Augusta ( grc, Αὔγουστα or Αὐγοῦστα) was a town in the interior 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 coa ...

, inhabited during

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 lett ...

and

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 ...

times. It was founded in 20 AD and named after

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the ...

, the widow of the Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

.The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, AUGUSTA Cilicia Campestris, Turkey
/ref>

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 ...

places this town in a district named Bryelice. The town also bore the name Augustopolis, and possibly Thebae. The city probably lost its position as an important center after the Muslim invasion of Cilicia in the 7th century. Its site is located near Gübe in Asiatic Turkey. In 431 Tarianus, Bishop of Augusta represented the town at 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 t ...

. The ancient city, was flooded due to

Seyhan Dam The Seyhan Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Seyhan River north of Adana, Turkey The dam was constructed in the 1950s as the first in a series of hydroelectric projects funded by the World Bank. The project was authorized by Prime Minister Adnan ...

in 1955.Ancient city comes to light as water recedes
/ref> Before it disappeared under the waters of the dam the researchers managed to partially survey the site and record some buildings of the city. Among these were the foundations of a triumphal arch, two colonnaded streets crossing each other, a theater, a civic basilica, some shops, a bath building and a dam on the river.

References

Populated places in ancient Cilicia Former populated places in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire History of Adana Province {{Adana-geo-stub