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International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia - Asia
ASIA
(a'-shi-a) (Asia): A Roman province embracing the greater part of western Asia
Minor, including the older countries of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and a part of
Phrygia, also several of the independent coast cities, the Troad, and apparently
the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Patmos, Cos and others near the Asia Minor coast
(Acts 16:6; 19:10,27). It is exceedingly difficult to determine the exact
boundaries of the several countries which later constituted the Roman province, for
they seem to have been somewhat vague to the ancients themselves, and were
constantly shifting; it is therefore impossible to trace the exact borders of the
province of Asia. Its history previous to 133 BC coincides with that of Asia
Minor of which it was a part. However, in that year, Attalus III (Philometer), king
of Pergamos, bequeathed his kingdom to the Roman Empire. It was not until 129
BC that the province of Asia was really formed by Rome. Its first capital was
Pergamos, the old capital of Mysia, but in the time of Augustus, when Asia had
become the most wealthy province of the Empire, the seat of the government was
transferred to Ephesus. Smyrna was also an important rival of Ephesus. The
governor of Asia was a pro-consul, chosen by lot by the Roman senate from among the
former consuls who had been out of office for at least five years, and he
seldom continued in office for more than a single year. The diet of the province,
composed of representatives from its various districts, met each year in the
different cities. Over it presided the asiarch, whose duty it was, among other
things, to offer sacrifices for the welfare of the emperor and his family.
In 285 AD the province was reduced in size, as Caria, Lydia, Mysia and Phrygia
were separated from it, and apart from the cities of the coast little
remained. The history of Asia consists almost entirely of the history of its important
cities, which were Adramyttium, Assos, Cnidus, Ephesus, Laodicea, Miletus,
Pergamos, Philadelphia, Sardis, Smyrna, Thyatira, Troas, etc.
E. J. BANKS
ASIA MINOR
(a'-shi-a mi'ner):
Introductory: Technically, it is only on sufferance that an account of "Asia
Minor" can find a place in a Biblical encyclopaedia, for the country to which
this name applies in modern times was never so called in Old Testament or New
Testament times. The term first appears in Orosius, a writer of the 5 th century
AD, and it is now applied in most European languages to the peninsula forming
the western part of Asiatic Turkey.
The justification for the inclusion in this work of a summary account of Asia
Minor as a whole, its geography, history, and the social and political
condition of its people in New Testament times, is to be found in the following
sentence of Gibbon: "The rich provinces that extend from the Euphrates to the Ionian
Sea were the principal theatre on which the Apostle to the Gentiles displayed
his zeal and piety"; and no region outside the city of Rome has preserved to
modern times so many records of the growth and character of its primitive
Christianity.
I. The Country.-Asia Minor (as the country was called to distinguish it from
the continent of Asia), or Anatolia, is the name given to the peninsula which
reaches out between the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) on the North and the
Mediterranean on the South, forming an elevated land-bridge between central Asia and
southeastern Europe.
1. Position and Boundaries: On the Northwest corner, the peninsula is
separated from Europe by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmora and the hellespont. On the
West the peninsula borders on the Aegean Sea, whose numerous islands tempted the
timid mariner of ancient times on toward Greece. The West coast, with its
alternation of mountain and river-valley, is deeply indented: there is a total coast
line of four times the length of a line drawn from North to South The numerous
land-locked bays and harbors of this coast have made it the happy
hunting-ground of Mediterranean traders in all ages. On the East it is usual to delimit
Asia Minor by a line drawn from Alexandretta to Samsun, but for the purposes of
New Testament history it must be remembered that part of Cilicia, Cappadocia and
Pontus (Galatia) lie to the East of this line (Longitude 26 degrees to 36
degrees East; latitude 36 degrees to 42 degrees North).
2. General Description: There are two distinct countries, implying distinct
historical development, in the Anatolian peninsula, the country of the coast, and
the country of the central plateau. The latter takes its shape from that of
the great mountain ranges which bound it on the West, East and North. The high
central tableland is tilted down toward the North and West; the mountain ranges
on these sides are not so lofty as the Taurus chain on the South and Southeast
This chain, except at its Southeast corner, rises sharply from the South coast,
whose undulations it determines. On the North, the mountains of Pontus (no
distinctive name), a continuation of the Armenian range, give the coast-line a
similar character. On the inhospitable North coast, there is only one good harbor,
that of Sinope, and no plain of any extent. The South coast can boast of the
plains of Pamphylia and Cilicia, both highly fertile, the harbors of Makri and
Marmariki, and the sheltered bays of Adalia and Alexandretta.
