Amyzon ( grc, Ἀμυζών) in

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionians, Ionian and Dorians, Dorian Greeks colonized the west of i ...

(now Mazin,

Aydın Province Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside re ...

between the villages of Akmescit and Gaffarlar, in Aegean Turkey) was an ancient

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

30 km south of modern

Koçarlı Koçarlı is a town and a district of Aydın Province, in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın. Geography Koçarlı today is a small town of 6,534 people and although there is an institute of Adnan Menderes University and thus ...

History

The city was in the Athenian alliance in 405BC Under the

Seleucids 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 ...

, Amyzon was one of the cities in the

Chrysaorian League The Chrysaorian League ( grc, σύστημα Χρυσαορικόν, ''systema Chrysaorikon'') was an informal loose federation of several cities in ancient region of Caria, Anatolia that was apparently formed in the early Seleucid period and lasted ...

of Carian cities that lasted at least until 203 BC, when

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the res ...

confirmed the privileges of Amyzon. The League had a form of reciprocal citizenship whereby a citizen of a member city was entitled to certain rights and privileges in any other member city. The city was dismissed by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

as a mere ''peripolion'' ('suburb' or 'township') of

Alabanda Alabanda ( grc, Ἀλάβανδα) or Antiochia of the Chrysaorians was a city of ancient Caria, Anatolia, the site of which is near Doğanyurt, Çine, Aydın Province, Turkey. The city is located in the saddle between two heights. The area is ...

; Amyzon was mentioned by

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 ...

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 ...

and Hierocles. In the wars among the successors of

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, in the 3rd century BC, the city allied with the less immediately threatening power, first with the

Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...

, then with the

Seleucid 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 ...

s. In the second city it concluded an alliance with Heracleia under Latmos. On one occasion it sent a delegation to the oracle of Apollo at

Clarus Claros (; el, Κλάρος, ''Klaros''; la, Clarus) was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia. It contained a temple and oracle of Apollo, honored here as Apollo Clarius. It was located in the territory of Colophon, which lay twelve ...

. The few

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

s identified as from the

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

at Amyzon are

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 ...

and

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

Remains

A stretch of the city wall stands 6 m high (in fact, the terrace wall of the shrine); inside it are a few ruined and unidentifiable buildings, as well as a row of a dozen large vaulted underground chambers, apparently storerooms. There are also Byzantine structures. Outside the city a series of ruined terraces mark the site of the Doric temple of

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

, which dates from the time of the

Hecatomnids The Hecatomnid dynasty or Hecatomnids were the rulers of Caria and surrounding areas BCE. The Hecatomnids were satraps (governors) under the Achaemenid Empire, although they ruled with considerable autonomy, and established a hereditary dynas ...

: an architrave block has been found bearing a dedication by

Idrieus Idrieus, or Hidrieus ( grc, Ἱδριεύς, Hidrieús; died 344 BC) was a ruler of Caria as a Satrap under the Achaemenid Empire. Alongside his sister and wife Ada, he enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position he ...

. Numerous other inscriptions abound. Amyzon was excavated by Louis Robert. Amyzon was mentioned in the Byzantine lists of bishops. No longer a residential diocese, it 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 archbish ...

Bishopric

Amyzon is a

In the province of

; a suffrant to Stauropolis. It was a neighbour to the

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 ...

Alinda Alinda ( grc, Ἄλινδα) was an inland city and bishopric in ancient Caria, in Asia Minor ( Anatolia). Modern scholars identify Alinda with the Hellenistic foundation of Alexandria ad Latmum (Ἀλεξάνδρεια πρὸς τῷ Λάτμ� ...

Ancient bishops

*Philetus fl451

Titular Roman Bishops

*Jean Baptiste Gillis (3 Aug 1729 Appointed – 1 Dec 1736 Died) *Charles Alexandre d'Arberg et de Valengin (31 Aug 1767 Appointed – 19 Dec 1785 Confirmed, Bishop of Ypres (Ieper)) *Godefroid Philippe Joseph de La Porte, (29 Nov 1790 Appointed – 9 Aug 1796 Succeeded, Archbishop of Naxos) *Miguel Joaquín Matías Suárez, (20 Dec 1802 Appointed – 2 May 1831 Died) *Franz Großmann (Grossmann) (17 Jun 1844 Appointed – 5 May 1852 Died) *Ireneus Frederic Baraga (29 Jul 1853 Appointed – 9 Jan 1857 Appointed, Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan) *Józef Twarowski (3 Aug 1857 Appointed – 19 Jan 1868 Died) *Ildefonso Giovanni Battista Borgna, (24 May 1871 Appointed – 14 Dec 1886 Appointed, Titular Archbishop of Marcianopolis) *Heinrich Feiten (20 Sep 1887 Appointed – 17 Feb 1892 Died) *Ignacio Ibáñez, (4 May 1893 Appointed – 14 Oct 1893 Died) *Pio Gaetano Secondo Stella (22 Dec 1893 Appointed – 21 Sep 1927 Died) *Gabriele Perlo, (22 Dec 1927 Appointed – 26 Sep 1948 Died) *Charles Dauvin, (9 Dec 1948 Appointed – 28 Dec 1948 Died) *Baltasar Álvarez Restrepo † (7 May 1949 Appointed – 18 Dec 1952 Appointed, Bishop of Pereira) *Luigi Cicuttini (6 Apr 1953 Appointed – 30 Nov 1956 Appointed, Bishop of Città di Castello) *Antonin Fishta, (17 Dec 1956 Appointed – 12 Jan 1980 Died) ''Le Petit Episcopologe'', Issue 188, Number 15,318

Notes

{{Authority control Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Hellenistic colonies in Anatolia Ruins in Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Former populated places in Turkey Buildings and structures in Aydın Province History of Aydın Province Members of the Delian League Populated places in ancient Caria Koçarlı District