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The city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya) is located in what is now Turkey. It was founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, who made it the capital of his empire in Syria. Seleucus I had served as one of Alexander the Great's generals, and the name Antiochus occurred frequently amongst members of his family.

Antioch occupies an important place in the history of Christianity. It was here that Paul preached his first Christian sermon in a synagogue, and here that followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians ( Acts 11:26). As Christianity spread, Antioch became the seat of one of the four original patriarchates, along with Jerusalem, Alexandria, and RomeRome ( Italian and Latin Roma is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. It is located on the lower Tiber river, near the Mediterranean Sea, at 41°50'N, 12°15'E. The Vatican City State, a sovereign enclave within Rome, is the seat of the Roman. Today it remains the seat of a patriarchateIn the history of Christianity, Patriarch of Antioch was the title carried by the Bishop of Antioch one of the few dioceses that preserve historical names of its bishops form the apostolic beginnings. External link Antioch, Church of. Full history See als of the Roman Catholic and Oriental OrthodoxThe Patriarch of Antioch is the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church. For Patriarchs prior to AD 518, see List of Patriarchs of Antioch. Severus of Antioch 512 538 (Severus was deposed by the Greek Orthodox Church in 518; while in exile in Egypt, he was rec churches. One of the canonical Eastern Orthodox churches is still called the Antiochian Orthodox ChurchThe Antiochian Orthodox Church is one of the five churches that comprised the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church before the Great Schism, and today is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. It claims to be the sole legitimate successor to, although it moved its headquarters from Antioch to DamascusThis is about Damascus, the capital of Syria. There is also a Damascus, Maryland, a Damascus, Oregon, a Damascus, Pennsylvania, and a Damascus, Virginia. Damascus ( Arabic: Dimashq Dimashq al-Sham al-Sham Tiberian Hebrew Dammeseq Dammseq Sephardi Hebrew D, Syria, several centuries ago (see list of Patriarchs of AntiochThe Patriarch of Antioch is one of the original patriarchs of early Christianity, who were bishops with influence over other sees. List of Patriarchs of Antioch Saint Peter the Apostle c. 53 Euodius c. 68 Saint Ignatius c. 68 107 Hero 107 c. 127 Cornelius).

For several centuries Antioch was an important city in the Roman Empire. The emperor Aurelian erected several magnificent public structures, and later the emperor Constantius II erected an octogonal cathedral, which suffered in the earthquake of AD 526. The Persians captured the city in 540. The Byzantines recovered Antioch, only to have the Muslims conquer it in 636.

The city remained in Arab hands until 969, when it was recovered by the Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas. The city was lost again, to the Seljuk Turks, in 1085. Thirteen years later, it was captured by the Crusaders during the First Crusade, and became the capital of an independent Principality of Antioch (see Siege of Antioch). The city remained in Crusader hands for the better part of the 12th and 13th centuries, until it was captured by the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in 1268. Baibars destruction of the city was so great that it was never a major city again, with much of its former role falling to the port city of Alexandretta (Iskenderun).

Antakya is the capital of the province Hatay.

Many other cities within the Seleucid empire were also named Antioch, most of them founded by Seleucus I Nicator. For instance Pisidian Antioch in Central-West Turkey where Saint Paul gave his first sermon to the Gentiles.