Antakya

Antakya (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Turkish pronunciation: [ɑnˈtɑkjɑ]; Local Turkish: Anteke[2]), modern form of Antioch (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, romanized: Antiókheia; Armenian: Անտիոք, romanized: Andiok; Latin: Antiochia), is a municipality and the capital district of Hatay Province, Turkey.[3] Its area is 703 km2,[4] and its population is 399,045 (2022).[1] It is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Levantine Sea. Today's city stands partly on the site of the ancient Antiochia (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, Antiókheia, also known as "Antioch on the Orontes"), which was founded in the fourth century BC by the Seleucid Empire. Antioch later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, and was made the capital of the provinces of Syria and Coele-Syria. It was also an influential early center of Christianity;[5] the New Testament asserts that the name "Christian" first emerged in Antioch.[6] The city gained much ecclesiastical importance in the Byzantine Empire. Captured by Umar ibn al-Khattab in the seventh century, the medieval Antakiyah (Arabic: أنطاكية, ʾAnṭākiya) was conquered or re-conquered several times: by the Byzantines in 969, the Seljuks in 1084,[7] the Crusaders in 1098,[8] the Mamluks in 1268,[9] and eventually the Ottomans in 1517,[8] who would integrate it to the Aleppo Eyalet then to the Aleppo Vilayet. The city joined the Hatay State under the French Mandate before joining the Turkish Republic. On 6 February 2023, the city was heavily damaged by two powerful earthquakes with their epicentre in Kahramanmaraş. Some of the historical sites, including the Church of St Paul, have been destroyed.[10] The earthquakes destroyed several neighbourhoods in the city and left thousands homeless. The death toll in Hatay Province, which includes Antakya, was estimated at over 20,000.[11]