On the West, the ascent from the littoral to the plateau is more gradual. A
distance of over 100 miles separates the Phrygian mountains where the oriental
plateau begins, from the West seaboard with its inlets and trading cities. These
hundred miles are composed of river valleys, divided off by mountain ranges,
and forming the channels of communication between the interior and the coast.
While these two regions form part of a single country it is obvious that-in all
that gives individuality to a country, their flora, fauna, climate, conditions of
life and history-the one region is sharply marked off from the other. For the
plateau naturally connects itself with the East In its vegetation and climate,
its contrasts of temperature, its dry soil and air, it forms part of the region
extending eastward to central Asia. The coast land recalls the scenery and
general character of the Greek mainland and islands. It naturally looked to, it
influenced and was influenced by, the populations on the other side of the Aegean
Sea. At Smyrna, the traveler in all ages recognizes the bright, active life of
southern Europe; at Iconium he feels the immobile and lethargic calm of the
East. Asia Minor in its geographical structure as well as in its population, has
been throughout history the meeting-place, whether for peaceful intermixture or
for the clash in war, of the eternally contrasted systems of East and West.
3. Mountains: The Armenian mountains reach westward, and fork, close to the
line we have chosen as the East boundary of Asia Minor, into two ranges, the
Taurus Mountains on the South, and the mountains of Pontus on the North Mount
Argaeus (over 12,000 ft.) stands in the angle formed by these ranges, nearer to
Taurus than to the northern system. Taurus is pierced on the northern side of the
Cilician plain by the pass, easy to traverse and still more easy to defend, of
the Cilician Gates, while another natural route leads from central Cappadocia to
Amisus on the Black Sea. These mountain ranges (average height of Taurus 7,000
to 10,000 ft.; the North range is much lower) enfold the central Galatian and
Lycaonian plains, which are bounded on the West by the Sultan Dagh and the
Phrygian mountains. From the latter to the west coast extend three mountain ranges,
delimiting the valleys of the Caicus, Hermus and Maeander. These valleys lie
East and West, naturally conducting traffic in those directions.
4. Rivers, Lakes and Plains: The great plains of the interior, covering parts
of Galatia, Lycaonia and Cappadocia, lie at an altitude of from 3,000 to 4,000
ft. Rivers enter them from the adjoining mountains, to be swallowed up in
modern times in salt lakes and swamps. In ancient times much of this water was used
for irrigation. Regions which now support only a few wretched villages were
covered in the Roman period by numerous large cities, implying a high degree of
cultivation of the naturally fertile soil. The remaining rivers cut their way
through rocky gorges in the fringe of mountains around the plateau; on the West
side of the peninsula their courses open into broad valleys, among which those of
the Caieus, Hermus and Maeander are among the most fertile in the world. Down
those western valleys, and that of the Sangarius on the Northwest, ran the
great highways from the interior to the seaboard. In those valleys sprang up the
greatest and most prosperous of the Hellenistic and Greek-Roman cities, from
which Greek education and Christianity radiated over the whole country. The longest
river in Asia Minor is the Halys, which rises in Pontus, and after an enormous
bend south-westward flows into the Black Sea. This, and the Iris, East of
Amisus, are the only rivers of note on the North coast. The rivers on the South
coast, with the exception of the Sarus and the Pyramus which rise in Cappadocia
and water the Cilician plain, are mere mountain torrents, flowing immediately
into the sea. A remarkable feature of Asia Minor is its duden, rivers disappearing
underground in the limestone rock, to reappear as springs and heads of rivers
many miles away. Mineral and thermal springs abound all over the country, and
are especially numerous in the Maeander valley. There are several salt lakes,
the largest being Lake Tatta in Lycaonia. Fresh-water lakes, such as Karalis and
the Limuae, abound in the mountains in the Southwest.
5. Roads
The road-system of Asia Minor is marked out by Nature, and traffic has
followed the same lines since the dawn of history. The traveler from the Euphrates or
from Syria enters by way of Melitene and Caesarea, or by the Cilician Gates.
From Caesarea he can reach the Black Sea by Zela and Amisus. If he continues
westward, he must enter the Aegean area by one of the routes marked out, as
indicated above, by the valleys of the Maeander, Hermus or Caicus. If his destination
is the Bosporus, he travels down the valley of the Sangarius. Other roads lead
from the bay of Adalia to Antioch in Pisidia or to Apameia, or to Laodicea on
the Lycus and thence down the Maeander to Ephesus. The position of the Hittite
capital at Pteria fixed the route North of the central plain in general usage
for travelers from East to West, and this was the route followed by the Persian
Royal Road. Later, traffic from the East took the route passing along the South
side of the Axylon, North of Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch to the Lycus,
Maeander and Ephesus. This route coincides with that from the Cilician Gates, from a
point Northeast of Iconium. The need to control the Pisidian tribes in the
reign of Augustus led to the building of a series of roads in Pisidia, radiating
from Antioch; one of these roads led from Antioch to Lystra, and it was the one
traversed by Paul on his journey from Antioch to Iconium (Acts 13:51).
