Phrygia

From BibleWiki

Meaning: dry

Phrygia is an irregularly shaped province in Asia Minor. It was divided into two parts, the Greater Phrygia on the south, and the Lesser Phrygia on the west. The Greater Phrygia is spoken of in the New Testament, and included the towns of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:14), Colosse, Hierapolis, Iconium, and Laodicea.

Historic Events

Antiochus the Great transferred 2,000 Jewish families from Mesopotamia and Babylonia to Phrygia and Lydia (Josephus, "Ant." xii. 3, § 4). They settled principally in Laodicea and Apamea.

The Christian Apostles also were familiar with Jews from Phrygia (Acts 2:10). Christian teachings easily gained entry there on account of the numerous Jews in the country. It is noteworthy that in the Phrygian city Mantalos there is an inscription written from right to left (Ramsay, "The Historical Geography of Asia Minor," p. 150, London, 1890).

In the Byzantine period Amorion was a Phrygian city, in which Jews held the supremacy (see Jew. Encyc. iii. 453, s.v. Byzantine Empire). Ibn Khurdadhbah also mentions a Ḥiṣn al-Yahud (= "Jews' Castle"; Ramsay, ib. p. 445) in this region.

Bibliography: Schürer, Gesch. iii. 3, 5, 10, 13; W. M. Ramsay, The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, i., part ii., 667-676, London, 1897.