DESTINATION ANTIOCH!
These regions were weakly Hellenized before the conquest of Alexander the Great (336-323). The descendants of Seleucus I, officer of Alexander and founder of the dynasty that bears his name, developed many foundations after the names of their kings or queens: Apamea, Seleucia, Antioch, Laodicea, of the Stratoniceae. There were several kings or co-regents named Antiochos (13 in all), but the foundations date back to the first Seleucid kings in the 3rd century BC. AD under Seleucus I (305-281), Antiochos I (281-261), Antiochos II (261-246).
In the interior of the Anatolian peninsula and in the Near East mainly, but also in Central Asia, many settlements were founded by the kings of the Seleucid dynasty on or near the main roads. They connected the Mediterranean coast with the East, both to control territories, protect roads and take advantage of trade opportunities.
Seleucid urban foundations
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Egirdir Lake
The region of Pisidia
1. Phrygia Parorea and northern Pisidia. This space connects the interior of the Anatolian plateau with the upper valley of the Meander, passing north of the lakes of Beyşehir and Eğirdir. In this area, the barren landscapes are typical of the Anatolian highlands. They oppose those further south, marked by the forest thanks to the maritime influence. Pisidian Antioch is located in Phrygia Parorea in contact with northern Pisidia, in a settlement area that mixed Anatolian populations, Phrygians and Pisidians.
2. Western Pisidia is an open space marked by the presence of large plains and valleys. These vast high plains are suitable for farming. The foothills offer grazing areas for herds. Traffic is easier in this space which is only closed to the south, towards Lycia, due to the presence of high mountain ranges.
Pisidia is a mountainous region of the Taurus, south of the Anatolian peninsula, forming a chevron to the north of the Pamphilian plain which borders the Mediterranean. It is a regional space that is also called the "Lakes Region", in which we can distinguish:
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3. Eastern Pisidia, on the other hand, is marked by a chain of mountain ranges with high and steep reliefs, cut by narrow valleys which sometimes turn into canyons. It limits a region of high plateaus to the east of Lake Beyşehir (called Caralis in antiquity) and forms part of Isauria. In this space, the altitude zones, sometimes steep and difficult to access, were both foils and areas of refuge for man.
Egirdir Lake
Taurus Mountains
The site of Antioch and the city of Yalvaç
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