Turkey, Dinar - Ruins of Apamea Cibotus (Apameia ad Maeandrum)

Ruins of Apamea Cibotus (Apameia ad Maeandrum)
Apameia in Phrygia (or Apamea, Apamea Cibotus, Apamea Kibotos, or Apamea ad Maeandrum) was an ancient city founded in the 3rd century B.C. by Antiochus I Soter, who named it after his mother Apama. It was in Hellenistic Phrygia, but became part of the Roman province of Pisidia. Apamea is mentioned in the Talmud (Ber. 62a, Niddah, 30b and Yeb. 115b). Christianity was very likely established early in the city. Saint Paul probably visited the place when he went throughout Phrygia. The mid third century A.D. coins of Apamea Kibotos with scenes of Noah and his ark are among the earliest biblical scenes in Roman art. Apamea continued to be a prosperous town under the Roman Empire. Its decline began with the local disorganization of the empire in the 3rd century and when trade routes were diverted to Constantinople. Although a bishopric, it was not an important military or commercial center in Byzantine times. Its ruin was completed by an earthquake.

Photo by Haubi Gerhard Haubold, 20 October 1994, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.