a city of Syria, in Asia, situated on the river Orontes, in E. Long. 37° 5'. N. Lat. 36° 20'. It was built by Seleucus Nicator, founder of the Syro-Macedonian empire, who made it his capital. It stood on the above-mentioned river, about 20 miles from the place where it empties itself into the Mediterranean; being equally distant from Constantinople and Alexandria in Egypt, that is, about 700 miles from each. Seleucus called it Antioch, from his father's name, according to some; or from that of his son, according to others. He built 16 other cities bearing the same name; of which one, situated in Phidia, is probably that where the name of Christians was first given to the followers of Jesus Christ. But that situated on the Orontes by far eclipsed, not only all the others of this name, but all the cities built by Seleucus. Antigonus, not long before, had founded a city in that neighbourhood, which from his own name he had called Antigonia, and designed it for the capital of his empire: but it was razed to the ground by Seleucus, who employed the materials in building his metropolis, and also transplanted the inhabitants thither.

The city of Antioch was afterwards known by the name of Tetrapolis, being divided as it were into four cities, each of them being surrounded with its proper wall, besides a common one which enclosed them all. The first of these cities was built by Seleucus Nicator, as already mentioned; the second by those who flocked thither on its being made the capital of the Syro-Macedonian empire; the third by Seleucus Callinicus; and the fourth by Antiochus Epiphanes.—About four or five miles distant, stood a place called Daphne, which was nevertheless reckoned a suburb of Antioch. Here Seleucus planted a grove, and in the middle of it built a temple which he consecrated to Apollo and Diana, making the whole an asylum. To this place the inhabitants of Antioch referred for their pleasures and diversions; whereby it became at last so infamous, that "to live after the manner of Daphne" was used as a proverb to express the most voluptuous and dissolute way of living. Here Lucius Verus, the colleague of M. Aurelius, chose to take up his residence, instead of marching against the Parthians; while his general Cassius forbade by proclamation any of his soldiers to enter or even go near the place. In short, so remarkable was Daphne of old, that the metropolis itself was distinguished by it, and called Antioch near Daphne.

Though Antioch continued to be, as Pliny calls it, the queen of the East, for near 1600 years; yet scarce any city mentioned in history hath undergone such calamities, both from the attacks of its enemies, and its being naturally subject to earthquakes. The first disaster mentioned in history which befell the Antiochians happened about 145 years before Christ. Being at that time very much disaffected to the person and government of Demetrius their king, they were continually raising tumults and seditions; insomuch that he found himself at last obliged to solicit assistance from the Jews; and was furnished by Jonathan, one of the Maccabees, with 3000 men; by which reinforcement, believing himself sufficiently strong to reduce the mutineers by force, he ordered them immediately to deliver up their arms. This unexpected order caused a great uproar in the city. The inhabitants ran to arms, and invested the king's palace, to the number of 120,000, with a design to put him to death. All the Jews hastened to his relief, fell upon the rebels, killed 100,000 of them, and set fire to the city. On the destruction of the Syrian empire by the Romans, Antioch submitted to them as well as the other cities of that kingdom, and continued for a long time under their dominion. About the year 115, in the reign of the Antioch, the emperor Trajan, it was almost entirely ruined by one of the most dreadful earthquakes mentioned in history. Trajan himself happened to be there at that time, being returned from an expedition against the Parthians; so that the city was then full of troops, and strangers come from all quarters either out of curiosity or upon business and embassies: the calamity was by this means felt almost in every province of the Roman empire. The earthquake was preceded by violent claps of thunder, unusual winds, and a dreadful noise underground. The shock was so terrible, that great numbers of houses were overturned, and others tottered to and fro like a ship at sea. Those who happened to be in their houses were for the most part buried under their ruins; those who were walking in the streets or in the squares, were, by the violence of the shock, dashed against each other, and most of them killed or dangerously wounded. This earthquake continued, with some small intermission, for many days and nights; so that vast numbers perished. The most violent shock, according to the Acts of St Ignatius, was on a Sunday, December 23. By this Trajan was much hurt, but escaped through a window. Dion Cassius pretends, that he was taken out of the window by one who exceeded the human size in tallness. The same historian adds, that Mount Lison, which stood at a small distance from the city, bowed its head and threatened to fall down upon it; that other mountains fell; that new rivers appeared, and others that had flowed before forsook their course and vanished. When the earthquake ceased, a woman was heard crying under the ruins; which being immediately removed, she was found with a living child in her arms. Search was made for others; but none was found alive, except one child which continued sucking its dead mother.

