 Overview of Perga | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Aksu, Antalya, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Lukka Pamphylia |
| Coordinates | 36°57′41″N30°51′14″E / 36.96139°N 30.85389°E /36.96139; 30.85389 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | By 1209 BC |
| Periods | Chalcolithic Age toMiddle Ages |
| Cultures | |
| Associated with | Apollonius |
Perga orPerge (Hittite:Parha[a],Greek:ΠέργηPerge,Turkish:Perge) was originally an ancient Lycian settlement[b] that later became aGreek city inPamphylia.[14] It was the capital of the Roman province ofPamphylia Secunda, now located inAntalya Province on the southwestern Mediterranean coast ofTurkey. Today its ruins lie 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east ofAntalya.
It was the birthplace ofApollonius of Perga, one of the most notableancient Greek mathematicians for his work onconic sections. A unique and prominent feature for a Roman city was the long central water channel in the centre of the main street which contained a series of cascading pools and which would have been remarkable even today in a semi-arid area where summer temperatures reach over 30 degrees Celsius.
Perge was situated on the coastal plain between the Rivers Catarrhactes (Düden Nehri) andCestrus (Aksu), about 11 km from the mouth of the latter.[15][16][17][18]
The history of the city dates back to the Late Chalcolitic Era or Early Bronze Age.[19] Excavations in the original settlement on theacropolis date it to the earlyBronze Age, 4000-3000 BC.[20] Pottery found in the Perga Acropolis is linked to the Early Bronze Age pottery traditions in Western Anatolia.[21]
From a bronze tablet discovered in 1986 inHattusas, a treaty between theHittite Great KingTudhaliya IV and his vassal, the king ofTarhuntassa, defined the latter's western border at the city "Parha" and the "Kastaraya River".[22] The river is assumed to be the classical Cestrus. West of Parha were the "Lukka Lands".[23] Parha likely spoke a late Luwian dialect like Lycian and that of the neo-Hittite kingdoms.
The settlement probably became a Greek colony ofRhodes in the 7th c. BC. Perge was later a Pamphylian Greek city, and came under successive rule by Persians, Athenians, and Persians again.
In 540 BC Perga, along with the other cities in Pamphylia was captured by theAchaemenid Empire. During the reign ofDarius I, it was a part of theSatrapy of Ionia. There is no archeological evidence that shows the Achaemenid rule overPamphylia but some classical sources do exist.Herodotus mentions that Pamphlyians sent aid to the military campaign ofXerxes against the Greeks, so it must have been under the control of the Achaemenids. According toDiodorus Siculus, Perge was one of the cities that rebelled against the Achaemenid rule during theGreat Satraps' Revolt in 360 BC.[24]
Alexander the Great, after takingPhaselis, was welcomed in Perge with his army in 334 BC. Alexander's rule was followed by theDiadochi empire of theSeleucids. The walls around the lower city were built in the period starting from 223 BC. In the 2nd century BC the city became prosperous and started minting its own coins with the image of Artemis and her temple.[25] Perge became renowned for the worship ofArtemis, whose temple stood on a hill outside the town, and in whose honour annual festivals were celebrated.[26][27][28][29]
Following the defeat of the Seleucids by the Romans in 188 BC, the wider area was gifted by the Romans to theAttalid kingdom. When its last king died without heirs in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom, including Perga, to theRoman Republic. After 25 BC, the Romans built theVia Sebaste linking PisidianAntioch inGalatia with Perge. When the Romans first incorporated Perga into the Empire, the city was a part of the Province ofGalatia. After theFlavian Dynasty was founded by EmperorVespasian, the city became a part of theLycia et Pamphylia province. Vespasian also granted the city the rank ofneocorate which made the city in charge of theimperial cult.[30]
During the 2nd century AD there was a construction boom in the city, fueled byPax Romana and excessive wealth. The city center was expanded to the South side of the city and new monuments were erected. Perga also had many philanthropists during the Roman Empire period who financed the construction of monumental structures.[31]
Under the Romans from the 1st to the 3rd century AD the town became a magnificent city with many impressive buildings. It became one of the most beautiful towns in Anatolia, competing withSide for the status of most important town in Pamphylia.Plancia Magna (d. 122), daughter of the governorMarcus Plancius Varus, was the greatest benefactor and instigator of public buildings and was honoured with statues erected by the town council. In 46 AD, according to theActs of the Apostles,St. Paul journeyed to Perga. Paul andBarnabas came to Perge during theirfirst missionary journey, but probably stayed there only a short time, and do not seem to have preached there;[32][33] it was there thatJohn Mark left Paul to return toJerusalem. On his return fromPisidia, Paul preached at Perge.[34][33]As the Cestrus silted up over the late Roman era, Perga declined as a secular city.