Abydos (Hellespont)

Coordinates: 40°11′43″N 26°24′18″E / 40.19528°N 26.40500°E / 40.19528; 26.40500
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Abydos
Ἄβυδος (in Ancient Greek)
Macedonian gold stater, Abydos mint. 323–317 or 297 BC.
Abydos is located in Marmara
Abydos
Abydos
Shown within Marmara
LocationÇanakkale, Çanakkale Province, Turkey
RegionMysia
Coordinates40°11′43″N 26°24′18″E / 40.19528°N 26.40500°E / 40.19528; 26.40500
TypeSettlement
History
Foundedc. 670 BC[1]
Abandonedc. 1304-1310/1318[2]
Site notes
Public accessRestricted

Abydos (

Latin: Abydus) was an ancient city and bishopric in Mysia.[nb 1] It was located at the Nara Burnu promontory on the Asian coast of the Hellespont (the straits of Dardanelles), opposite the ancient city of Sestos, and near the city of Çanakkale in Turkey. Abydos was founded in c. 670 BC at the most narrow point in the straits,[1] and thus was one of the main crossing points between Europe and Asia, until its replacement by the crossing between Lampsacus and Kallipolis in the 13th century,[5] and the abandonment of Abydos in the early 14th century.[2]

In Greek mythology, Abydos is presented in the myth of Hero and Leander as the home of Leander.[6] The city is also mentioned in Rodanthe and Dosikles, a novel written by Theodore Prodromos, a 12th-century writer, in which Dosikles kidnaps Rodanthe at Abydos.[7]

Archaeology

In 1675, the site of Abydos was first identified, and was subsequently visited by numerous classicists and travellers, such as Robert Wood, Richard Chandler, and Lord Byron.[8] The city's acropolis is known in Turkish as Mal Tepe.[9]

Following the city's abandonment, the ruins of Abydos were scavenged for building materials from the 14th to the 19th century,[10] and remains of walls and buildings continued to be reported until at least the 19th century, however, little remains and the area was declared a restricted military zone in the early 20th century, thus little to no excavation has taken place.[8][11]

History

Classical period

The environs of Abydos in Antiquity

Abydos is mentioned in the Iliad as a Trojan ally,[12] and, according to Strabo, was occupied by Bebryces and later Thracians after the Trojan War.[13] It has been suggested that the city was originally a Phoenician colony as there was a temple of Aphrodite Porne (Aphrodite the Harlot) within Abydos.[14][15] Abydos was settled by Milesian colonists contemporaneously with the foundation of the cities of Priapos and Prokonnesos in c. 670 BC.[1] Strabo related that Gyges, King of Lydia, granted his consent to the Milesians to settle Abydos;[9] it is argued that this was carried out by Milesian mercenaries to act as a garrison to prevent Thracian raids into Asia Minor.[16] The city became a thriving centre for tuna exportation as a result of the high yield of tuna in the Hellespont.[17]

Abydos was ruled by Daphnis, a pro-Persian

Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges.[12] After the failed Persian invasion, Abydos became a member of the Athenian-led Delian League,[12] and was part of the Hellespontine district.[18] Ostensibly an ally, Abydos was hostile to Athens throughout this time,[9] and contributed a phoros of 4-6 talents.[4] Xenophon documented that Abydos possessed gold mines at Astyra or Kremaste at the time of his writing.[9]

Coinage of Abydos around the time of the Persian Wars. ABYΔ-[H]NON, eagle standing left / Facing gorgoneion with protruding tongue, within incuse square. Circa 500-480 BC

During the

oligarchic constitution at this time.[18] At the beginning of the Corinthian War in 394 BC, Agesilaus II, King of Sparta, passed through Abydos into Thrace.[23] Abydos remained an ally of Sparta throughout the war and Dercylidas served as harmost of the city from 394 until he was replaced by Anaxibius in c. 390; the latter was killed in an ambush near Abydos by the Athenian general Iphicrates in c. 389/388.[23] At the conclusion of the Corinthian War, under the terms of the Peace of Antalcidas in 387 BC, Abydos was annexed to the Persian Empire.[9] Within the Persian Empire, Abydos was administered as part of the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia,[24] and was ruled by the tyrant Philiscus in 368.[25][26] In c. 360 BC, the city came under the control of the tyrant Iphiades.[18]

Hellenistic period

Abydos remained under Persian control until it was seized by a

Asia Minor.[29]

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Abydos, as part of the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia, came under the control of Leonnatus as a result of the Partition of Babylon.[30] At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Arrhidaeus succeeded Leonnatus as satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.[31]

In 302, during the

Kingdom of Pergamon by c. 200 BC.[36]

Hellenistic tetradrachm
of Abydos, with the legend ΑΒΥΔΗΝΩΝ ("of the Abydenes")

