Antioch

(an´ti-ok), a town in Syria, famous in ancient times as the capital of the Greek Kings of Syria, on the left bank of the Orontes, about 21 miles from the sea, in a beautiful and fertile plain. It was founded by Seleucus Nicator in 300 B.C. , and named after his father Antiochus. In Roman times it was the seat of the Syrian governors, and the centre of a widely-extended commerce. It was called the 'Queen of the East' and 'The Beautiful'. Antioch is frequently mentioned in the New Testament, and it was here that the disciples of our Saviour were first called Christians ( Acts , xi, 26). In the first half of the seventh century it was taken by the Saracens, and in 1098 by the Crusaders. They established the principality of Antioch, of which the first ruler was Bohemond, and which lasted till 1268, when it was taken by the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. In 1516 it pa ed into the hands of the Turks. The modern Antioch, or Antakieh , has recently grown from a small place to a flourishing town. Pop. estimated at 30,000.—There was another Antioch, in Pisidia, at which St. Paul preached on his first mi ionary journey. IMG:4014330425200354480_image072.jpg:Antiochus Epiphanes Medal of Antiochus Epiphanes