Pentapolis
Encyclopedia
A pentapolis, from the Greek
words (pente), "five" and (polis
), "city(-state)" is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. This was probably done in the ancient world for political, commercial and military reasons like happen later with the UK's Cinque Ports
.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
words (pente), "five" and (polis
Polis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
), "city(-state)" is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities. This was probably done in the ancient world for political, commercial and military reasons like happen later with the UK's Cinque Ports
Cinque Ports
The Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
.
Significant historical cases
- in the biblical Holy LandHoly LandThe Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, the word, occurring in Wisdom, x, 6, designates the region where five cities — SodomSodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
, GomorrahSodom and GomorrahSodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
, Segor (A. V., Zoar), AdmahAdmahAdmah was one of the pentapolis of the Vale of Siddim. It was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. It is supposed by some to be the same as the "Adam" of Joshua 3:16, the name of which still lingers in Damieh, a ford of the Jordan river....
and Zeboim — united to resist the invasion of ChedorlaomerChedorlaomerChedorlaomer "a handful of sheaves", was a king of Elam according to the Hebrew Bible book of Genesis Chapter 14. He ruled fourteen years, from the East in southwestern Persia, occupying the regions east of the Jordan river, in the days of Abram...
(Genesis, xiv), and of which four were shortly after utterly destroyed. - in Italy there was:
- first, a Pentapolis including: RavennaRavennaRavenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, ForlìForlìForlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, ForlimpopoliForlimpopoliForlimpopoli is a town and comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena, northern Italy. It is located on the Via Emilia between Cesena and Forlì.-History:...
, ClasseClasséClassé is a Canadian manufacturer of high-end audio equipment, such as amplifiers, pre-amplifiers and source components .-History:...
, Caesarea - Second, a medieval Duchy of the PentapolisDuchy of the PentapolisIn the Byzantine Empire, the Duchy of the Pentapolis was a duchy , a territory ruled by a duke appointed by and under the authority of the Praetorian Prefect of Italy and then the Exarch of Ravenna . The Pentapolis consisted of the cities of Ancona, Fano, Pesaro, Rimini and Sinigaglia...
on the Adriatic coast east of TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
and north of the duchy of SpoletoSpoletoSpoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
, including the port cities (West to East) of RiminiRiminiRimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
, PesaroPesaroPesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
, FanoFanoFano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
, Sinigaglia and AnconaAnconaAncona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. It was part of the core of the Byzantine Exarchate of RavennaExarchate of RavennaThe Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
. Later, after the fall of the Exarchate, it was transformed into the March of AnconaMarch of AnconaThe March of Ancona or marca Anconitana was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and, then, Macerata in the Middle Ages...
- first, a Pentapolis including: Ravenna
- the Philistine Pentapolis: AshkelonAshkelonAshkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
, Ashdod, EkronEkronThe city of Ekron , was one of the five cities of the famed Philistine pentapolis, located in southwestern Canaan. Ekron lies 35 kilometers west of Jerusalem, and 18 kilometers north of ancient Gath, on the eastern edge of Israel's coastal plain.-History:...
, Gath, and GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,... - the Doric – or Dorian Pentapolis: KosKosKos or Cos is a Greek island in the south Sporades group of the Dodecanese, next to the Gulf of Gökova/Cos. It measures by , and is from the coast of Bodrum, Turkey and the ancient region of Caria. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Kos peripheral unit, which is...
, on the island of the same name in the Aegean Sea; Cnidus, in CariaCariaCaria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
on the west coast of Asia Minor; Lindus, Ialysus and Camirus, all three on Rhodes. - the Pontic Pentapolis: Apollonia, Callatis, Mesembria, OdessosVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, and Tomis, all on the Euxeinos Pontos. - The Western Pentapolis: five main Greek colonies that came to be in the Roman province of Libya Superior, the western part of CyrenaicaCyrenaicaCyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
until Diocletian's TetrarchyTetrarchyThe term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
reform in AD 296 (now Libya). The most important was CyreneCyrene, LibyaCyrene was an ancient Greek colony and then a Roman city in present-day Shahhat, Libya, the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times.Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar...
and its port ApolloniaApollonia, CyrenaicaApollonia in Cyrenaica was founded by Greek colonists and became a significant commercial centre in the southern Mediterranean. It served as the harbour of Cyrene, to the southwest...
, PtolemaisPtolemaisPtolemais, an Ancient Greek place name and feminine personal name, may refer to:Places*Acre, Israel, once named Antiochia Ptolemais after Ptolemy I Soter*Crocodilopolis, an Egyptian city renamed Ptolemais Euergetis by Ptolemy III Euergetes...
(the next capital after Cyrene's destruction by an earthquake), BarcaBarcaBarce was an ancient Greek colony and later Roman, Byzantine, city in North Africa. It occupied the coastal area of what is modern day Libya...
(the later Arab provincial capital Barka), Balagrae (by Bayda) and BereniceBereniceBerenice or Berenike is the Ancient Macedonian form for Attic Greek Φερενίκη , meaning "bearer of victory", from φέρω "to bear" + νίκη "victory". Berenika priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The name also has the form Bernice...
(modern Benghazi); also known as the Pentapolis inferior ('lower P.'). This is the Pentapolis that is referenced in the official title of the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria and the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. - The Cinque PortsCinque PortsThe Confederation of Cinque Ports is a historic series of coastal towns in Kent and Sussex. It was originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. It lies at the eastern end of the English Channel, where the crossing to the continent is narrowest...
in England – the five being HastingsHastingsHastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, New RomneyNew RomneyNew Romney is a small town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to be silted up. New Romney was once a sea port, with the harbour adjacent to the church, but is now more than a mile from the sea...
