Ariassus or Ariassos ( grc, Άριασσός) was a town in

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 ...

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 ...

built on a steep hillside about 50 kilometres inland from Attaleia (modern Antalya).

History

The town was founded in the

Hellenistic period 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 ...

in the 3rd century BC. It was mentioned (as ''Aarassos'') in about 100 BC by

Artemidorus Ephesius Artemidorus of Ephesus ( grc-gre, Ἀρτεμίδωρος ὁ Ἐφέσιος; la, Artemidorus Ephesius) was a Greek geographer, who flourished around 100 BC. His work in eleven books is often quoted by Strabo. What is thought to be a possibl ...

, who was quoted by Strabo a century later. The only further mentions are by

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 ...

in the 2nd century AD and in lists of Christian

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

s (''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lat ...

'').Stephen Mitchell, Edwin Owens and Marc Waelkens, "Ariassos and Sagalassos 1988" in ''Anatolian Studies'', Vol. 39, 1989
/ref> It was part of

and belonged originally to the Seleucid Empire. In 189 BC it passed to the Hellenistic kingdom of

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

, the last king of which,

Attalus III Attalus III ( el, Ἄτταλος Γ΄) Philometor Euergetes ( – 133 BC) was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC. Biography Attalus III was the son of king Eumenes II and his queen Stratonice of Pergamon, and ...

left his kingdom to Rome in 133 BC. Under Octavian

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 ...

, Ariassos was made part 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 ...

of Galatia. In the ecclesiastical lists it appears in the late Roman province of

Pamphylia Secunda Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...

, whose capital was

Perge Perga or Perge ( Hittite: ''Parha'', el, Πέργη ''Perge'', tr, Perge) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement that later became a Greek city in Pamphylia. It was the capital of the Roman province of Pamphylia Secunda, now located in ...

, hence also its bishopric's Metropolitan.

Remains

250px, Tombs. Coins minted at Ariassos are extant. The ruins are mainly of Roman and Byzantine times, with few remains of the earlier Hellenistic period. The best preserved is that of the 3rd-century-AD triple-arched city entrance once surmounted by four statues. Other buildings include an extensive nymphaeum and baths, as well as a large domestic area. There is an abundance of funerary monuments.

Bishopric

The names of three bishops of the see of Ariassus are known: Pammenius (at the

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople ( la, Concilium Constantinopolitanum; grc-gre, Σύνοδος τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 b ...

in 381); Theophilus (at the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bi ...

in 451); and Ioannes (signatory of a joint letter of the bishops of the province to Emperor

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" ( la, Thrax; grc-gre, ο Θραξ),; grc-gre, Μακέλλης), referencing the murder of Aspar and his son. was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia ...

in 458).

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Ariassus is today listed by the

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 ...

as a

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 archbis ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 838 Nominally restored as a Latin

titular bishopric 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 ...

in 1911, it is vacant, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (Episcopal) rank : * Jules-Joseph Moury,

Society of African Missions The Society of African Missions ( la, Societas Missionum ad Afros; ) abbreviated SMA, also known as the SMA Fathers, is a Catholic religious Society of Apostolic Life of pontifical right for men founded by Melchior de Marion Brésillac in 1856 ...

(S.M.A.) (1911.01.17 – 1935.03.29) * Leoncio Fernández Galilea,

Claretians , image = Herb CMF.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = Coat of arms of the Claretians , abbreviation = CMF , nickname = Claretians , formation = , founders = Ant ...

(C.M.F.) (1935.06.18 – 1957.02.15) * Jean Fryns, C.S.Sp. (1957.04.12 – 1959.11.10) * Cesar Gerardo Vielmo Guerra,

Servites The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary ( la, Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothe ...

(O.S.M.) (1959.12.19 – 1963.06.16) * Ignacio María de Orbegozo y Goicoechea (1963.10.29 – 1968.04.26) Ariassos 3.jpg Ariassos 4.jpg Ariassos 5.jpg Ariassos 7.jpg

References

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic, with titular incumbent biography links
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Antalya Province Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey History of Antalya Populated places in Pisidia Catholic titular sees in Asia