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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 Roman 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

Before Amisus was settled by the Milesians in the 6th century BCE, [5] it is believed that there was much Greek activity along the coast of the Black Sea predating the fragmentary archeological evidence of that time.[6] The only archaeological evidence we have as early as the 6th century is fragment of wild goat style Greek pottery, housed at the Louvre. [7] In the 5th century BC, Amisus became a free state after it was conquered by the Athenians [8] It was then renamed Peiraeus under Pericles. [9] In the 1st century BC Mithridates VI of Pontus- the Greek King of Pontus- was conquered by the Romans under Lucullus. [10] Pliny the Younger's address to the Emperor Trajan in the 1st century CE "By your indulgence, sir, they have the benefit of their own laws," is interpreted by John Boyle Orrery to indicate that the freedoms won for those in Pontus by the Romans was not pure freedom and depended on the generosity of the Roman emperor. [11] Around 46 BC, during the reign of Julius Cesar, Amisus became the capital of Roman Pontus. [12].

Early Christianity

Though the roots of the city are Hellenistic, [13], it was also one of the centers of an early Christian congregation [14]. 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 [15] - travel to and from Christian hotbeds like Jerusalem was not uncommon. [16] 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. [17]. 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. [18] In the 1st century Pliny the Younger documents accounts of Christians in and around the cities of Pontus. [19] His accounts center on his conflicts with the Christians when he served under the Emperor Trajan and describe early Christian communities, his condemnation of their refusal to renounce their religion, but also describes his tolerance for some Christian practices like Christian charitable societies. [20] 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). [21]




References

  1. ^ Wilson, Mark W. "Cities of God in norther Asia minor: Using Stark's social theories to reconstruct Peter's communities". Verbum et Ecclesia. 32 (1): 4.
  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, 4.
  5. ^ Wilson, 3.
  6. ^ Topalidis, S. "Formation of the First Greek Settlements in the Pontos". Pontos World. Pontosworld.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  7. ^ Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. "The Greek Colonisation of the Black Sea Area: Historical Interpretation of Archaeology". Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 1998. 14-19, 19.
  8. ^ Wilson, 4
  9. ^ Jones, A.H.M (1937). The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces. Oxford: The Carendon Press. p. 149.
  10. ^ Orrery, John Boyle. The Letters of Pliny the Younger,: With Observations on Each Letter; and an Essay on Pliny's Life, Addressed to Charles Lord Boyle. The 3rd ed. London: Printed by James Bettenham, for Paul Vaillant., 1752, 407.
  11. ^ Ibid.
  12. ^ Wilson, 3.
  13. ^ Wilson, 3
  14. ^ ibid.
  15. ^ Studies, Society For The Promotion Of Hellenic. (2013). pp. 105-6. The Journal of Hellenic Studies (Vol. 21). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published pre-1945, year unknown)
  16. ^ Wilson, 2
  17. ^ Josephus AJ 14.10, 185-267; 16.6, 160-178.
  18. ^ ibid., 4.
  19. ^ Whiston, W. "Letters of Pliny the Younger and the Emperor Trajan." PBS: Frontline. Accessed March 12, 2015. "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/maps/primary/pliny.html"
  20. ^ Alikin, V.A. 'Chapter 7' in "The Earliest History of the Christian Gathering Origin, Development and Content of the Christian Gathering in the First to Third Centuries". Leiden: Brill, 2010, 270.
  21. ^ Wilson, 7.
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