeh (Indonesia) (1961.01.03 – 1968.12.19), emeritate as Titular Archbishop of

Bavagaliana Bavagaliana was a town in the Roman province of Byzacena, now part of Tunisia. It became at some stage the seat of a Christian bishopric. The only diocesan bishop of the see who is known by name was Bonifacius, who lived at the time of Thrasamund, ...

(1968.12.19 – 1976.05.15) * Charles Alexander Grant (1961.02.06 – 1967.03.14) * Robert Lebel (1974.03.11 – 1976.03.26) * Juan Hervás y Benet (1976.09.30 – 1982.06.06)

References

Sources and external links

* * * J. Garstang, The Hittite Empire (University Press, Edinburgh, 1930), p. 179.
GigaCatholic with titular incumbent biography links

Tens of pictures but without the agora or theatre
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Aydın Province Populated places in ancient Caria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman sites in Turkey Ruins in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey History of Aydın Province Tourist attractions in Aydın Province Cities founded by Alexander the Great Karpuzlu District Catholic titular sees in Asia Members of the Delian League