During the Second Macedonian War, Abydos was besieged by Philip V, King of Macedonia, in 200 BC,[37] during which many of its citizens chose to commit suicide rather than surrender.[38] Marcus Aemilius Lepidus met with Philip V during the siege to deliver an ultimatum on behalf of the Roman senate.[39] Ultimately, the city was forced to surrender to Philip V due to a lack of reinforcements.[37] The Macedonian occupation ended after the Peace of Flamininus at the end of the war in 196 BC.[37] At this time, Abydos was substantially depopulated and partially ruined as a result of the Macedonian occupation.[40]

In the spring of 196 BC, Abydos was seized by

Roman-Seleucid War, thus allowing for the transportation of the Roman army into Asia Minor by October 190 BC.[42] Dardanus was subsequently liberated from Abydene control,[34] and the Treaty of Apamea of 188 BC returned Abydos to the Kingdom of Pergamon.[43] A gymnasium was active at Abydos in the 2nd century BC.[44]

Roman period

Attalus III, King of Pergamon, bequeathed his kingdom to Rome upon his death in 133 BC, and thus Abydos became part of the province of Asia.[45] The gold mines of Abydos at Astyra or Kremaste were near exhaustion at the time was Strabo was writing.[9] The city was counted amongst the telonia (custom houses) of the province of Asia in the lex portorii Asiae of 62 AD,[46] and formed part of the conventus iuridicus Adramytteum.[47] Abydos is mentioned in the Tabula Peutingeriana and Antonine Itinerary.[48] The mint of Abydos ceased to function in the mid-3rd century AD.[47]

It is believed that Abydos, with Sestos and Lampsacus, is referred to as one of the "three large capital cities" of the Roman Empire in Weilüe, a 3rd-century AD Chinese text.[49] The city was the centre for customs collection at the southern entrance of the Sea of Marmara,[50] and was administered by a komes ton Stenon (count of the Straits) or an archon from the 3rd century to the 5th century AD.[51] In the 6th century AD, Emperor Justinian I introduced the office of komes Abydou with responsibility for collecting customs duty in Abydos.[50]

Medieval period

View of the straits at Abydos.

Pope Martin I rested at Abydos in the summer of 653 whilst en route to Constantinople.[52] As a result of the administrative reforms of the 7th century, Abydos came to be administered as part of the theme of Opsikion.[53] The office of kommerkiarios of Abydos is first attested in the mid-7th century, and was later sometimes combined with the office of paraphylax, the military governor of the fort, introduced in the 8th century, at which time the office of komes ton stenon is last mentioned.[54]

After the 7th century AD, Abydos became a major seaport.

tourmarches.[54]

Abydos was sacked by an Arab fleet led by Leo of Tripoli in 904 AD whilst en route to Constantinople.[58] The revolt of Bardas Phokas was defeated by Emperor Basil II at Abydos in 989 AD.[59] In 992, the Venetians were granted reduced commercial tariffs at Abydos as a special privilege.[50] In the early 11th century, Abydos became the seat of a separate command and the office of strategos (governor) of Abydos is first mentioned in 1004 with authority over the northern shore of the Hellespont and the islands of the Sea of Marmara.[54]

In 1024, a

Seljuk Turks, but was recovered in 1086 AD,[61] in which year Leo Kephalas was appointed katepano of Abydos.[62] Abydos' population likely increased at this time as a result of the arrival of refugees from northwestern Anatolia who had fled the advance of the Turks.[2] In 1092/1093, the city was attacked by Tzachas, a Turkish pirate.[63] Emperor Manuel I Komnenos repaired Abydos' fortifications in the late 12th century.[54]

By the 13th century AD, the crossing from Lampsacus to

John III Vatatzes.[50] Abydos declined in the 13th century, and was eventually abandoned between 1304 and 1310/1318 due to the threat of Turkish tribes and disintegration of Roman control over the region.[2]

Ecclesiastical history

Main articles: Diocese of Abydos and Roman Catholic Diocese of Abydus

The

Nikephoros II in 969.[67][68]

Seals attest Theodosius as bishop of Abydos in the 11th century,[69] and John as metropolitan bishop of Abydos in the 11/12th century.[70] Abydos remained a metropolitan see until the city fell to the Turks in the 14th century.[54] The diocese is currently a titular see of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Gerasimos Papadopoulos was titular Bishop of Abydos from 1962 until his death in 1995.[71] Simeon Kruzhkov was bishop of Abydos from May to September 1998.[72] Kyrillos Katerelos was consecrated bishop of Abydos in 2008.[73]

