"Zaliche" is the form given in the indices of the editions, produced by Peter Wesseling,[1] and by B.G. Niebuhr[2] It is the form given also in Anthon'sClassical Dictionary[3] On the other hand, the contributor (Leonhard Schmitz) of the entry on the town in William Smith'sDictionary of Greek and Roman Geography gives it the name "Zaliches".[4] TheAnnuaire historique of the Société de l'histoire de France treats "Zaliches" instead as the genitive case of "Zaliche'.[5] It appears that the city was at some time also calledLeontopolis.
The manuscripts of theSynecdemus list among the seven cities of Helenopontus one calledΣάλτον Ζαλίχην,[2] which Peter Wesseling believes should be corrected toΣάλτος Ζαλίχης and suggests it indicates that the city was surrounded by forests (Latin:saltus),[1][2] making the name equivalent to "Forest of Zaliche".
At theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787, a priest named Andronicus represented the Bishop John "Ζαλίχων", i.e., of Zaliche (Ζαλίχη, neuter plural). The priest is also called a priest Λεοντοπόλεως ἤτοι Ζαλίχου, an expression that treats "Leontopolis" as another name for the same town. Both Wesseling and the contributor to Smith'sGeography also believe that this is the Leontopolis spoken of inNovella 28 as one of the cities of Helenopontus.[6]
The town was the seat of an ancientbishopric and remains today a vacanttitular see.[7] Leontopolis is first mentioned as a suffragan bishopric of Amaseia in the 6th century and, although declining, survived until the thirteenth.[8][9][10] It is mentioned in the Notitia III and sent delegates toSecond andThird Council of Constantinople.[11] At times this city was merged with the bishopric centered onIsauropolis.[11] but known bishops include:[12]
^Le Quien, Michel (1740).Oriens Christianus, in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus: quo exhibentur ecclesiæ, patriarchæ, cæterique præsules totius Orientis (3 vols.) (in Latin). Paris: Ex Typographia Regia. cols. 539–542.OCLC1015521111.
^abW. M. Ramsay, The Historical Geography of Asia Minor(Cambridge University Press, 24 Jun. 2010) p 362
Turkey