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Mallos ( Greek  Μαλλός ; Latin Mallus ) was an ancient city ​​in eastern, the "flat" Cilicia , near the present-day Turkish town of Kızıltahta, 28 kilometers southeast of Adana . It was located on the western bank of the river Pyramos (today's Ceyhan ), which at that time flowed into the Mediterranean Sea at Magarsos (the port of Mallos, near today's Karataş ). The Pyramus emptied into a lagoon, which after the diversion of the river under Justinian became a freshwater lake (Rhegma).

history

Mallos was one of the oldest cities in Cilicia. Like Soloi , it was considered an Argive foundation. In Hellenistic times, Mallos traced its founding back to the mythical figure Amphilochus , a son of Amphiaraos . Alexander the Great moved in 333 BC. By Mallos and settled disputes between the citizens. As an alleged descendant of the Argive Heracles , he canceled the city's tribute to the great king. The city was an important base for Antigonos Monophthalmos during the Diadoch Wars . He wintered there 315/314 BC. Chr .; 312 BC Chr. Took Ptolemy I , the city and sold the inhabitants into slavery. Mallos was apparently not destroyed, and a number of Hellenistic inscriptions exist . Antiochus III. took the city in 197 BC A. Mallos belonged to the Seleucid Empire and in the 2nd century BC For a time the name Antioch at the Pyramos (after Antiochus IV. ).

Obol from Mallos with Gorgoneion
Back of the obol from the 4th century BC. With sphinx

67 BC The Roman general Pompey settled in Mallos like in other Cilician cities defeated pirates . In 260 AD the city was conquered by the Sassanids . Mallos had been a bishopric since the 4th century. Even after the Arab conquest , the city continued to exist. In 963 it was set on fire by Johannes Tzimiskes and was abandoned, the name probably passed to the neighboring Magarsos.

In the tradition of the lost bishopric, the titular bishopric Mallus of the Catholic Church stands.

ruins

In the village of Kızıltahta numerous ancient stones were found as spolia , including a funerary inscription which the city names Mallos. Between the modern village and the river is the place of the ancient settlement on a hilltop. Remains of a Roman bridge have been found on the Ceyhan. William Mitchell Ramsay accepted another position from Mallos at Karataş ; the remains of the settlement near Kızıltahta were discovered in 1950.

Famous citizens

Mallos was the birthplace of the philosopher Krates von Mallos (2nd century BC).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christopher P. Jones , James Russel: Two New Inscriptions from Nagidos in Cilicia . In: Phoenix 47, 1993, p. 301.
  2. ↑ Arrian , Anabasis 2, 5, 9.
  3. ↑ Diodorus 19, 56, 5.
  4. ↑ Diodorus 19, 79, 6, compare 80, 2.
  5. ^ William Mitchell Ramsay: Cilicia, Tarsus, and the Great Taurus Pass . In: The Geographical Journal 22, 1903, p. 361.
  6. ↑ Michael Gough: Mallos. Cilicia Campestris, Turkey . In: Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites . University Press, Princeton 1976.

Coordinates: 36 ° 45 '  N , 35 ° 29'  E