No doubt, Trajan, who was an eye witness of this terrible calamity, would contribute largely towards the re-establishment of Antioch in its ancient splendour. Its good fortune, however, did not continue long; for in 155, it was almost entirely burnt by accidental fire; when it was again restored by Antoninus Pius. In 176 or 177, the inhabitants having sided with Cassius, the above mentioned Roman general, who had revolted from M. Aurelius, that emperor published a severe edict against them, deprived them of all their privileges, suppressed their public assemblies, and took from them the shows and spectacles to which they were greatly addicted; but his anger being soon appeased, he restored them to their former condition, and even condescended to visit their city. In 194, having sided with Niger against Severus, the latter deprived them of all their privileges, and subjected Antioch as a mere village to Laodicea; but, however, pardoned them the next year, at the entreaties of his eldest son, then a child.

When the power of the Roman empire began to decline, Antioch became the bone of contention between them and the eastern nations; and, accordingly, on the breaking out of a Persian war, it was almost always sure to suffer. In 242, it was taken and plundered by Sapor; and, though he was defeated by Gordian, it underwent the same misfortune in the time of Valerian, about 18 years after; and after the defeat and captivity of Valerian, being taken by the Persian monarch a third time, he not only plundered it, but levelled all the public buildings with the ground. The Persians, however, being soon driven out, this unfortunate city continued free from any remarkable calamity till about the time of the division of the Roman empire by Constantine in 331. It was then afflicted with a grievous famine, that a bushel of wheat was sold for 400 pieces of silver. During this grievous distress, Constantine sent to the bishop 30,000 bushels of corn; besides an incredible quantity of all kinds of provisions, to be distributed among the ecclesiastics, widows, orphans, &c. In the year 347, Constantine II. caused a harbour to be made at Seleucia, for the convenience of Antioch. This was effected at an immense expense; the mouth of the Orontes, where the port was made, being full of sands and rocks. When the emperor Julian let out on his expedition against the Persians, he made a long stay at Antioch; during which time, many of the Roman provinces were afflicted with a famine, but which raged more violently at Antioch than in other places. The ecclesiastical writers of those times say, that this famine followed Julian from place to place; and as he continued longer at Antioch than any other city, it raged more violently there than anywhere else. To remedy this evil, Julian fixed the price of corn; by which means the famine was greatly increased, the merchants conveying their corn privately to other places, so that this metropolis was reduced to a most deplorable situation. In 381, in the reign of Theodosius the Great, Antioch was again visited by a famine, accompanied by a grievous plague. The latter soon ceased; but, the famine still continuing, the bishop, Libanius, applied to Icarus, count of the East, requesting him by some means or other to relieve the poor, who had flocked from all parts to the metropolis, and were daily perishing in great numbers; but to this Icarus gave no other answer, than that they were abhorred and justly punished by the gods. This inhuman answer raised great disturbances; which, however, were terminated without bloodshed. In 387, Theodosius, finding his exchequer quite drained, and being obliged to be at an extraordinary expense in celebrating the fifth year of the reign of his son Arcadius, and the tenth of his own, an extraordinary tax was laid upon all the people in the empire. Most of the cities submitted willingly to this; but the people of Antioch, complaining of it as an unreasonable oppression, crowded to the house of Flavianus, their bishop, as soon as the edict was published, to implore his protection. Being unable to find him, they returned to the forum; and would have torn the governor in pieces, had not the officers who attended him kept back with great difficulty the enraged multitude, till he made his escape. Upon this, they broke some of the emperor's statues, and dragged others through the city, uttering the most injurious and abusive expressions against him and his whole family. They were, however, dispersed by a body of archers, who, by wounding only two of the rabble, struck terror into all the rest. The governor proceeded against the offenders with the utmost cruelty; exposing some to wild beasts in the theatre, and burning others alive. He did not spare even the children, who had insulted the emperor's statues; and caused several persons to be executed, who had been only spectators of the disorder. In the mean time a report was spread, that a body of troops was at hand, with orders to plunder the city, Antioch city, and put all to the sword, without distinction of sex or age; upon which the citizens abandoned their dwellings in the utmost terror and confusion, retiring to the neighbouring mountains with their wives and families. As the report proved groundless, some of them returned; but the greater part dreading the cruelty of the governor, and the displeasure of the emperor, continued in their retreats. To those who returned, St Chrysostom preached some homilies, which have reached our times, and are greatly admired; and which are said by St Chrysostom himself, as well as some contemporary writers, to have had a considerable effect in reforming the lives of this licentious and dissolute people. On hearing the news of this tumult, Theodosius was so much enraged, that he commanded the city to be destroyed, and its inhabitants to be put to the sword without distinction; but this order was revoked before it could be put into execution, and he contented himself with a punishment similar to that inflicted by Severus above mentioned. He appointed judges to punish the offenders; who proceeded with such severity, and condemned such numbers, that the city was thrown into the utmost consternation. On this occasion St Chrysostom and the hermits, who were very numerous in the neighbourhood, exerted all their eloquence in behalf of the unhappy people, and obtained a respite for those who had been condemned.

