Colossae: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox historic site

  | name           = Colossae

  | native_names  = {{native name|grc|Κολοσσαί}}

  | alternate_name =  

  | image         = TR Colossae site asv2020-02 img08.jpg

  | alt           = Ruins of Colossae

  | caption       = Ruins of Colossae

  | locmapin      = Turkey #Asia

  | map_alt       = #Asia

  | image_map_size = 275

  | map_relief    = ye

  | coordinates   = {{coord|37|47|12|N|29|15|36|E|region:TR|display=inline,title}}

  | location       =  

  | region         = [[Phrygia]]

  | type           =  

  | part_of       = [[West Asia]]

  | length         =  

  | width         =  

  | area           =  

  | height         =  

  | builder       =  

  | material       =  

  | built         =  

  | abandoned     =  

  | epochs         =  

  | cultures       =  

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  | excavations   =  

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  | public_access =  

  | website       = {{Official URL}}

'''Colossae''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|ɒ|s|i}}; {{langx|grc|Κολοσσαί}}), sometimes called '''Colosse''',<ref>[[New Living Translation]]</ref> also identified by medieval writers as '''Chonae''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Χῶναι), was a city in [[Phrygia]], in southern [[Asia Minor]].

 

A significant city from the 5th century BC onwards, it was notable for its healing springs and its veneration of [[Michael (archangel)|Archangel Michael]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Piccardi |first1=Luigi |title=The AD 60 Denizli Basin earthquake and the apparition of Archangel Michael at Colossae (Aegean Turkey) |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |date=2007 |volume=273 |issue=1 |pages=95–105 |doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.273.01.08|bibcode=2007GSLSP.273...95P |s2cid=129096978 }}</ref> The [[Epistle to the Colossians]], an early Christian text which identifies its author as [[Paul the Apostle]], is addressed to the church in Colossae. The city was part of the Roman and Byzantine province of [[Phrygia Pacatiana]].  

Colossae was in [[Phrygia]], in Asia Minor.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5GJaakRvPgC&q=Colossae+was+located+in+Phrygia,+in+Asia+Minor.&pg=PA71 |title=The Uttermost Part of the Earth: A Guide to Places in the Bible |last=Losch |first=Richard R. |date=2005 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=9780802828057}}</ref> It was located {{convert|15|km|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]] on the road through the [[Lycus (river of Phrygia)|Lycus]] Valley near the Lycus River at the foot of [[Mt. Cadmus]], the highest mountain in Turkey's western [[Aegean Region]], between the cities of [[Sardis]] and [[Celaenae]], and southeast of the ancient city of [[Hierapolis]].<ref>Trainor, Michael, ''Colossae - Colossal In Name Only?'' [[Biblical Archaeology Review]], March/April 2019, Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 45.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Brill's New Pauly: encyclopaedia of the ancient world. Antiquity. [CAT-CYP] |date=2002–2010 |publisher=Brill |last1=Cancik |first1=Hubert |last2=Schneider |first2=Helmuth |last3=Salazar |first3=Christine F |last4=Orton |first4=David E. |isbn=9004122664 |location=Leiden |page=579 |oclc=54952013}}</ref>  [[Herodotus]] said that at Colossae "the river Lycos falls into an opening of the earth and disappears from view, and then after an interval of about five furlongs it comes up to view again, and this river also flows into the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander River]]".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2456 |title=The History of Herodotus — Volume 2 by Herodotus}}</ref> Ancient Colossae is situated in the modern province of [[Honaz]], to the north of its later medieval counterpart of Chonae, with what remains of the buried ruins of Colossae ("the mound") lying {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} to the north of Honaz.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Cadwallader, Alan H. |author2=Trainor, Michael |year=2011 |title=Colossae in Space and Time: Linking to an Ancient City |chapter=Colossae in Space and Time: Overcoming Dislocation, Dismemberment and Anachronicity | series = Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus/Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments (NTOA/StUNT), Vol. 94 |editor=Cadwallader, Alan H. |editor2=Trainor, Michael |pages=9–47 |location=Göttingen, GER |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3647533971 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=3525533977 |access-date=17 February 2016}} The case is made exhaustively in this book, over pages 11-37, wherein it states—after dispensing with a further false association of the ancient city with the island of Rhodes the home of The Colossus of Rhodes, which resulted in its being misplaced for hundreds of years (by "almost 200 kilometers to the south-west," p. 18ff)—in summary, that: "Colossae's various positions on early maps confirmed the confusion over identity [opening section title]. Cartographers positioned Colossae to the west (rather than south-east) of Laodicea⁷ or, as 'Conos', between Laodicea to the north-west and Hieropolis to the north-east.⁸ [p. 11] … 'Chonos' or some other guesttimation of the spelling of Honaz¹² sometimes subsumed Colossae. [p. 13] … The inhabitants of the immediate vicinity of the ancient site [Colossae, which had ceased to exist] were shackled in bureaucratic tabulation for tax purposes to the town of Honaz. [p. 14] … When Frances Arundell's sketch of Honaz appeared in 1834, the town had descended from the mountain heights [it was a mountain fortress, Honazdağ] but it was similarly labelled, albeit after the fashion of Nicetas Choniates: 'Chonas, … anciently Colossae'.⁹⁸ [p. 32] … The question was whether Honaz and Colossae were to be equated or separated and whether the contemporary Honaz was the means to pinpoint the ancient… site. [p. 33] … William Hamilton became the one credited with the separation of Colossae from Chonai with the former's location at the mound three kilometers to the north of Honaz.¹⁰⁸ [p. 35] … Two photographs of the 'Ruines de Colossae' and 'Chonas' by Henri Carmignac published toward the endif the nineteenth century finally eliminated the concordant visualisation of the places that had been the legacy of Arundell ''(Fig. 11)''.¹¹³ [p. 37]." For much earlier sources presenting the errant historical opinion, see the next two citations.</ref><ref name="Smith">{{cite book |author=Smith, William |year=1854 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography |chapter=Colossae |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:id=colossae-geo |publisher=Walton & Maberly |location=London}}</ref><ref name=P>{{cite book |author=Pétridès, Sophrone |year=1908 |title=Catholic Encyclopedia |chapter=Colossae |location=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |volume=4 |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04131a.htm}}</ref>

