Greek:Τρίπολις | |
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  Tripolis on the Meander Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Denizli Province |
| Coordinates | 38°03′N28°57′E / 38.050°N 28.950°E /38.050; 28.950 |
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Tripolis on the Meander (Greek:Τρίπολις,Eth. Greek:Τριπολίτης,Latin:Tripolis ad Maeandrum) – alsoNeapolis (Greek:Νεάπολις),Apollonia (Greek:Απολλωνία), andAntoniopolis (Greek:Αντωνιόπολις) – was an ancient city on the borders ofPhrygia,Caria andLydia, on the northern bank of the upper course of theMaeander, and on the road leading fromSardes byPhiladelphia toLaodicea ad Lycum. (It. Ant. p. 336;Tab. Peut.) It was situated 20 km to the northwest ofHierapolis.
Ruins of it still exist nearYenicekent (formerly Yeniji or Kash Yeniji), a township in theBuldan district ofDenizli Province, Turkey. (Arundell,Seven Churches, p. 245; Hamilton,Researches, i. p. 525; Fellows,Asia Minor, p. 287.) The ruins mostly date from theRoman andByzantine periods and include a theater, baths, city walls, and anecropolis. An ancient church, dating back 1,500 years, has been unearthed in 2013.[1]
The earliest mention of Tripolis is byPliny the Elder (v. 30), who treats it as aLydian town.Ptolemy (v. 2. § 18) andStephanus of Byzantium describe it as aCarian town.Hierocles (p. 669) likewise calls it a Lydian town.
William Mitchell Ramsay also places Tripolis within Lydia.[2]
The city minted coins in antiquity, some of which bore an image ofLeto. Catalogues of coins of Tripolis generally refer to the city as belonging to Lydia.[3][4] However, one book on coin collecting list Tripolis as part of Lydia on one page, but speaks of it as part of Caria on another.[5]
A website on which various contributors give news of Turkish archaeology treats Tripolis as part of Phrygia.[6]
Pliny says the city was also calledApollonia (Greek:Ἀπολλωνία),[7] andStephanus of Byzantium that, in his time, it was calledNeapolis (Greek:Νεάπολις).[citation needed]
The city of Tripolis was the seat of an ancientbishopric,[8] suffragan toSardis. Very little is known of the Bishopric, but we retain the names of somebishops, including:
The see is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees,[13] which treats it as part of the lateRoman province of Lydia.[14]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Tripolis".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
