The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-04-26

famous Temple of Apollo. Ii fell into
the hands of the Romans IN o4 Is. T.,
and was planted with Latin colony,
whose members enjoyed the especial
privileges Of Roman citizens. Soon alter
the death of Christ the Gospel was
preached by the Apostles, and Hour
ishing Christian Church was founded.
Indeed, il was at Antioch that the FOL
lowers Of Jesus first assumed the name
of Christians. About ll5 A. l.. 1t SUI
fered terribly from an earthquake, but
was restored by the Emperor Trejan.
In l55 A. ID. il was destroyed by ire,
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 IL was the
principal seat of the true faith IN the
East, ten councils being held within It's
walls between the years 252 and 3oO.
When the Latin power waned, II sui
fered greatly from the attacks oil Persia,
and about the same period endured
three great famines, one OF which, IN
33l, was so severe that wheat rose To the
price oil 400 pieces OF silver bushel.
Between the fourth and seventh centu-
ries, the city was three times destroyed
by earthquakes. In the sixth century
il was made the seat of patrlarchate,
which included in it. province the
Syrian, Mesopotanian and Ciliclan
Churches. IL was taken by the Sara
Gems in 635, together with the rest OF
Syria, and from that time has steadily
declined IN importance. In go II was
again annexed TO the Western Roman
Empire, and, having been retaken in
1884, was in 1923 captured by the Cru
saders and made the seat OF little
Christian kingdom, under Bohemod,
the son OF Robert Guiscard. 1t re-
NAMED in Christian hands for nearly
two centuries, and was then taken, after
terrible losses, by Bibaro, Sultan Of
Egypt. Since then its history has been
one of constantly waning prosperity.
The Christian religion almost died out,
and, though it had fourteen mosques, 1t
did not possess single Christian church
until an American missionary was sent
there few years ago TO found new
church. In this he met with signal sue
cess, and the missionary journals occa-
sionally contain very interesting ac-
counts Of this revival OF the influences
Of the cross. In 1922 it was again de-
stroyed by terrible earthquake. In APP
pearance Antakiek is at present mis-
cradle little Arab city OF about seven
thousand inhabitants, built of square
mud houses, with sloping and flat roofs
by the way, an unusual feature for an
Eastern city-and with narrow little
streets, noisome, with stagnant pools of
water and alive with troops OF hungry,
NANCY ours. Strange as it may seem,
the American civil war somewhat i'm.
proved for time the prospects of this
ruined city. Stimulated by the high
price of cotton, the incident owners of
the soil in the neighborhood, which is
very well fitted for such culture, became
industrious cotton raisers, and there
was even a cotton mill founded by an
English company. The latter enter
prise, however, did not pay, and was
abandoned a couple OF years ago; and
since cotton has gone down the landed
proprietors have subsidized into their
natural state of needy idleness.
From the preceding sketch it will be
seen that there have previously been
destructive earthquakes IN Aleppo in
years us, ass, 526, 5S7 and 1922 1t is
curious fact that this city is within
thousand or fifteen hundred miles of
the antipodes OF California, where our
last earthquake sensation occurred.