 TheTemple of Apollo is located at the end of Side's peninsula. | |
  Side Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Antalya Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Pamphylia |
| Coordinates | 36°46′00″N31°23′20″E / 36.76667°N 31.38889°E /36.76667; 31.38889 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | 7th century BCE |
| Cultures | Greek,Roman,Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | In ruin |
Side (formerlySelimiye) is a city on the southern Mediterranean coast ofTurkey. It includes the modern resort town and the ruins of the ancient city of Side, one of the best-known classical sites in the country. Modern Side is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district ofManavgat,Antalya Province,Turkey.[1] Its population is 14,527 (2022).[2] Before the2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde).[3][4] It lies nearManavgat, 78 km fromAntalya.[5]
It is located on the eastern part of thePamphylian coast, which lies about 20 km east of the mouth of theEurymedon River. Today, as in antiquity, the ancient city is situated on a small north-southpeninsula about 1 km long and 400 m across.
Pseudo-Scylax,[6]Strabo andArrian[7] record that Side was founded byGreek settlers fromCyme inAeolis, a region of westernAnatolia. This most likely occurred in the 7th century BC. A basalt column base from the 7th century BC found in the excavations and attributable to theNeo-Hittites is evidence of the site's early history.
Possessing a good harbour for small craft, Side's natural geography made it one of the most important trade centres in the region.
Itstutelary deity wasAthena, whose head adorned its coinage.
Excavations have revealed several inscriptions written in thelanguage of Side. The inscriptions, dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, remain undeciphered, but testify that the local language was still in use several centuries after colonisation.
Alexander the Great occupied Side without a struggle in 333 BC. Alexander left only a single garrison behind to occupy the city. This occupation, in turn, introduced the people of Side toHellenistic culture, which flourished from the 4th to the 1st century BC. After Alexander's death, Side fell under the control of one of Alexander's generals,Ptolemy I Soter, who declared himself king ofEgypt in 305 BC. ThePtolemaic dynasty controlled Side until it was captured by theSeleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. Yet, despite these occupations, Side managed to preserve some autonomy, grew prosperous, and became an important cultural centre.
In 190 BC a fleet from the Greek islandcity-state ofRhodes, supported byRome andPergamum, defeated the Seleucid KingAntiochus the Great's fleet, which was under the command of the fugitiveCarthaginian generalHannibal. The defeat of Hannibal and Antiochus the Great meant that Side freed itself from the overlord-ship of theSeleucid Empire.
TheTreaty of Apamea (188 BC) forced Antiochus to abandon all European territories and to cede all of Asia Minor north of the Taurus Mountains toPergamum. However, the dominion of Pergamum only reached de facto as far asPerga, leaving EasternPamphylia in a state of uncertain freedom. This ledAttalus II Philadelphus to construct a new harbour in the city ofAttalia (the present Antalya), although Side already possessed an important harbour of its own. Between 188 and 36 BC Side minted its own money,tetradrachms showingNike and a laurel wreath (the sign of victory).
In the 1st century BC, Side reached a peak when theCilician pirates established their chief naval base and a centre for theirslave-trade.
The consulServilius Vatia defeated these brigands in 78 BC and later the Roman generalPompey in 67 BC, bringing Side under the control of Rome and beginning its second period of ascendancy, when it established and maintained a good working relationship with the Roman Empire.[8]
EmperorAugustus reformed the state administration and placed Pamphylia and Side in the Roman province ofGalatia in 25 BC, after the short reign ofAmyntas of Galatia between 36 and 25 BC. Side began another prosperous period as a commercial centre inAsia Minor through its trade in olive oil. Its population grew to 60,000 inhabitants. This period would last well into the 3rd century AD. Side also established itself as a slave-trading centre in theMediterranean. Its large commercial fleet engaged in acts of piracy, while wealthy merchants paid for such tributes as public works, monuments, and competitions as well as the games and gladiator fights. Most of the extant ruins at Side date from this period of prosperity.
