Pisidian Antioch
Later in the life of Seleucus Nicator I, the successor of Alexander the Great that organized Asia Minor, the city of Antioch of Pisidia was founded.
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He located
the city
strategically
one hundred
miles north
of Perga,
long after
(25 years)
the founding
of such
cities as Antioch on Orontes and the
nearby port
of Seleucia.
Part of the
so called
lake
district of
southwest
Asia Minor,
the
strategic
value of Pisidian
Antioch was the
guard like
position it
held at 3500
feet above
sea level in
the Taurus
Mountains.
The position guarded the road access from the south, as well as the so called high road from Ephesus to Syria. It was settled and maintained as the military command center of southern Galatia, and was located in the proximity of the border of Pisidia and Phrygia. Because it was near the border, the historian Strabo referred to the place as near Pisidia. |
The city was set atop a precipice described by Sir William Ramsey on his visit at the beginning of the twentieth century as an oblong plateau varying from 50 feet to 200 feet above the plain nearly two miles in circumference.
| By 25 BCE
the city had
become a
colony of
Rome.
Westerners
had poured
into the
city,
retired
soldiers
with a
military
pension,
merchants
and those
seeking a
quieter life
than those
close to
Rome. The
expatriate
Romans
enjoyed full
citizenship,
something
not attained
for their
indigenous
counterparts
until later,
yet the
whole city
flourished
and enjoyed
peace and
prosperity
in the
generation
leading up
to St. Paul and St.
Barnabas�
visit. The
frequent
host of
Roman
governors on
travels from
west to
east, the
city hosted
festivals
and games,
and the
money
attracted
greater
investment
in this, a
center of
Galatian
activity.
On the First Journey, St. Paul and St. Barnabas left the area of Perga without John Mark and proceeded to Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. |
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The address given there caused the reaction that later characterized St. Paul's mission journeys, some had a revival, others a riot! Driven from the city, St. Paul and St. Barnabas moved on to Iconium , experiencing an early moment of joy in the journey. It was here that St. Paul was moved by the hardness of his fellow countrymen and turned to the Gentiles, a decision that would mark a concern of the Jerusalem Church for years to come. Today, modern Yalvac is settled by a large agricultural and rural settlement amidst the still rich and fertile plains and pasturelands. |