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See also: Antiochus II
.
Theos (261–46 B.C.), and named after his wife Laodice
.
Its site is close to the station of Gonjeli on the Anatolian railway
.
Here was one of the See also: oldest homes of See also: Christianity and the seat of one of the seven churches of the Apocalypse
.
See also: Pliny states (v
.
29) that the See also: town was called in older times Diospolis and Rhoas; but at an early See also: period See also: Colossae, a few See also: miles to the See also: east, and See also: Hierapolis, 6 m. to the See also: north, were the See also: great cities of the neighbourhood, and See also: Laodicea was of no importance till the Seleucid foundation (See also: Strabo, p
.
578)
.
A favourable site was found on some low hills of alluvial formation, about 2 M
.
S. of the See also: river Lycus (Churuk Su) and 9 m
.
E. of the confluence of the Lycus and Maeander
.
The great See also: trade route from the See also: Euphrates and the interior passed to it through See also: Apamea
.
There it forked, one branch going down the Maeander valley to See also: Magnesia and thence north to See also: Ephesus, a distance of about 90 m., and the other branch See also: crossing the mountains by an easy pass to See also: Philadelphia and the Hermus valley, See also: Sardis, Thyatira and at last See also: Pergamum
.
St See also: Paul (Col. iv
.
15) alludes to the situation of Laodicea beside
Colossae and Hierapolis; and the See also: order in which the last five churches of the Apocalypse are enumerated (Rev. i. ii) is explained by their position on the road just described
.
Placed in this situation, in the centre of a very fertile See also: district, Laodicea became a See also: rich city
.
It was famous for its See also: money transactions (Cie
.
Ad Fam. ii
.
17, iii
.
5), and for the beautiful soft wool grown by the See also: sheep of the country (Strabo 578)
.
Both points are referred to in the message to the See also: church (Rev. iii
.
17, 18)
.
Little is known of the
See also: history of the town
.
It suffered greatly from a siege in the Mithradatic war, but soon recovered its prosperity under the See also: Roman See also: empire
.
The See also: Zeus of Laodicea, with the curious epithet Azeus or Azeis, is a frequent See also: symbol on the city coins
.
He is represented See also: standing, holding in the extended right See also: hand an eagle, in the See also: left a spear, the hasta pura
.
Not far from the city was the See also: temple of Men Karou, withA a great medical school; while Laodicea itself produced some famous Sceptic philosophers, and gave origin to the royal See also: family of Polemon and Zenon, whose curious history has been illustrated in See also: recent times (W
.
H
.
Waddington, Melanges de Numism. See also: ser. ii.; Th
.
See also: Mommsen, Ephem
.
Epigraph. i. and ii.; M
.
G
.
Rayet, Milet et le Golfe Latmique, See also: chap. v.)
.
The city See also: fell finally into decay in the frontier See also: wars with the See also: Turkish invaders
.
Its ruins are of wide extent, but not of great beauty or See also: interest; there is no doubt, however, that much has been buried beneath the See also: surface by the frequent earthquakes to which the district is exposed (Strabo 58o; Tac
.
See also: Ann. xiv
.
27)
.
See W . M . See also: Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of See also: Phrygia, i.-ii
.
(1895) ; Letters to the Seven Churches (1904); and the beautiful drawings of Cockerell in the Antiquities of See also: Ionia, vol. iii. pl.47-51
.
(A
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