, HytheHythe, KentHythe , is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning Haven or Landing Place....
, Dover, and SandwichSandwich, KentSandwich is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the Non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 6,800....
. Sometimes, though seldom, referred to as the English Pentapolis.
Italy
- The Cinque TerreCinque TerreThe Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore...
are five rustic coastal towns in LiguriaLiguriaLiguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
that are now organized into the Cinque Terre National Park, a UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage SiteWorld Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
India
- The National Capital RegionNational Capital Region (India)The National Capital Region in India is a name for the conurbation or metropolitan area which encompasses the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi as well as urban areas ringing it in neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan...
(NCR) consists of five cities, namely, DelhiDelhiDelhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, GurgaonGurgaonGurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
, Ghaziabad, NoidaNoidaNoida , short for the New Okhla Industrial Development Area, is an area in India under the management of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority . Noida came into administrative existence on 17 April 1976 and celebrates 17 April as "Noida Day". It was set up as part of an urbanization...
and FaridabadFaridabadFaridabad is a city in the south-east of Haryana state in northern India, in Faridabad district. It lies at 28º 25' 16" N Latitude and 77º 18' 28" E Longitude. The district shares its boundaries with the National Capital and Union Territory of Delhi to its north, Gurgaon district to the west and...
.
United States of America
- The Five TownsFive TownsThe Five Towns is an informal grouping of villages and hamlets in Nassau County, New York, United States on the South Shore of western Long Island adjoining the border with Queens County in New York City. Despite the name, none of the communities is a town...
, on the southwestern shore of New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
region, is a group of towns comprising the villages of LawrenceLawrence, Nassau County, New YorkLawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 6,483.The Village of Lawrence is in the southwest corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border with the New York City borough of Queens to the west and near the...
and CedarhurstCedarhurst, New YorkCedarhurst is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, in the USA. The population was 6,592 at the 2010 United States Census. The village is named after a grove of trees that once stood at the post office....
, the hamlets of WoodmereWoodmere, New YorkWoodmere is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 17,121 at the 2010 census.Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, which is usually said to comprise the villages of Lawrence and Cedarhurst, the hamlets of Woodmere and Inwood, and...
and InwoodInwood, New YorkInwood is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 9,792 at the 2010 census.Inwood is included among the Five Towns, an informal grouping of villages and hamlets in Nassau County on the South Shore of western Long Island adjoining the...
, and "The Hewletts", which consist of the villages of Hewlett Bay ParkHewlett Bay Park, New YorkHewlett Bay Park is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA, on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 404....
, Hewlett HarborHewlett Harbor, New YorkHewlett Harbor is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA. The population was 1,263 at the 2010 census.The Village of Hewlett Harbor is inside the Town of Hempstead.-Geography:Hewlett Harbor is located at ....
and Hewlett NeckHewlett Neck, New YorkHewlett Neck is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA. The population was 445 at the 2010 census.The Village of Hewlett Neck is inside the Town of Hempstead....
and the hamlet of HewlettHewlett, New YorkHewlett is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the CDP population was 6,819....
. - The Five Boroughs of New York City, which were separately governed city-counties until the 1874 and 1898 annexations.
- The Quad CitiesQuad CitiesThe Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
of Iowa and Illinois (so named before the fifth city was founded) that share cultural institutions and infrastructure.
See also
- Pentapolis (North Africa)
- MonopoliMonopoliMonopoli is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Bari, region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies about 40 km southeast from Bari. It has about 50,000 inhabitants....
(meaning only city) - Tripolis (meaning three cities)
- TetrapolisTetrapolisTetrapolis may mean different things:*Tetrapolis , a district comprising four cities in ancient Attica, Greece*Tetrapolis , a group of four cities in ancient Doris, Greece...
(meaning four cities) - Doric HexapolisDoric HexapolisThe Doric or Dorian Hexapolis was a federation of six cities of Dorian foundation, and included:*Kos, on the island of the same name in the Aegean sea;*Cnidus, in Caria;*Halicarnassus, also in Caria;*Lindus, on the island of Rhodes;...
(meaning six Doric cities in the eastern Aegean) - HeptapolisHeptapolisHeptapolis was the name of the capitals of the Heptanomis in ancient Egypt, and included the cities of Memphis, Heracleopolis, Crocodilopolis , Aphroditopolis, Oxyrhynchos, Cynopolis, and Hermopolis.-Sources:...
(meaning seven cities) - DecapolisDecapolisThe Decapolis was a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Judea and Syria. The ten cities were not an official league or political unit, but they were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status...
(meaning ten cities)
Sources and references
- http://www.google.com/custom?q=pentapolis&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=ISO-8859-1&safe=active&client=pub-8168503353085287&cof=FORID:1%3BGL:1%3BBGC:FFFFFF%3BT:%23000000%3BLC:%230000ff%3BVLC:%23663399%3BALC:%230000ff%3BGALT:%23008000%3BGFNT:%230000ff%3BGIMP:%230000ff%3BDIV:%23336699%3BLBGC:336699%3BAH:center%3B&domains=NewAdvent.org&sitesearch=NewAdvent.org&start=0&sa=Nmany occurrences in the Catholic Encyclopaedia]
- Westermann Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte ('Great Atlas of World History', in German)