They next proceeded to draw up a memorial to the emperor in favour of the citizens in general; and being joined by Flavianus, at last obtained a general pardon, and had the city restored to all its former privileges.

In the year 458, Antioch was almost entirely ruined by an earthquake, which happened on the 14th of September; scarce a single house being left standing in the most beautiful quarter of the city. The like misfortune it experienced in 529, during the reign of the emperor Justin; and in 15 years after, being taken by Cosroes king of Persia, that insulting and haughty monarch gave it up to his soldiers, who put all they met to the sword. The king himself seized on all the gold and silver vessels belonging to the great church; and caused all the valuable statues, pictures, &c., to be taken down and conveyed to Persia, while his soldiers carried off everything else. The city being thus completely plundered, Cosroes ordered his men to set fire to it; which was accordingly done to effectually, that none of the buildings even without the walls escaped. Such of the inhabitants as escaped slaughter were carried into Persia and sold as slaves.

Notwithstanding so many and so great calamities, the city of Antioch soon recovered its wonted splendour; but in a short time underwent its usual fate, being almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 687, by which 30,000 persons lost their lives. In 634, it fell into the hands of the Saracens, who kept possession of it till the year 858, when it was surprised by one Burtzas, and again annexed to the Roman empire. The Romans continued masters of it for some time, till the civil dissensions in the empire gave the Turks an opportunity of seizing upon it as well as the whole kingdom of Syria. From them it was again taken by the Crusaders in 1098. In 1262, it was again taken by Bubalis sultan of Egypt, who put a final period to its glory.

Antioch is now no more than a ruinous town, whose houses, built with mud and straw, and narrow and miry streets, exhibit every appearance of misery and wretchedness. These houses are situated on the southern bank of the Orontes, at the extremity of an old decayed bridge: they are covered to the south by a mountain; upon the slope of which is a wall, built by the Crusaders. The distance between the present town and this mountain may be about 400 yards, which space is occupied by gardens and heaps of rubbish, but presents nothing interesting.

Notwithstanding the unpolished manners of its inhabitants, Antioch was better calculated than Aleppo to be the emporium of the Europeans. By clearing the mouth of the Orontes, which is six leagues lower down, boats might have been towed up that river, though they could not have sailed up, as Pococke has asserted: its current being too rapid. The natives, who never knew the name Orontes, call it, on account of the sweetness of its stream, Elaghi, that is, the rebel. Its breadth at Antioch, is about forty paces. Seven leagues above that town it passes by a lake abounding in fish, and especially in eels. A great quantity of these are fished every year, but not sufficient for the numerous wants of the Greek Christians. It is to be remembered, we no longer hear at Antioch, either of the Grove, or Daphne, or of the voluptuous scenes of which it was the theatre.

The plain of Antioch, though the soil of it is excellent, is uncultivated, and abandoned to the Turcomans; but the hills on the side of the Orontes, particularly opposite Serkin, abound in plantations of figs and olives, vines, and mulberry trees, which, a thing uncommon in Turkey, are planted in quincunx, and exhibit a landscape worthy our finest provinces.

Seleucus Nicator, who founded Antioch, built also at the mouth of the Orontes, on the northern bank, a large and well fortified city, which bore his name, but of which at present not a single habitation remains; nothing is to be seen but heaps of rubbish, and works in the adjacent rock, which prove that this was once a place of very considerable importance. In the sea also may be perceived the traces of two piers, which are indications of an ancient port, now choked up. The inhabitants of the country go thither to fish, and call the name of the place Squadia.