Pompeiopolis was a Roman city-state in ancient Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia

Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...

, situated today in the Taşköprü

Tasköprü

Taşköprü is a town and district of Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 43,800 of which 16,181 live in the town of Taşköprü. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .The town takes its name...

 district, Kastamonu

Kastamonu Province

Kastamonu Province is one of the provinces of Turkey, in the Black Sea region, to the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop to the east, Bartın and Karabük to the west, Çankırı to the south, Çorum to the south east and the Black Sea to the north....

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. The exact location is 45 km north of Kastamonu, to the north of Taşköprü, in the valley of the Gökırmak (Roman name Amnias, or Amneus). The borders of Pompeiopolis reach the Küre mountains to the north, Ilgaz

Ilgaz

Ilgaz, formerly Koçhisar, is a town and district of Çankırı Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Ilgaz is also the name of a mountain range that is shared between Çankırı and Kastamonu provinces. The mountain is home to a ski center....

 mountains to the south, Halys

Halys

Halys may refer to:* The Halys River in Anatolia , Turkish Kızılırmak .* In the Aeneid, Halys is a Trojan who defends Aeneas' camp from a Rutulian attack. He is killed by Turnus....

 river to the east and Pınarbaşı valley to the west. The city's remains today consist of an acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...

, some rock-cut tombs, tumuli

Tumulus

A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...

, a bridge and remains of houses with mosaic

Mosaic

Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...

 tile floors. It is believed that many more artifacts and remains can be uncovered if further archaeological excavation can be conducted at the Zımbıllı hills within the city boundaries.

Pompeiopolis is said to have been established together with Andrapa-Neapolis by the Roman general and politician Pompey

Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...

 (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) in the year 64 BC in the then double province of Bithynia

Bithynia

Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...

-Pontus

Pontus

Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...

. The town, which ranked as a metropolis

Metropolis

A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...

, was annexed to the vassal princes of Paphlagonia, and in 6 BC, after the death of Deiotaros Philadelphos, the last king of Paphlagonia, was annexed to the Galatia

Galatia

Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...

 province of the Roman Empire. While the city flourished and grew during this period, it was the metropolis of Paphlagonia from the reign of Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...

 until that of Gallienus

Gallienus

Gallienus was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis...

. The city was called Sebaste for a short period of time during the patronship of Gnaeus Claudius Severus

Gnaeus Claudius Severus

Gnaeus Claudius Severus was a Roman senator and philosopher who lived in the Roman Empire during the 2nd century.Severus was the son of the Roman senator and philosopher Gnaeus Claudius Severus Arabianus by an unnamed mother. Severus was of Pontian Greek descent. He was born and raised in...

, Marcus Aurelius' son-in-law. Rare coins

Numismatics

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. While numismatists are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, the discipline also includes the broader study of money and other payment media used to resolve debts and the...

 surviving from that era bear the inscriptions "Sebaste Metropolis of Paphlagonia".

It is believed that Pompeiopolis was quickly deserted in the late 6th or early 7th centuries AD after the aggressive attacks of Persian or Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

 tribes, and as aresult of the defensive military reorganizations of the Byzantine emperor Justinian

Justinian I

Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

. These were probably connected with the defensive reorganization of the province. Pompeiopolis soon received the title of autocephalus archdiocese. This region was conquered by the invading Turks in the 11th century; also in the same period, Pompeiopolis became a metropolitan see until the 14th century, when this diocese was suppressed. Among the fourteen titular holders of the Christian diocese are Philadelphus at the First Council of Nicaea

First Council of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325...

, Severus of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and Theodore of Constantinople.

This ancient city and its remains will be preserved and exhibited in a Museum of Archaeology that is planned to be built in Taşköprü by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. The first exploratory diggings in the area were conducted in 1910; they revealed some columns and mosaic tile panels. But, soon after, a devastating fire that broke out in 1927 in the nearby residential area greatly harmed the ruins. Many of the artifacts that were revealed in the course of those excavations are currently being exhibited in the Museum of Archaeology of Kastamonu

Kastamonu

Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of...

. Since 2006 the university of Munich (Germany) is conducting excavations on the archaeological site.

This Pompeiopolis in Paphlagonia must not be confused with the Soloi

Soli, Cilicia

Soli was an ancient city and port in Cilicia, in present day Turkey, a part of Mezitli municipality which in turn is a part of Greater Mersin. It was a colony of Rhodes, founded c. 700 BC. Soli was destroyed in the 1st century BC, and rebuilt by Pompey the Great. Thereafter, it was called...

-Pompeiopolis in Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

, also established by Pompeius.

Pompeiopolis remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.