6. Climate and Products: The winter on the central plateau is long and severe,
the summer is short and hot: but a cool breeze from the North (the inbat)
tempers the hot afternoons. The south coast in summer is hot and malarious; in
winter its climate is mild. Much snow fails in the regions adjacent to the Black
Sea. The climate of the west coast resembles that of southern Europe. The country
contains vast mineral wealth; many of the mines were worked by the ancients.
There are forests of pine, oak and fir in the mountains of the North and South.
The central plateau has always been famous for its vast flocks of sheep. King
Amyntas of Galatia owned enormous flocks which pastured on the Lycaonian plain.
Carpets and rugs and other textile products have always been characteristic of
Asia Minor. The wealth of the cities in the province of Asia depended largely
on textile and dyeing industries (Rev 1-3).
II. History.-It follows from what has been said above that the clue to the
history of Asia Minor more almost than in the case of any other country, lies in
its geographical position and structure. "Planted like a bridge between Asia and
Europe," it has been throughout human history the meeting-place and the battle
ground of the peoples of the East and those of the West. From the earliest
period to which our records reach, we find it inhabited by an amalgam of races,
religions and social systems, none of which has ever quite died out. And
throughout history new races, religions and social systems, alike imperishable in many
of their features, have poured into the peninsula to find a home there.
1. The Hittites: At the dawn of history, Asia Minor was ruled by a non-Aryan
people, the Hatti or Hittites about which knowledge is at present accumulating
so fast that no final account of them can be given. See HITTITES. Asia Minor is
now recognized to have been the center of their civilization, as against the
older view that they were a Mesopotamian people. Sculptures and hieroglyphs
belonging to this people have long been known over the whole country from Smyrna to
the Euphrates, and it is almost unanimously assumed that their capital was at
Boghaz Keui (across the Halys from Ancyra). This site has been identified with
much probability with the Pteria of Herodotus, which Croesus captured when he
marched against the Persians, the inference being that the portion of the Hittite
land which lay East of the Halys was at that time a satrapy of the Persian
Empire. Excavations in the extensive ancient city at Boghaz Keui have recently
been carried out by Winckler and Puchstcin, who have discovered remains of the
royal archives. These records are written on clay tablets in cuneiform script;
they are couched partly in Babylonian, partly (presumably) in the still
undeciphered native language. The documents in the Babylonian tongue prove that close
political relations existed between the Hatti and the eastern monarchy. In the 14
th century BC the Hittites appear to have conquered a large part of Syria, and
to have established themselves at Carchemish. Thenceforth, they were in close
touch with Mesopotamia. From about the beginning of the first millennium, the
Hittites "were in constant relations, hostile or neutral, with the Ninevites, and
thenceforward their art shows such marked Assyrian characteristics that it
hardly retains its individuality."
2. Phrygian and Bithynian Immigrations: The date of the Phrygian and Bithynian
immigrations. from southeastern Europe cannot be fixed with certainty, but
they had taken place by the beginning of the first millennium BC. These
immigrations coincide in time with the decline of the Hittite power. After many
wanderings, the Phrygians found a home at the western side of the plateau, and no power
exercised such an influence on the early development of Asia Minor as the
Phrygian, principally in the sphere of religion. The kings of Phrygia "bulked more
impressively in the Greek mind than any other non-Gr monarchy; their language
was the original language and the speech of the goddess herself; their country
was the land of great fortified cities, and their kings were the associates of
the gods themselves." The material remains of the "Phrygian country"-the tomb of
Midas with the fortified acropolis above it, and the many other rock-tombs
around-are the most impressive in Asia Minor Inscriptions in a script like the
early Ionian are cut on some of the tombs. The Phrygian language, an Indo-Germanic
speech with resemblances to both Greek and the Italian languages, is proved by
some seventy inscriptions (a score of them still unpublished) to have been in
common use well into the Christian period. Two recently found inscriptions show
that it was spoken even in Iconium, "the furthermost city of Phrygia," on the
Lycaonian side, until the 3 rd century of our era. Those inscriptions mention
the names of Ma (Cybele) and Attis, whose cult exercised a profound influence on
the religions of Greece and Rome.
3. Lydians, Greeks and Persians: The next monarchy to rise in Asia Minor is
that of Lydia, whose origin is obscure. The Phr
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(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia