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Amisus

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Amisus, now known as Samsun, is the ancient port-city located on the edge of the Black Sea, in the province of Pontus[1]. It was situated on the north of the trans-Anatolian highway that ran from the Mediterranean to the Black sea.[2] The estimated population of the city around 150 CE is between 20,000-25,000 people, classifying it as a relatively large city for that time[3].The city functioned as the commercial capital for the province of Pontus; beating its rival Sinope (now Sinop) due to is position at the head of the trans-Anatolia highway [4] .

Early History

Amisus was first settled by the Milesians in the 6th century BC. [5] In the 5th century BC, Amisus became a free state after a group of Athenians made Amisus their home [6] It was renamed Peiraeus under Pericles. [7] Around 46 BC, during the reign of Julius Cesar, Amisus became the capital of Roman Pontus. [8]

Early Christianity

Though the roots of the city are Hellenistic, [9], it was also one of the centers of an early Christian congregation [10]. Its function as a commercial metropolis in Northern Asia Minor was a contributing factor to enable the spread of Christian influence. As a large port city –the commercial capitol of Pontus [11] - travel to and from Christian hotbeds like Jerusalem was not uncommon. [12] According to Josephus, there was large Jewish diaspora in Asia Minor, the population totaling around 1 million by his estimate in the 1st century BCE. [13]. Evidence from Acts 18.2 about the diaspora community in the Black Sea region references the Jewish deportation in 46 AD as the cause. [14] Given that the early evangelist Christians focused on Jewish diaspora communities, and that the Jewish diaspora in Amisus was a geographically accessible group with a mixed heritage group, it is not surprising that Amisus would be an appealing site for evangelist work. The author of 1 Peter 1:1 addresses the Jewish diaspora of the province of Pontus, along with four other provinces: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” As Amisus would have been the largest commercial port-city in the province, it is believed certain that the spread of Christianity in the region would have begun there. [15] Later, between 109-111 CE, Pliny the Younger documents accounts of Christians in and around the cities of Pontus. [16] His accounts center on his conflicts with the Christians when he served under the Emperor Trajan and describe early Christian communities, such as the existence of Christian charity societies in Amisus. [17] Many great early Christian figures had connections to Amisus, including Caesarea Mazaca, Gregory the Illuminator (raised as a Christian from 257 CE when he was brought to Amisus) and Basil the Great (Bishop of the city 330-379 CE). [18]




References

  1. ^ Wilson, Mark W. (09 Dec. 2010). "Cities of God in norther Asia minor: Using Stark's social theories to reconstruct Peter's communities". Verbum et Ecclesia. 32 (1): 4. doi:10.4102. {{cite journal}}: Check |doi= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  2. ^ Cohen, Getzel M. (1995). The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands, and Asia Minor. Berkely and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. p. 384.
  3. ^ Mitchell, S., 1993, Anatolia, 2 vols. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 244.
  4. ^ Wilson, Mark W. (09 Dec. 2010). "Cities of God in norther Asia minor: Using Stark's social theories to reconstruct Peter's communities". Verbum et Ecclesia 32 (1): 4
  5. ^ Tsetskhladze, G.R., 2007, 'Greeks and locals in the southern Black Sea littoral: a Re-exampination', in G. Herman and I. Shatzman (eds.), Greeks between east and west; essays in Greek literature and history in memory of David Asheri, 160-195, The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Jerusalem, 168-169.
  6. ^ Wilson, Mark W. (09 Dec. 2010). "Cities of God in norther Asia minor: Using Stark's social theories to reconstruct Peter's communities". Verbum et Ecclesia 32 (1): 3
  7. ^ Jones, A.H.M (1937). The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces. Oxford: The Carendon Press. p. 149.
  8. ^ ibid.,
  9. ^ Wilson, Mark W. (09 Dec. 2010). "Cities of God in norther Asia minor: Using Stark's social theories to reconstruct Peter's communities". Verbum et Ecclesia 32 (1): 3
  10. ^ ibid.,
  11. ^ Munro, J.A.R., 1901, 'Roads in Pontus, royal and Roman', "Journal of hellenic studies" 21, 53.
  12. ^ Wilson, 2
  13. ^ Josephus AJ 14.10, 185-267; 16.6, 160-178.
  14. ^ Wilson, 6
  15. ^ ibid., 4.
  16. ^ ibid., 7
  17. ^ Plin., Ep. 10.93
  18. ^ Wilson, 7
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