Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia''), distinguished as Seleucia-near-Belus ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια πρὸς Βήλῳ, ''Seleúkeia pròs Bḗlōi'',

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 ...

, ''

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

'', Bk. 5, Ch. 14, §12. or , ''pròs tôi Bḗlōi''; la, Seleucia ad Belum

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, '' Nat. Hist.'', Bk. 5, §82. or ') and later known as Seleucobelus (, ''Seleukóbēlos'') or Seleucopolis, was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian language, Sumerian c ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

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 ...

city on the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...

. Its location remains uncertain.

Name

The name of the settlement honored

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 ...

, one of the

Diadochi The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

successors to the

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

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 ...

, although it may have been a foundation by his son and successor Antiochus. It was distinguished from other cities named Seleucia by reference to "Belus" or "the Belus", a toponym which was variously applied to Syria's

Limestone Massif The Limestone Massif (from French ''Le Massif Calcaire'') or Belus Massif is the highlands on the western part of the Aleppo plateau in northwestern Syria. The Massif is famed for having the Dead Cities of Syria. The Massif includes three grou ...

, which lies to the city's north, and to various rivers in Syria. In this case, it appears that the name Belus was a title of the Orontes.

History

The city 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 ...

foundation of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

. It sat on the Orontes's west bank near its headwaters, positioning it to function as a depot for overland trade in the area. During the heyday of the Seleucid Empire, it formed a suburb of the nearby and larger settlement

Apamea Apamea or Apameia ( grc, Απάμεια) is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see. Places called Apamea in ...

(originally Pella), which

placed ½° to its east. The entire area held over half a million people. After the

2nd century The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest ex ...

, it typically appeared under the name Seleucobelus. The precise location of the settlement remains uncertain, with various scholars placing it near

Al-Suqaylabiyah Al-Suqaylabiyah ( ar, السقيلبيه, As Suqailabiya) is a Greek Orthodox Christian Syrian city administratively belonging to Hama Governorate. Al-Suqaylabiyah is located at a height of 220 meters above sea level. According to the 2004 officia ...

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr ( ar, جِسْرُ ٱلشُّغُورِ, jisr aš-šuġūr, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus ( el, Σελευκόβηλος, translit=Seleukóbēlos), is a city i ...

or Bara.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * * . * . {{coord missing, Syria Seleucid colonies Former populated places in Syria

Name

History

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography