Description : Colossae (/kəˈlɒsi/; Greek: Κολοσσαί) was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and one of the most celebrated cities of southern Anatolia (modern Turkey). The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its author as Paul the Apostle, is addressed to the church in Colossae. A significant city from the 5th century BC onwards, it had dwindled in importance by the time of Paul, but was notable for the existence of its local angel cult. It was part of the Roman – and then Byzantine – province of Phrygia Pacatiana, before being destroyed in 1192/3 and its population relocating to nearby Chonae (Chonai, modern day Honaz). The first mention of the city may be in a 17th-century BC Hittite inscription, which speaks of a city called Huwalušija, which some archeologists believe refer to early Colossae. The Fifth Century geographer Herodotus first mentions Colossae by name and as a "great city in Phrygia", which accommodates the Persian King Xerxes I while en route to wage war against the Greeks - showing the city had already reached a certain level of wealth and size by this time. Writing in the 5th century BC, Xenophon refers to Colossae as "a populous city, wealthy and of considerable magnitude". It was famous for its wool trade. Strabo notes that the city drew great revenue from the flocks, and that the wool of Colossae gave its name to colour colossinus. In 396 BC, Colossae was the site of the execution of the rebellious Persian satrap Tissaphernes who was lured there and slain by an agent of the party of Cyrus the Younger.
See on map »