In 1222, during the Latin occupation, the

bishopric, Abydus is today listed by the Catholic Church
as a titular see.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Abydos is placed either within Mysia,[3] or the Troad.[4]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c Hansen & Nielsen (2004), p. 993
  2. ^ a b c d e Leveniotis (2017), pp. 13-14
  3. ^ For Abydos within Mysia, see
    • Grainger (1997), p. 675
    • Allen & Neil (2003), p. 189
    • Bean (1976), p. 5
  4. ^ a b c d Abydus. Brill Reference Online
  5. ^ a b Kazhdan (1991) "Kallipolis" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1094–1095
  6. ^ Hopkinson (2012)
  7. ^ Kazhdan & Wharton (1985), p. 202
  8. ^ a b Gunter (2015), p. 1
  9. ^ a b c d e f Bean (1976), p. 5
  10. ^ Leveniotis (2017), p. 3
  11. ^ Archivum Callipolitanum II. A Catalogue of Ancient Ports and Harbours
  12. ^ a b c d Mitchell (2005)
  13. ^ Leveniotis (2017), p. 4
  14. ^ Miller (2014), p. 20
  15. ^ Gorman (2001), p. 243
  16. ^ Fine (1983), p. 80
  17. ^ Roesti (1966), p. 82
  18. ^ a b c d e Hansen & Nielsen (2004), p. 1003
  19. ^ Kagan (2013), p. 102
  20. ^ a b Hodkinson (2005)
  21. ^ Westlake (1985), p. 313
  22. ^ Kagan (2013), p. 276
  23. ^ a b c Phang et al. (2016), p. 57
  24. ^ Jacobs (2011)
  25. ^ Fine (1983), p. 584
  26. ^ Maffre (2007), p. 129
  27. ^ a b c Ashley (2004), p. 187
  28. ^ Freely (2010), pp. 55-56
  29. ^ Dmitriev (2011), p. 429
  30. ^ Roberts (2007)
  31. ^ Roisman (2012), p. 174
  32. ^ a b c Magie (2015), p. 89
  33. ^ Spawforth (2015)
  34. ^ a b Mackay (1976), p. 258
  35. ^ Grainger (1997), p. 675
  36. ^ Pergamum. Brill Reference Online
  37. ^ a b c Jaques (2007), p. 4
  38. ^ Magie (2015), pp. 15-16
  39. ^ Briscoe (2015)
  40. ^ Grainger (2002), p. 70
  41. ^ Magie (2015), p. 17
  42. ^ Errington (1989), p. 286
  43. ^ Errington (1989), pp. 287-288
  44. ^ Education / Culture. Brill Reference Online
  45. ^ Dmitriev (2005), p. 7
  46. ^ Leveniotis (2017), p. 11
  47. ^ a b Leveniotis (2017), p. 8
  48. ^ Magie (2017), p. 41
  49. ^ Leslie & Gardiner (1995), p. 67
  50. ^ a b c d e f Kazhdan (1991) "Abydos" (C. Foss), pp. 8–9
  51. ^ a b Leveniotis (2017), p. 12
  52. ^ McCormick (2001), pp. 485-486
  53. ^ Lampakis (2008)
  54. ^ a b c d e Nesbitt & Oikonomides (1996), pp. 73-74
  55. ^ Kazhdan (1991) "Ports" (A. Kazhdan), pp. 1706–1707
  56. ^ Venning & Harris (2006), p. 196
  57. ^ Kazhdan (1991) "Nikephoros I" (P. A. Hollingsworth), pp. 1476–1477
  58. ^ Kazhdan (1991) "Leo of Tripoli" (A. Kazhdan), p. 1216
  59. ^ Evans & Wixom (1997), p. 19
  60. ^ Wortley (2010), p. 347
  61. ^ Haldon & Davis (2002), p. 95
  62. ^ Kazhdan (1991) "Kephalas" (A. Kazhdan)
  63. ^ Kazhdan (1991) "Tzachas" (Ch. M. Brand), p. 2134
  64. ^ Van Tricht (2011), p. 106
  65. ^ Korobeinikov (2014), p. 54
  66. ^ Van Tricht (2011), pp. 109-110
  67. ^ Michel Lequien. Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus. Paris. 1740, Vol. I, coll. 773-776.
  68. ^ Sophrone Pétridès. v. Abydus, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. I. Paris. 1909. coll. 209-210.
  69. ^ Theodosios monk and bishop of Abydos (eleventh century).Dumbarton Oaks
  70. ^ John proedros (= metropolitan) of Abydos (eleventh/twelfth century). Dumbarton Oaks
  71. ^ Gerasimos Papadopoulos: Bishop of Abydos, the Wise Abba of America. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
  72. ^ Rimestad (2014), p. 299, p. 309
  73. ^ Kyrillos of Abydos. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (in Greek)

Bibliography

External links

Media related to Abydos (Hellespont) at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Abydos (Hellespont) at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abydos_(Hellespont)&oldid=1177591629"