The medieval poet [[Manuel Philes]] incorrectly said that the name ''Colossae'' was connected to the [[Colossus of Rhodes]].<ref name="Cad-Train">Cadwallader, Alan H., and Michael Trainor (2011). "Colossae in Space and Time: Overcoming Dislocation, Dismemberment and Anachronicity". In Cadwallader and Trainor, eds. ''Colossae in Space and Time: Linding to an Ancient City.'' Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 18–19.</ref> More recently, in an interpretation that ties Colossae to an Indo-European root that happens to be shared with the word ''kolossos'', Jean-Pierre Vernant has connected the name to the idea of setting up a sacred space or shrine.<ref>Vernant, Jean-Pierre (2006) [1965]. ''Myth and Thought Among the Greeks''. Third edition of a translation from the French originally published in 1983, from a French work published in 1965. Zone Books. p. 321.</ref> Another proposal relates the name to the Greek ''kolazo'' 'to punish'.<ref name="Cad-Train" /> Others have said the name derives from its manufacture of dyed wool, or ''colossinus''.<ref name="autogenerated47">Trainor, Michael, ''Colossae - Colossal In Name Only?'' [[Biblical Archaeology Review]], March/April 2019, Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 47.</ref>

{{expand section|a cohesive account of the history of the municipality and its peoples and cultures, as appear in many texts on the subject|small=no|date=February 2016}}

The first mention of the city may be in a 17th-century BC [[Hittite language|Hittite]] inscription, which speaks of a city called Huwalušija, which some archeologists believe is a reference to early Colossae.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

The 5th-century geographer [[Herodotus]] first mentions Colossae by name and said it was a "great city in Phrygia", which accommodates the Persian king [[Xerxes I]] while en route to wage war against the Greeks in the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], showing the city had already reached a certain level of wealth and size by this time.<ref>Trainor, Michael, ''Colossae - Colossal In Name Only?'' ''[[Biblical Archaeology Review]]'', March/April 2019, Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 46.</ref>  

====Roman period====

 

 

The Apostolic Constitutions list Philemon as a bishop of Colossae.<ref>{{cite book |translator=James Donaldson |year=1886 |title=Apostolic Constitutions. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. |chapter=(Book VII) Section 4 |location=Buffalo, NY |publisher=Christian Literature Publishing Co. |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/07157.htm |access-date=2018-12-28 |quote=Of Colossæ, Philemon.}}</ref> On the other hand, the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' considers Philemon doubtful.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pétridès, Sophrone |year=1908 |title=Catholic Encyclopedia |chapter=Colossae |location=New York |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04131a.htm |access-date=2018-12-28 |quote=Besides St. Epaphras... Archippus and Philemon, especially the latter, are very doubtful.}}</ref> The first historically documented bishop is Epiphanius,{{when|date=February 2016}} who was not personally at the [[Council of Chalcedon]], but whose metropolitan bishop Nunechius of [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]], the capital of the [[Roman province]] of [[Phrygia Pacatiana]], signed the acts on his behalf.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

 

