Marshall County Republican., 1872-04-25

the most famous in Syria, and at one
period was even more wealthy and
splendid and populous than either of
its great rivals, Aleppo and Damascus.
1t is situated on the river Aazi 1.-THE an
cient Orontes), about twenty miles from
its mouth, and thirty-four miles west OF
Aleppo. 1t was founded about 300 B. G.
by Seleucus Nicator, and named by him
in honor of his father, Antiochus,
fifteen other cities, none of which have,
| however, so successfully survived the
attacks of time, enjoying, at about the
same period, like distinction Situated
directly in the track of the caravans
from Mesopotamia and Persia, in q
beautiful valley at the foot of the noun
tains, which rise at this point from a
narrow fringe of low-lying shore, with
| abundance of water and singularly
fertile soil, the city soon became won
derfully prosperous, and the wares of
Bagdad and Mosul, of Cashmere and
Benares, halted in caravansaries on their
way to the bazars of Byzantium and the
markets of Rome. One cause of its
wealth and greatness was no doubt the
energy and industry Of the colony of
Greeks, of Athenian ancestry, by whom
it was peopled, and who had been re-
moved froIn the neigh boring city of
Antigonium by Seleucus. 1t was for
several generations the favorite resi-
dence of the Seleucid Princes and be-
came the capital of Syria. Splendid
palaces and baths and amphiteaters and
temples were built by the muniicence
of its rulers until it was as celebrated
all over the Eastern world for the gran
deur of its architecture as for the wealth
and luxury and devotion to pleasure of
its inhabitants. No doubt it fairly
earned the compliment of being termed
.. "Antioch the Beautiful and the Queen
, of the East" At the height of its
, splendor it numbered 100000 inhabi-
5 tants, and was the scene of almost unin-
terrupted spectacles and fetes.
3 It's suburbs were especially noted for
their beauty A ring Of verdure sur
rounded its walls of reddish stone, and
at its gates were the sacred fountains
and groves of Daphne, and the world
famous Temple of Apollo. 1t fell into
the hands of the Romans in 64 B. c.,
and was planted with Latin colony,
; whose members enjoyed the especial
privileges of Roman citizens. Soon after
the death of Christ the Gospel was
, preached by the Apostles, and -four
ishing Christian Church was founded.
! Indeed, it was at Antioch that the fol-
lowers of Jesus first assumed the name
Of Christians. About 1l5 A. D. it suf-
! fered terribly from an earthquake, but
was restored by the Emperor Trajan.
In l55 A. D. it was destroyed by fire,
! but was again rebuilt. AS the Christian
! religion spread over the Roman Empire
its inhabitants gradually became ex
+. clusively Christian, and in the second,
third and fourth centuries it was the
: principal seat of the true faith in the
: East, ten councils being held within its
walls between the years 252 and $50.
! When the Latin power waned, it suf-
: fered greatly from the attacks Of Persia,
and about the same period endured
! three great famines, one OF which, in
: 33l. was so severe that wheat rose to the
! price OF 400 pieces of silver bushel.
, Between the fourth and seventh centu-
! ries, the city was three times destroyed
? by earthquakes. In the sixth century
! it was made the seat of q patriarchate,
= which included in its province the
: : Syrian, Mesopotanian and Cilician
= Churches 1t was taken by the Sara
r Gems in 635, together with the rest of
- Syria, and from that tine has steadily
|
y again annexed to the Western Roman
2 Empire, and, having been retaken in
! 1884, was in 1898 captured by the Cru
: saders and made the seat of little
lo Christian kingdom, under Bohemod,
! the son of Robert Guiscard 1t re-
~ mained in Christian hands for nearly
" two centuries, and was then taken, after
. terrible losses, by Bibaro, Sultan of
- Eox-,,+ Sinoo than itc hjc+Or1y hoe haa0
y one of constantly waning prosperity.
: The Christian religion almost died out,
y and, though it had fourteen mosques, it
: did not possess single Christian church
until an American missionary was sent
: there few years ago to found a new
y church. In this he met with signal sue
: cess, and the missionary journals occa-
- sionally contain very interesting ac-
7 counts of this revival of the Influences
- of the cross. In 1922 it was again de
Z stroyed by terrible earthquake. In ap-
pearance Antakiek is at present a mis-
: erable little Arab city OF about seven
Il thousand inhabitants, built Of square
- mud houses, with sloping and fiat roofs
- by the way, an unusual feature for an
Eastern city-and with narrow little
streets, noisome, with stagnant pools OF
N water, and alive with troops of hungry,
If If NANCY ours. Strange as it may seem,
j the American civil war somewhat i'm
proved for a time the prospects of this
a. ruined city. Stimulated by the high
price of cotton, the indolent owners OF
Id the soil in the neighborhood, which is
e very well fitted for such culture, became
al industrious cotton raisers, and there
le was even O. cotton mill founded by an
n English company. The latter enter
,e prise, however, did not pay, and was
N abandoned coaple of years ago; and
r since cotton has gone down the landed
in proprietors have subsidized into their
as natural state of needy idleness.
rs From the preceding sketch it will be
n seen that there have previously been
d, destructive earthquakes in Aleppo in
is years lis, 45S, 526, 5S7 and 1922. II i:
ID curious fact that this city is within
ID thousand or fifteen hundred miles O.
e, the antipodes of California, where oul
c. last earthquake sensation occurred.
ii
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