Laodicea Combusta ( grc, Λαοδίκεια Κατακεκαυμένη, ''Laodikeia Katakekaumenê'', "Laodicea the Burned") or Laodicea ( el, Λαοδίκεια), and later known as Claudiolaodicea, was a
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
city in central
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 ...
, in the region of
Pisidia
Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) 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 Ant ...
; its site is currently occupied by Ladik,
Konya Province
Konya Province ( tr, ), in southwest Central Anatolia, is the largest province of Turkey. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. Its traffic code is 42.
The Kızılören solar power plant in Konya will be able to produce 22.5 megaw ...
, in
Central Anatolia
The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray.
Located in Central Turkey, it is borde ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.
Laodicea was one of the five cities built by
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...
and named after his mother
Laodice. Its surname ( la, Combusta) is derived by
Strabo (from the volcanic nature of the surrounding country), but Hamilton asserts that there is not a particle of volcanic or igneous rock in the neighbourhood, and it may be added that, if such were the case, the town would rather have been called, in Greek, ''Laodikeia tês katakekaumenês''. The most probable solution undoubtedly is that the town was at one time destroyed by fire, and that on being rebuilt it received the distinguishing surname. It was situated to the northwest of
Iconium (now Konya), on the high road leading from the west coast to
Melitene on the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...
. Some ancient authors describe it as situated in
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 by ...
and others as a town of
Pisidia
Pisidia (; grc-gre, Πισιδία, ; tr, Pisidya) 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 Ant ...
, 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 importance ...
places it in
Galatia, but this discrepancy is easily explained by recollecting that the territories just mentioned were often extended or reduced in extent, so that at one time the town belonged to Lycaonia, while at another it formed part of Pisidia. Its foundation is not mentioned by any ancient writer.
Laodicea is at Ladik, and numerous fragments of ancient architecture and sculpture have been found. Visitors in the 19th century described seeing inscribed marbles, altars, columns, capitals, friezes, and cornices dispersed throughout the streets and among the houses and burying grounds. From this it would appear that Laodicea must once have been a very considerable town. It was restored by
Claudius and received the name Claudiolaodicea. There are a few imperial coins of Laodicea, belonging to the reigns of
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
and
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
.
[Sestini, ''Mon. Ant.'' p. 95 ; comp. Droysen, ''Gesch. des Hellen.'' i. p. 663, foll.]
See also
*
List of ancient Greek cities
Notes
References
*
Richard Talbert
Richard John Alexander Talbert (born 26 April 1947) is a British-American contemporary ancient historian and classicist on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of Ancien ...
, ''
Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World
The ''Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World'' is a large-format English language atlas of ancient Europe, Asia, and North Africa, edited by Richard J. A. Talbert. The time period depicted is roughly from archaic Greek civilization (pre- ...
'', , p. 63.
External links
Hazlitt, Classical Gazetteer, "Laodicea"*
Smith, William (editor); ''
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''
"Laodiceia" London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, (1854)
Archaeological sites in Central Anatolia
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
Seleucid colonies in Anatolia
Populated places in ancient Lycaonia
Hellenistic Phrygia
Populated places in Pisidia
Populated places in Phrygia
Roman towns and cities in Turkey
Former populated places in Turkey
Geography of Konya Province
Populated places of the Byzantine Empire
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