Antiochia ad Taurum (lit. "Antiochia at Taurus") (Ancient Greek:Ἀντιόχεια τοῦ Ταύρου; lit. "Antiochia of Taurus") was aHellenistic city in ancientSyria east of MountAmanus of theTaurus mountain range.[1] Later identified as 'ad Taurum montem' (lit. "at Mount Taurus") in theCommagene province ofSyria.[2]
Antiochia ad Taurum was located to the east of MountAmanus, and in the Second Temple period, Jewish authors seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical borders of the Promised Land, began to construeMount Hor as a reference to theAmanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain.[3][4]
Most modern scholars locate Antiochia ad Taurum at or nearGaziantep (formerly calledAïntab) in the westernmost part of present-dayTurkey'sSoutheastern Anatolia Region,[5][6][7] although past scholars tried to associate it withAleppo (Arabic nameHalab),Syria.[8] It has also been identified withPerrhe nearAdıyaman.[citation needed]
Locating Antiochia ad Taurum at or near (Gaziantep,Turkey),[9] the city lies in the Islahiye valley which connects the lowerOrontes valley to the southern piedmont of the centralTaurus mountain range. During the Bronze Age, the region belonged to the Inner Syrian cultural context, and held a highly strategic significance, over the course of time, for the connections between Upper Mesopotamian and Levantine lowlands on the one hand and the Anatolian highlands on the other.[10]
Coins were minted at Antiochia ad Taurum.[11]
During the Roman Period (1st century CE), Antiochia ad Taurum was located within the Roman provinces of Antiochia orCilicia etSyria, and excluded from Paul's missionary journeys.[12] Antiochia ad Taurum was eventuallyChristianized and formed a bishopricsee as "the episcopal city ofCommagene in Syria with theEuphrates river near its border."[13]
In the Second Temple period, when Jewish authors were seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical definition of the Land, it became customary to construe "Mount Hor" of Num 34:7 as a reference to the Amanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain (Bechard 2000, p. 205, note 98.)
Aintab, Gazi Antep in Turkish, about 80 km. North-Northeast from Aleppo and about forty km. from the Syrian-Turkish border, is commonly held to be the site of Antiochia ad Taurum
Aintab, Gazi Antep in Turkish, about 80 km. North-Northeast from Aleppo and about forty km. from the Syrian-Turkish border, is commonly held to be the site of Antiochia ad Taurum
37°5′N37°24′E / 37.083°N 37.400°E /37.083; 37.400
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