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Stratoniceia 142 pictures 6 minutes HQ video The city was founded in the 3^rd century B.C. The Syrian king, Seleucus I, arranged for the marriage of his wife, Stratonice, with his son Antiochus who founded the city in honor of his erstwhile step-mother and present wife. According to Strabo, wanderer and writer, the city adorned with beautiful buildings, was later given to Rhodes as a present at an uncertain date. The Rhodians later lost their dominance but took over again in 197 B.C. The Roman Senate decreed Caria's independence in 167 BC, thus ending the Rhodian sovereignty. The city was captured by Mithridates in 88 B.C. Labienus, at the head of his Parthian hordes, attacked the city in 40 B.C. From the coins found during the excavations, the Stratoniceians started minting their own money in 167 BC, when they gained their independence from Rhodes, until the time of Gallienus (253-268 B.C). The Theater The cavea of the theater is divided by stairways into nine cunei. The city was surrounded by walls of which only insignificant ruins are now discernible. In the northeastern corner of the settlement, there are remains of a mighty fortress, solidly constructed of large, square blocks with some limestone mortar. However, it must have had some repairs, evidenced by interior masonry with many re-used inscribed stones and column-drums in certain portions. The main entrance gate on the north is in massive broad-and-narrow masonry. From the ruins near the gate, it is evident that it had a column over it. The gate has two entrances with a nymphaeum in between. Beyond the gate are a colonnaded square and a road. Bouleterion The Bouleterion is in the form of a small theater. The single door on the west side of the building is the entrance gate. The building had been thought to be the temple of Serapis but the inscription found in excavations proved this to be erroneous. Gymnasium Tombs City Gate Back to Turkey Index