Sozopolis in Pisidia ( grc, Σωζόπολη της Πισιδίας), which had been called Apollonia (Ἀπολλωνία) and Apollonias (Ἀπολλωνίας) during Seleucid times, was a town in the former Roman province of Pisidia, and is not to be confused with the Thracian

Sozopolis in Haemimonto Sozopol ( bg, Созопол , el, Σωζόπολη, translit=Sozopoli) is an ancient seaside town located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today it is one of the major seaside resorts in the country, known for the ...

in present-day Bulgaria.

Location

Sozopolis in Pisidia must have been situated in the border region of that province, since some ancient accounts place it in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

. Its site may correspond to present-day Uluborlu in Isparta Province, Turkey. Older sources put it "Souzon, south of Aglasoun". Modern scholars locate its site near Uluborlu, Isparta Province.

History

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 ...

says that Apollonia in Pisidia (Sozopolis) was originally called Mordiaeon or Mordiaïon (Μορδιάιον), and was celebrated for its quinces. The coins of Apollonia record Alexander the Great as the founder, and also the name of a stream that flowed; by it, the Hippopharas. Two Greek inscriptions of the Roman period copied by Francis Arundell give the full title of the town in that age, "the Boule and Demus of the Apolloniatae Lycii Thraces Coloni," by which he concluded that the city was founded by a Thracian colony established in Lycia, but that conclusion is not universally accepted. Sozopolis in Pisidia was the birthplace of

Severus of Antioch Severus the Great of Antioch (Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians (Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyyun ...

(born around 456). The icon of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

of Pisidian Sozopolis, celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians on 3 September, originated in this city. Fragments of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti in Greek have been found in the area.

Bishopric

Sozopolis sent its bishop and possibly two other representatives to the Council of Constantinople in 381, and its bishop attended the

Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

in 431. The see is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 975

References

Sources

{{coord, 38.072539, N, 30.470512, E, display=title, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/21535 Seleucid colonies in Anatolia Former populated places in Turkey Populated places in Pisidia Roman sites in Turkey Titular sees in Asia