Myriandus (Greek: Μυρίανδος Mūríandos, from Hittite mūri-, "grape cluster", and -anda, a place name suffix; by folk etymology with Greek andr-, "man", also spelled Myriandrus: Μυρίανδρος Mūríandros)[1][2] was an ancient Phoenician[3] port on the Mediterranean Sea's Gulf of Alexandretta. Its ruins are located near the modern city of İskenderun in southern Turkey.
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Hatay Province |
| Coordinates | 36°33′58″N 36°06′39″E / 36.566°N 36.1109°E |
Herodotus records the entire Gulf of Alexandretta as Marandynian Bay (Ancient Greek: Μυριανδικὸς κόλπος), after Myriandus.[4] (Later classical geographers would subsequently name the bay after nearby Issus.) Stephanus of Byzantium also called it Marandynian gulf.[5]
Xenophon claimed that Myriandus was the border town between Cilicia and Syria. Herodotus, meanwhile, placed the line further south at Ras al-Bassit in what is now Syria. Xenophon also say that it was an Emporium.[4]
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great encamped near the city and intended to attack on the army of Darius III of Persia, but at the night a heavy tempest and storm detained him in his camp. In the end the battle took place near Issus.[6][7]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. (2018). "The Earliest Ethnological Situation of the Balkan Peninsula as Evidenced by Linguistic and Onomastic Data". Aspects of the Balkans: Continuity and Change. De Gruyter. p. 53. ISBN 9783110885934.
- ^ Weiss, Michael (1996). "Greek μυρίος 'countless', Hittite mūri- 'bunch (of fruit)'". Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts. Sociological Abstracts Inc. p. 2,499.
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historiae, 5.19 (Latin source and English translation)
- ^ a b Rennell (1830), pp. 321–2.
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §M463.5
- ^ "ALEXANDER ADVANCES TO MYRIANDRUS – DARIUS MARCHES AGAINST HIM", Alexander Sources
- ^ "Cambysopolis", Catholic Encyclopedia
Bibliography
edit- Rennell, James (1830), The Geographical System of Herodotus Examined and Explained..., vol. Vol. I (2nd ed.), London: C.J.G. & F. Rivington
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