Colossae was associated with a miracle, where a sacristan named Archippos was said to have witnessed the Archangel thwart a plan by non-Christians to destroy a church by flooding it with the waters of nearby mountain rivers. The Archangel with his staff opened a wide fissure in a rock and commanded the rushing water to plunge into it, saving the church. The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] commemorates this event on September 6, and the city of Colossae was identified as Chonae (meaning "to plunge") since.<ref>[https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2000/09/06/102517-commemoration-of-the-miracle-of-the-archangel-michael-at-colossa "Orthodox Church In America. Commemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Colossae. Lives of the Saints"]</ref> Though according to modern researchers, the locations of the ancient city of Colossae and the medieval city of Chonae are separate from one another, as Colossae was situated further to the north.<ref name="Smith"/><ref name="P"/>

===Middle Ages===

====Byzantine period====

{{expand section|with sourced material relevant to its invasion by the Arabs|date=January 2026}}

The city's fame and renowned status continued into the Byzantine period, when the settlement was distinguished in 858 as a Metropolitan See and possibly served as the capital of the [[Thracesian Theme]] from the 7th to the 11th century. The Byzantines also built the Church of Archangel Michael in the vicinity of Chonae, one of the largest churches in the Middle East. The town may have decreased in size, or may have even been temporarily abandoned due to Arab invasions in the 7th and 8th centuries,<ref name="autogenerated47"/> but it soon recovered and became a vital economic and religious center.<ref name="Vryonis">[[Speros Vryonis|Vryonis, Speros]] (1971). [[iarchive:declineofmedieva0000vryo|The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press.]] pp. 154, 155, 195</ref>

[[File:Miracle at Chonae (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Miracle of the Archangel Michael at Colossae ([[Menologion of Basil II]], c. 1000 AD)]]

In 1070 Chonae was sacked by the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] [[Afshin Bey|Afshin]], who killed its residents, pillaged the Church of Archangel Michael and turned the shrine into a horse stable for the invading [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkomans]]. The surviving residents of the city attempted to escape in a nearby cave close to a river, but the water level suddenly rose and flooded the cave, drowning all the survivors who escaped there.<ref name="Vryonis"/>

The city slightly recovered during the [[Byzantine Empire under the Komnenos dynasty|Komnenian period]], and became a suffragan diocese of Laodicea in Phyrigia Pacatiana.<ref name=":0" /> Chonae and its church were ravaged on two more occasions in the latter half of the 12th century by the Turkish mercenaries of the rebels [[Theodore Mangaphas]] and [[Pseudo-Alexios II]]. The Turks destroyed the mosaics, the altar, and then the church itself.<ref name="Vryonis"/> The city was conquered by the Seljuks and was governed by the Byzantine renegade [[Manuel Maurozomes]] until 1230. In 1257 Chonae (along with Laodikeia and the two fortresses of ''Sakaina'' and ''Ypsele'') were given to the [[Empire of Nicaea]] by Sultan [[Kaykaus II]], in exchange for military support in regaining [[Konya|Iconium]], but only a few years later the city was lost to [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkomans]].<ref>[[Ruth Macrides|Macrides, Ruth]] (2007). George Akropolites: The History. Oxford University Press. pp. 325-327</ref>

====Late Christian history====

In 1370 the [[Metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|metropolitanate]] of Chonae was assumed by [[Kütahya|Kytaion]] and in 1384 it was assumed by [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]], following the decline of its Christian population during the period of the [[Anatolian beyliks|Anatolian Beyliks]].<ref>[[Speros Vryonis|Vryonis, Speros]] (1971). [[iarchive:declineofmedieva0000vryo|The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press.]] pp. 297, 298</ref>

==Modern study and archeology==

{{expand section|with SOURCED material relevant to the history of its mapping and historical and literary discussion (see further reading), and on plans for its excavation|small=no|date=February 2016}}

The site exhibits a biconical [[acropolis]] almost {{convert|100|ft|m}} high, and encompasses an area of almost {{convert|22|acre}}. On the eastern slope there sits a theater which probably seated around 5,000 people, suggesting a total population of 25,000–30,000 people. The theater was probably built during the Roman period, and may be near an agora that abuts the ''[[cardo maximus]]'', or the city's main north–south road. Ceramic finds around the theater confirm the city's early occupation in the third and second millennia BC. Northeast of the [[tell (archaeology)|tell]], and most likely outside the city walls, a [[necropolis]] displays [[Hellenistic]] tombs with two main styles of burial: one with an antecedent room connected to an inner chamber, and [[tumulus|tumuli]], or underground chambers accessed by stairs leading to the entrance. Outside the tell, there are also remains of sections of columns that may have marked a processional way, or the ''cardo''. Today, the remains of one column marks the location where locals believe a church once stood, possibly that of Archangel Michael.<ref name="autogenerated48" /> Near the Lycus River, there is evidence that water channels had been cut out of the rock with a complex of pipes and sluice gates to divert water for bathing and for agricultural and industrial purposes.<ref>Trainor, Michael, ''Colossae - Colossal In Name Only?'' [[Biblical Archaeology Review]], March/April 2019, Vol. 45, No. 2, p. 49.</ref>

 

 

==See also ==

[[Category:Honaz]]