Side was the home ofEustathius of Antioch, of the philosopherTroilus, of the fifth-century ecclesiastical writer Philip; of the famous lawyerTribonian.[9]
Side began a steady decline from the 4th century on. Even defensive walls could not stop successive invasions of highlanders from the Taurus Mountains. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Side experienced a revival, and became the seat of the Bishopric of Eastern Pamphylia. Arab fleets, nevertheless, raided and burned Side during the 7th century, contributing to its decline. The combination of earthquakes, Christian zealots and Arab raids, left the site abandoned by the 10th century, its citizens having emigrated to nearby Attalia.[8]
In the 12th century, Side temporarily established itself once more as a large city. An inscription found on the site of the former ancient city shows a considerableJewish population in earlyByzantine times. However, Side was abandoned again after being sacked. Its population moved toAttalia, and Side became known as Eski Adalia 'Old Antalya' and was buried.
As capital of theRoman province ofPamphylia Prima, Side was ecclesiastically themetropolitan see. The earliest known bishop was Epidaurus, presiding at theSynod of Ancyra, 314. Others are John, fourth century; Eustathius, 381; Amphilochius, 426-458, who played an important part in the history of the time; Conon, 536; Peter, 553; John, 680-692; Mark, 879; Theodore, 1027-1028; Anthimus, present at the synod held at Constantinople in 1054; John, then counsellor to the EmperorMichael VII Ducas, presided at a council on the worship of images, 1082; Theodosius and his successor Nicetas, twelfth century. John, present at a synod at Constantinople in 1156. TheNotitiae Episcopatuum continued to mention Side as a metropolis of Pamphylia until the thirteenth century. It does not appear in the "Notitia" ofAndronicus III. In 1397 the diocese was united with that ofAttalia; in 1400 the Metropolitan ofPerge and Attalia was at the same time the administrator of Side.[10][citation needed]
No longer a residential see, Side is today included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.[11]
The great ruins are among the most notable in Asia Minor. They cover a large promontory which a wall and a moat separate from the mainland. Archaeologists have been excavating Side since 1947 and intermittently continue to do so.[12]
The colossal theatre complex of the 2nd century is less well-preserved that ofAspendos, but it is almost as large, seating 15,000–20,000 people. It was converted into an open-air sanctuary with two chapels duringByzantine times (5th or 6th century).
The well-preserved city walls provide an entrance to the site through the Hellenistic main gate (Megale Pyle) from the 2nd century BC.
The colonnaded street had marble columns whose remains can be seen near the Roman baths, restored as a museum displaying statues and sarcophagi from the Roman period. Theagora includes the remains of the roundTyche andFortuna temple (2nd century BC), peripteral with twelve columns, in the centre. In later times it was used as a trading centre where pirates sold slaves.
The early Roman Temple ofDionysus is near the theatre. The fountain gracing the entrance is restored. At the left side is a Byzantine Basilica.[8]
Other buildings include three temples and anymphaeum, a grotto or fountain building of elaborate design, and a synagogue which was discovered under a modern place of residence.[13]
Excavation teams also found an ancient Greek brothel.[14]
TheRoman aqueduct dates from 2nd half of the 2nd century AD and is 30 km in length. The aqueduct is special because it has an exceptional number of bridges which are still preserved as well as tunnels. This was because the altitude difference between source and city is only 36 m, so to make the gradient as high as possible it was necessary to keep the route as straight and short as possible through the hilly terrain, which entailed more expensive bridges (22 in total) and 16 tunnels 100-2260m long.
It was restored in the first half of the 3rd century, financed by Lollianos Bryonianos from Side according to an inscription.
In 1895,Turkish Muslim Immigrants fromCrete moved to the area of the ruins and called it Selimiye; they also built houses over the ruins when theCretan Turks moved there.[15][16][17] Today, Side has become a popularholiday destination as a result of the expansion of the Antalya coastal project and is experiencing a revival.
It was a popular spot for watching thesolar eclipse of March 29, 2006.
The bustling street called Liman Caddesi connects the town bus station with the square on the seafront, where the statue ofAtatürk is situated.[18]
Media related toSide at Wikimedia Commons
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Side".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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