Pylae
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Pylae was an Arabian island mentioned by Pliny[1].
Variants
Jat Gotras Namesake
- Payal = Pylæ (Pliny.vi.34)
Mention by Pliny
Pliny[2] mentions Troglodytice....Beyond it is the Port of Isis, distant ten days' rowing from the town of the Adulitæ: myrrh is brought to this port by the Troglodytæ. The two islands before the harbour are called Pseudepylæ18, and those in it, the same in number, are known as Pylæ19; upon one of these there are some stone columns inscribed with unknown characters. Beyond these is the Gulf of Abalites, the island of Diodorus20, and other desert islands; also, on the mainland, a succession of deserts, and then the town of Gaza, and the promontory and port of Mossylum21, to the latter of which cinnamon is brought for exportation: it was thus far that Sesostris led22 his army.
18 The "False Gates."
19 The "Gates."
20 D'Anville and Gosselin think that this is the island known as the French Island.
21 Ansart thinks that this promontory is that known as Cape de Meta, and that the port is at the mouth of the little river called Soul or Soal.
22 In his Ethiopian expedition. According to Strabo, he had altars and pillars erected there to record it.
History
Pylae or Pylai (Ancient Greek: Πύλαι) was a town of ancient Arcadia mentioned by Stephanus of Byzantium.[3] Its site is unlocated.[4]
Ancient Yalova
The first settlement in the region dates back to the Prehistoric Period, in around 3000 BC. The Hittites ruled the region in the 21st century BC, followed by the Phrygians in the 13th century BC, and then the Greeks in the archaic, classical and Hellenistic eras. The region was conquered by the Romans in 74 BC. After the fall of the Roman Empire, it became part of the Byzantine Empire.
In Antiquity and for most of the Middle Ages, the town was known as Pylae or Pylai (Greek: Πύλαι), which is Greek for "gates" since it was positioned at the start of one of the main routes to Asia for anyone crossing theSea of Marmara into Bithynia from Europe.[5]
External links
References
- ↑ Natural History by Pliny Book VI/Chapter 34
- ↑ Natural History by Pliny Book VI/Chapter 34
- ↑ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
- ↑ Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 58, and directory notes accompanying.
- ↑ Foss, Clive (1991). "Pylai". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1760. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.