Anemurium

Coordinates: 36°01′27.37″N 32°48′09.36″E / 36.0242694°N 32.8026000°E / 36.0242694; 32.8026000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Anemurium (

Asia Minor, only 64 km from Cyprus. In the Middle Ages, it was called Stallimur.[2][3]

History

Anemurium was already in existence in the Hellenistic period. In AD 52, it was besieged by a local tribe, known as the Clietae, led by Troxobor, but Antiochus IV of Commagene broke the siege and after executing Troxobor and a few of the leading chieftains, pardoned the rest.[4] It was under threat from a similar quarter in 382. Coins from its mint survive from the time of Antiochus IV of Commagene (38–72) to Valerian (253–259).[2] In 260, it was captured by the Sasanians, an event that sent Anemurium into decline for many decades,[5] but it continued to be prosperous until the mid-7th century when it was more or less completely abandoned, probably because the Arab occupation of Cyprus made the coast unsafe.[2]

Bishopric

Iacobus, bishop of Anemurium, took part in the

Trullan Council of 692.[6][7]

No longer a residential bishopric, Anemurium is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[8]

Remains

The ruins of Anemurium were mentioned by Francis Beaufort, an English naval captain who explored the south coast of Turkey in 1811-12 and who published his discoveries in Karamania. Excavations were directed by Elizabeth Alfoldi, University of Toronto (1965–1970), and subsequently James Russell, University of British Columbia, along with Hector Williams and his wife Caroline.[5]

The upper city or acropolis occupies the actual cape, and is described in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites as protected on three sides by steep cliffs and on the landward side by a wall with towers and zigzag reentrants. These fortifications and the building inside were constructed in medieval times, in part utilizing Hellenistic elements. The lower town to the north of the citadel extended for at least 1500 m to an area now covered with sand dunes and with a width of 400 m between the eastern seawall and an aqueduct on the west.[2]

The discovered remains include a large theatre, a small covered odeon or bouleuterion, three large public baths and one small one, decorated with mosaic floors (some converted to industrial use in late antiquity), four early Christian churches (some with mosaic floors, mostly geometric, and donors' inscriptions),[9] and an exedra possibly of a civil basilica (law court).[2][5]

Outside, there is an extensive necropolis of some 350 sepulchral monuments dating from the 1st to the early 4th century. Some included several rooms, a second storey, and even an inner courtyard. Some were decorated with mosaics and wall paintings, including one (BI16) representing the four seasons and a dining couple.[2][5]

Nearby Mamure Castle, built by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Little Armenia) on the foundations of a Roman castle, fell into Turkish hands in 1221. The first volume of the publication of the Canadian excavations appeared in August 2021 under the name of James Russell who directed the excavations at the site. It presents the four churches, the theatre and odeion, the largest painted tomb, and an inscription (Editions Mergoil, 39 euros).

References

  1. ^ Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, AACHEN, see AQUAE GRANNI, ANEMURIUM (Eski Anamur) later ISAURIA Rough Cilicia, Turkey". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  3. ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Anemurium". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  4. ^ Tacitus, Annals, §12.55
  5. ^ a b c d University of British Columbia Archaeology Magazine
  6. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 1015-1018
  7. ^ Siméon Pétridès, v. Anemurium, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. II, Paris 1914, coll. 1828-1829
  8. ), p. 833
  9. ISBN 978-0-8028-9016-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )

36°01′27.37″N 32°48′09.36″E / 36.0242694°N 32.8026000°E / 36.0242694; 32.8026000

External links