Cilic'ia. (the land of Celix). A maritime province in the southeast of
Asia Minor, bordering on Pamphylia in the west, Lycaonia and Cappadocia in the
north, and Syria in the east. Act_6:9.
Cilicia was, from its geographical position, the high road between Syria and
the west; it was also the native country of St. Paul, hence, it was visited by
him, firstly, soon after his conversion, Act_9:30;
Gal_1:21, and again, in his second
apostolical journey. Act_15:41.
Source:
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Cilicia
si-lish´i-a (ἡ
Κιλικία, hē
Kilikía): An important province at the Southeast angle of Asia Minor,
corresponding nearly with the modern Turkish vilayet of Adana; enfolded
between the Taurus mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, with the Amanus range
on the East and Pamphylia on the West; chief rivers, the Pyramus, Sarus, Cydnus
and Calycadnus. The character of Cilician history has been largely determined
by the physical features of the province. It is divided by nature into a
mountainous part to the West, called Tracheia, and a broad, alluvial plain, hot
and fertile, toward the East, termed Campestris or Pedias. Cilicia has always
been isolated from its neighbors by land by its encircling mountains, save for
its two famous mountain passes, the “Syrian Gates,” which offer an easy road to
Antioch and the South, and the wonderful “Cilician Gates,” which open a road to
central and western Asia Minor. Through these passes the armies and the
pilgrims, the trade and the travel of the centuries have made their way.
Alexander was one of the most renowned leaders of such expeditions, and at
Issus he met and shattered the power of the Persian empire.
The early settlers of Cilicia are held to have been Semitic Syrians and
Phoenicians, but in the still earlier days the inhabitants must have been
Hittites. While few Hittite remains have been brought to light in Cilicia
proper, the province was so surrounded by Hittites, and such important works of
Hittite art and industry remain on the outskirts of the province, as at Ivriz,
Marash, Sinjirli and Sakche Geuzi, that the intervening territory could hardly
fail to be overspread with the same civilization and imperial power. See
Professor John Garstang's The Land of the Hittites.
Cilicia appears as independent under Syennesis, a contemporary of
Alyattes of Lydia, 610 bc. Later it passed under the Persian sway, but retained
its separate line of kings. After Alexander the Seleucid rulers governed
Cilicia from Antioch. The disturbances of the times enabled the pirates so to
multiply and establish themselves in their home base, in Cilicia, Tracheia,
that they became the scourge of the Mediterranean until their power was broken
by Pompey (67-66 bc). Cilicia was by degrees incorporated in the Roman
administration, and Cicero, the orator, was governor (51-50 bc).
The foremost citizen of the province was Saul of Tarsus (Act_21:39; Act_22:3;
Act_23:34). Students or pilgrims from
Cilicia like himself disputed with Stephen (Act_6:9).
Some of the earliest labors of the great apostle were near his home, in Syria
and Cilicia (Gal_1:21; Act_15:23, Act_15:11).
On his voyage to Rome he sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia (Act_27:5). Constantinople and Antioch may be
regarded as the front and back door of Asia Minor, and as the former was not
founded till the 4th century, Asia Minor may be regarded as fronting during
apostolic days on Antioch. Cilicia was intimately connected with its neighbor
province on the South. The first Christian apostles and evangelists followed
the great highways, through the famous mountain passes, and carried the
religion of Jesus to Asia Minor from Antioch as a base.
Armenians migrating from the North founded kingdom in Cilicia under
Roupen which was terminated by the overthrow of King Levon, or Leo, by the
conquering Turks in 1393. A remnant of this kingdom survives in the separate
Armenian catholicate of Sis, which has jurisdiction over few bishoprics, and
Armenians are among the most virile of the present inhabitants of the province.
Source:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Cilicia
A maritime province in the south-east of Asia Minor. Tarsus, the
birth-place of Paul, was one of its chief towns, and the seat of a celebrated
school of philosophy. Its luxurious climate attracted to it many Greek
residents after its incorporation with the Macedonian empire. It was formed
into a Roman province, 67 B.C.. The Jews of Cilicia had a synagogue at
Jerusalem (Act_6:9). Paul visited it
soon after his conversion (Gal_1:21; Act_9:30), and again, on his second missionary
journey (Act_15:41), “he went through
Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.” It was famous for its goat's-hair
cloth, called cilicium. Paul learned in his youth the trade of making tents of
this cloth.
Source:
Easton’s Bible Dictionary