Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/65

 906 EDEfiSiL «f the Bnlgariaii ca&qoestf of that empextir. (Le Beaa, Bas Empire^ toL lir. p. 195.) VodJiend, in the gnndeur of its sitQAtioD, in the magnificence of the aorroonding oonutty, and the extent of the rich praepect wh^ it comnaoda, ia not inferior to any sitnation in Greece. Notwith- standing its ancient importance, the Hellenic re- mains are few; the site, from its uatoral advantageSf has doabtlessly been alwajs occupied >j a town, and new coostmetions have caoaed the destruction of the more ancient The only vestige of HeHoiic fortifi- cations that has been discovered is a piece of wall which supports one of the modem houses on the edge of the cliff; but there are many scattered remains in the town, among which are some inscriptions of the time of the Boman Empire. (Leake, Nortitem Greeee, vol. iiL pp. 272—279.) [£.B. J.] EDESSA (i^ "JS^wtra: Etk. 'EZtaveuos, 'EScir. extremity of Mesopotamia, in the province of Os- rhoSne, which itself is said to have derived its name firom one of the early kings of the town. (Dionys. Patr. ap. Assem. ii. p. 98 ; Prooop. B. P, ii. 1 7.) It was situated on the river Sciitus (now Daiaan)^ a ffmall tributary of the Euphrates, and was distant about 40 miles from Zeugma (/<•». AtU. L c), «nd a day's journey from Batna (Prooop. B. P,n, 12). Accounts differ as to the date of its foundation, some placing it extremely esrly, and ascending to mythical times, as St Isidore, who attributes its origin to Kembroth or Nimrod, and St Ephnem, who says Kimrod ruled at Arach and Edeesa (^Comment, m Gene$im,) It is, however, most likely that Appian is correct in stating that it was really built by Se- leucus, and that it was one of the many towns built or restored about the same period of history to which European names were given by the Macedonian rulers. {iSyr, 57.) The same statement is made by Cedrenus (i« p. 166). Its position has not been clearly noted by some ancient writers. Thus Ste^ phanus and Stiabo placed it in Syria, the latter con- founding it with Hierapolis, and stating that, like it, it bore anciently the name of Bambyce (Bafil86iai, zvi. p. 748). Pliny asserts that it was in Arabia, and was called Antiocheia»0alirrhoe8, fipom a foun- tain of that name which existed in the city (v. 24. 8. 21). This position is certainly wrong; but the remark is curious, as it connects the town with some notices in other authors. Thus Stephanus (2. c.) states that it was called Edessa from the force df its waters (iih r^v rmv iiifidruv P^foiv oth» icAi/- 0€t<ra)f and from the town of the same name in Macedonia; while, in his list of the places which bore the name of Antiocheia, the 8th is designated i| M T^f KoAi^^^f Ki/unris. Ancient coins of Edessa abound between the ages of Cknnmodus and Tnyanus Decins; the miyority of them reading, en the reverse, KOA. M. EAECCA or EAECA, or with the insertion of the tide " Metropolis," KOA MAK. EAECCA MHTP. The exact meaning of the second word MAK. baa not been satisfactorily explained; but we cannot help suspecting that it refers to the popular belief in the MacedMiian origin of the dty, KOA MAK. being short for KOAXINIA MAKE- AONXIN. The obverses present busts of the Abgari or local rulers, and of the contemporaneous Boman empenvs. There exists, too, a peculiar class of aotoDomons Greek copper coins, all of which bear on the obverses heads of Aiitiochus IV., and are perfectly alike in their fabric and art Their reverses bear respectiYely the names of an Antiocheia in Ptole- EDESSA. mais, Mygdonia, and near Daphne; the Ibttih Imi been till this time undetermined. It reads ANTIO- XEXIN TON Eni KAAAIPOHI. With the e?i- denoe stated above, we make no doubt that this com belongs to the 8th Antiochria of Stephanos, one cf the names, as it appears, of Edeesa, and the titts whereby it may hme been usually recognised during the period of Antiochns IV. There is no rasonaUi objection to the belief that tiie modem town of (V^ or Ur/ah represents the site of the ancient EdeM. (Tavemier, ii. 4; Pooocke, ii. pi 232; Niebahr, iL p. 407.) In this instance the most ancient nams appean to have been preeerved, Isidoras speakiDg of MovFovo^^ evidently the Orrha of Mannus, win was one of the kmgs of Edessa. Little is known of the history of Edessa, flolne- quently to its foundation by Seleucns, till Christia& times : iut duringthe wars between theGtMoo-Bomsa enqare and the Persiaaa, and in Ecclesiastical histay, Edessa plays a very prominent part Manj nolioei of the events of the period may be found in the following authorities. (Procop. B, P. L 17, &&f B, <?. iv. 14. &c., de Aedifie. iL 7 ; Evagrias, ff.E. i7.8— 26;Ma]ala,aron.l7.p.418;Hieroap.714; Dionys. Patriarch, ap. Assem. l.e^- Theopbanesand Cedrenus.) It a;^)ear8 that the town sofieied ss much from natural causes as from the attacks of enemies. Of these, the river Scirtus was the (rin- cipal cause, no less than four destructive floods beiqg recorded in the Chronicon Edesaenum (apw AsaeD. p. 386) and other woriu. In ▲.D. 718 the town was neariy destroyed by an earthquaioe (DioT^ Patr. ap. Assem. iL p. 259), yet tiie work ef r»> storation (commenced by Justinian siter one fl£ the floods, Prooop. de Aedtf. vL 7) must hive been rapid, or the importance of the place itself vsy great, since it appears frtun the Chnnoon of Bar Hebraeus, that as late as A. d. 1 184 there were no less than 15 large churches which fell into the haodi of the Saracens. (Assem. ii. p. 368> In A. D. 1285 it is coupled with other deserted and ruioed towMf such as Beroea and Hsxan, by Mapfariaaos. (Aseem. ii. p. 260.) Since then, it has never risen to its former greatness, though it is and has been a plsw of some importance for the inland trade between Kurdistan and Aleppo. The original govenunent « Edessa appears te have been vested in kings « petty princes, more or less dependent on the oeigB- bouring empires, first on the rulers of the Syro- Macedonian dynasty, and then under the Vmm and Bjraantine emperors. The local names of the kings were Al^ams and Mannus ; titles which appear to hxn been preeerved among them, like the uames of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies in Egypt Thar names are found (ss stated before) on the Gred: coins of Edessa, till the time of Trajanus Decins. A series of them is given by Dionysius (ap. Aaaem. Lc.}, and many of them are mentioned in the histories of the times (Procop. Bell iv. 17., Euaebins, aad the Chromioon EdetHmim), Edessa was celebrated in Christian times forjrts schools of theology, to which students came tna great distances. Of theee^ the most important was the Sekola Per$ica. This school appears to btn been Hmited to Christians of the Persian oataoa The professors are memorable in history fior the pen they took in the Nestoriaii controversy, under tiie guidance of John, Patriarch of Antiocfa, vod m Bishop of Edessa, a. d. 449->457, against St CjrnL It is clear from a letter of Beth Anamensis. sad from the Chronicon Edessenum, tliat their NeitoniB
 * l|i^r), a town of great importance ia the northern