[35] In the first half of the 4th century, during the reign ofConstantine the Great (324-337), Perga became an important centre of Christianity, which soon became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The city retained its status as a Christian centre in the 5th and 6th centuries.St.Matrona of Perge of the 6th century was a femalesaint known for temporarilycross-dressing to avoid her abusive husband.[36] She also is known for opposing theMonophysite policy of the emperorAnastasios I.[37] Matrona hid in themonastery of St. Bassion as the enuch Babylos. Once revealed, she was sent to a woman's monastery where she was head of the convent. She was famous for her miraculous gift of healing. She went on to found a nunnery inConstantinople. St Matrona died at the age of 100. Her life was told through avita prima whose author and exact time period remains a mystery.[38]
TheGreekNotitiae episcopatuum mentions the city asmetropolis ofPamphylia Secunda until the 13th century.Le Quien gives the names of 11 of its bishops:[39] Epidaurus, present at theCouncil of Ancyra in 312; Callicles at theFirst Council of Nicaea in 325; Berenianus, at Constantinople (426); Epiphanius at theSecond Council of Ephesus (449), at the FirstCouncil of Chalcedon (451),[40] and a signatory of the letter from the bishops of the province to Emperor Leo (458); Hilarianus, at acouncil at Constantinople in 536; Eulogius, at theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553; Apergius, condemned as aMonothelite at theThird Council of Constantinople in 680; John, at theTrullan council in 692; Sisinnius Pastillas about 754 (aniconoclast who was condemned at theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787); Constans, at the same council of that condemned his predecessor; John, at theCouncil of Constantinople of 869–70.[33]
No longer a residential, the bishopric is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.[41]
Perga remained inhabited until the foundation of theSeljuk Empire in roughly 1000.[35]
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Excavations started in 1946 and have uncovered many monumental buildings: atheatre, a stadium,palaestra, a temple ofArtemis and two churches. Thetemple of Artemis was located outside the town.[33] Many of the coins struck in the city portrayed both the goddess and her sanctuary.[42]
The Hellenistic walls date from the 3rd c. BC and had 3 gates. The south gate is particularly monumental and includes 2 towers 3 storeys high with conical roofs and a horseshoe-shaped square behind. UnderHadrian in 121 AD, a triumphal arch was inserted into the northern wall of the courtyard and the facades were covered in precious marbles and decorated with columns and statues.
One of the most impressive monuments is the theatre which lies outside the walls near the stadium. It is larger than those ofMyra andPatara.
The south baths created in the 1st c. AD is one of the best preserved buildings and is noteworthy for its size and monumentality, and for the large collection of sculptures found there.
Perge has been dubbed as “Turkey’s secondZeugma” for the alluring appearance of the mosaics that have been unearthed so far. In 2003 archaeologists discovered well-preserved Greekmosaics showingOceanus andMedusa. In 2017 a mosaic depicting the sacrifice ofIphigenia was discovered.[43][42]
The city was eventually supplied in the Roman era by 2 aqueducts.[44] The Kursunlu aqueduct was 11 km long and probably built to supply baths from close to the Kursunlu waterfall. A later aqueduct of 21 km length used a greater flow from the Duden river near the Dudenbasi waterfall.[45]
Perge had at least 6nymphaea, the most striking being the northern, or "Hadrian's", nymphaeum (about 122 AD) and the southern nymphaeum in the square ofSeptimius Severus (end 2nd to early 3rd c. AD). Hadrian's nymphaeum was beautifully decorated with numerous sculptures including the river godCestrus under whom water cascaded. It is located at the edge of the acropolis to capture the outflow of the abundant water supply and from there fed the channel that flowed through the city. The southern nymphaeum faces the courtyard of Septimius Severus and is next to thepropylon (monumental entrance) of the southern baths whose hydraulic system provided it with water.
A full-body statue of a dressed female was revealed by archaeologists headed by Sedef Cokay Kepçe in 2020. The statue, believed to have been made during the Roman Empire, will be on display at the Antalya Museum.[46][47]
Perga's most celebrated ancient inhabitant was the mathematicianApollonius (c.262 BC – c.190 BC). He wrote a series of eight books describing a family of curves known asconic sections, comprising thecircle,ellipse,parabola, andhyperbola.[48]
Like Ephesus, Perge was a Greek Polis, and the seat of the governor and the financial procurator of the province of Lycia-Pamphylia.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link), no. 18C
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Perge".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Perge".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911)."Perga" .Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Perge".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897).Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| International | |
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