Pisidian Antioch, Turkey; Visited by Paul the Apostle
PHOTO: HDR; three photos about 2 ev apart; from a monopod w/ three feet.
HISTORICAL: The Apostle Paul's visit to Antioch of Pisidia is recorded in Acts 13. On the Sabbath he and his companion Barnabus went to the synagogue, where Paul's message was well received. It was said that "almost the whole city gathered" to listen (Ac. 13:44). But jealous religious leaders stirred up the citizens and they drove the Apostolic band out of the region.
There was an established Jewish population in the city because, according to Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 12.146-153) , the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III deported 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon to politically unstable places in Asia Minor. He believed that they would support the Seleucids. He was not the only ruler to recognize the stabilizing influence of Jewish populations. (There was a large Jewish population in Babylon because Israel had been conquered earlier. Some had returned to Israel, for example under Nehemiah, others had stayed.)
Archaeologist William Ramsay claimed to have found the remains of a synagogue under what is left of a Byzantine church (dated to the 4th or 5th century).
The entire site is extensive and very impressive. It sits on seven hills, similar to Rome--a feature that was noticed by the Romans, who established the province of Galatia in 25 BCE. One could wander for hours amid the ruins of this once thriving city, which preserves so much history.
Pisidian Antioch, Turkey; Visited by Paul the Apostle
PHOTO: HDR; three photos about 2 ev apart; from a monopod w/ three feet.
HISTORICAL: The Apostle Paul's visit to Antioch of Pisidia is recorded in Acts 13. On the Sabbath he and his companion Barnabus went to the synagogue, where Paul's message was well received. It was said that "almost the whole city gathered" to listen (Ac. 13:44). But jealous religious leaders stirred up the citizens and they drove the Apostolic band out of the region.
There was an established Jewish population in the city because, according to Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 12.146-153) , the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III deported 2,000 Jewish families from Babylon to politically unstable places in Asia Minor. He believed that they would support the Seleucids. He was not the only ruler to recognize the stabilizing influence of Jewish populations. (There was a large Jewish population in Babylon because Israel had been conquered earlier. Some had returned to Israel, for example under Nehemiah, others had stayed.)
Archaeologist William Ramsay claimed to have found the remains of a synagogue under what is left of a Byzantine church (dated to the 4th or 5th century).
The entire site is extensive and very impressive. It sits on seven hills, similar to Rome--a feature that was noticed by the Romans, who established the province of Galatia in 25 BCE. One could wander for hours amid the ruins of this once thriving city, which preserves so much history.