Sidyma ( grc, Σίδυμα), was a town of

ancient Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...

, at what is now the small village of Dudurga Asari in

Muğla Province Muğla Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, ...

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 ...

. It lies on the southern slope of

Mount Cragus Mount Cragus or Mount Cragos or Mount Kragos (Greek: ) – also recorded as Hiera Acra – is a mountain in Turkey, in what was formerly ancient Lycia, Asia Minor. It is identified with the modern Sandak Dağ. Strabo (p. 665), whose ...

, to the north-west of the mouth of the

Xanthus Xanthus (; grc, Ξάνθος, ''Xanthos'', "yellow, blond") or Xanthos may refer to: In Greek mythology * Xanthos (King of Thebes), the son of Ptolemy, killed by Andropompus or Melanthus *Xanthus (mythology), several figures, including gods, men, ...

History

Sidyma was mentioned in the 1st century BC by

Alexander Polyhistor Lucius Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Πολυΐστωρ; flourished in the first half of the 1st century BC; also called Alexander of Miletus) was a Greek scholar who was enslaved by the Romans during the Mithri ...

, and later by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, Stephanus of Byzantium, the Synecdemus, and the ''

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 ...

''. Its extant remains are of the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

, when it was an unimportant but flourishing city, and no Lycian inscriptions have been discovered there and there are no Lycian rock tombs, but its name seems to indicate an earlier origin. Above the present ruins, which lie in a valley, is a wall that may indicate the existence on the hill of a city of which no traces remain.O.G. Bean, "SIDYMA (Dudurga Asari) Lycia, Turkey" in Richard Stillwell et alii, ''The Princeton Encyclopaedia of Classical Sites'' (Princeton University Press 1976)
/ref>William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' (1854)
/ref> The one coin of Sidyma that has been found is of the type of the

Lycian League Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is t ...

. It is related that the future

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Marcian, when still a simple soldier, fell asleep while resting on a hunt near Sidyma, and was found to be sheltered by a large eagle, a presage of his future elevation.

Remains

The ruins of Sidyma, high up on the southern slope of Mount Cragus, were first discovered by Charles Fellows, who described them as consisting chiefly of splendidly built tombs, abounding in Greek inscriptions. The town itself, he said, appeared to have been very small, and the theatre, agora and temples, were of diminutive size, but of great beauty. The theatre is now "badly damaged", "in wretched condition".

Ecclesiastical history

Bishopric

Sidyma became a Christian

bishopric 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 associate ...

, a suffragan of the

Metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–400 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

, the capital 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 ...

Lycia Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...

. The bishop of Sidyma ranked tenth under the metropolitan of Myra. * Its bishop Hypatius was one of the signatories of the letter that the bishops of the province sent in 458 to

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 ...

with regard to the murder of

Proterius of Alexandria Hieromartyr Proterius of Alexandria (died 457) was Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457. He had been appointed by the Council of Chalcedon to replace the deposed Dioscorus. History Proterius was elected by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 t ...

. * Zemarchus was at the

Third Council of Constantinople The Third Council of Constantinople, counted as the Sixth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well by certain other Western Churches, met in 680–681 and condemned monoenergism and monothelitism as heretical ...

in 680 and the

Trullan Council The Quinisext Council (Latin: ''Concilium Quinisextum''; Koine Greek: , ''Penthékti Sýnodos''), i.e. the Fifth-Sixth Council, often called the Council ''in Trullo'', Trullan Council, or the Penthekte Synod, was a church council held in 692 at ...

of 692. * Nicodemus took part in the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

in 787. The diocese continued to appear in the ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' until the 13th century.

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Sidyma 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 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 ...

,''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 971 the diocese being nominally revived in the 19th century.

It is vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Antoine Missirli (1808.03.18 – 1824.10.16) * Pierre-Flavien Turgeon (1834.02.28 – 1850.10.03), as

Coadjutor Archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coad ...

of Québec (Canada) (1834.02.28 – 1850.10.03), later succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Québec (1850.10.03 – 1867.08.25) * Joseph Freusberg (1854.04.07 – 1889.11.14) * Theophile Meerschaert (1891.06.02 – 1905.08.23) * János Ivánkovits (1905.12.11 – 1910.03.31) * Paul-Leon-Cornelius Montaigne (满德胎),

Lazarists , logo = , image = Vincentians.png , abbreviation = CM , nickname = Vincentians, Paules, Lazarites, Lazarists, Lazarians , established = , founder = Vincent de Paul , fou ...

(C.M.) (1924.11.25 – 1962.01.09) * Michele Federici (1962.09.22 – 1963.10.27) as Coadjutor Bishop of

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

(Italy) (1962.09.22 – 1963.10.27), later Archbishop of

Santa Severina Santa Severina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Crotone, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. Name The name derives from ancient Siberine (῾Αγία Σεβερίνη, Σεβεριάνη). There is no saint named Severina in the ...

(Italy) (1963.10.27 – 1973.12.21), Archbishop-Bishop of

Ferentino Ferentino is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, southeast of Rome. It is situated on a hill above sea level, in the Monti Ernici area. History ''Ferentinum'' was a town of the Hernici; it was captured from the ...

(Italy) (1973.12.21 – 1980.11.23),

Archbishop-Bishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Veroli–Frosinone (Italy) (1973.12.21 – 1980.11.23) * Karl Reiterer, Mill Hill Missionaries (M.H.M.) (1967.02.09 – 1974.12.30)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic with titular incumbent bio links
{{Authority control Populated places in ancient Lycia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Former populated places in Turkey Buildings and structures in Muğla Province Geography of Muğla Province Tourist attractions in Muğla Province Fethiye District Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople