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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



north, south, or east, 

 and so located that 

 he prevented the union 

 of his rivals. His was 

 the power of "the 

 Central Empire." 



On many of the 

 coins of Antioch is 

 stamped an allegorical 

 design representing 

 the city. This design 

 is a crowned maiden 

 seated upon the rdcks, 

 with a boy, in the at- 

 titude of swimming, 

 at her feet. This is 

 the city of Antioch, 

 on the rocky mountain 

 of Silpius. with the 

 river Orontes at its 

 feet. The figure of a 

 maiden was the city's 

 "Fortune," and this 

 statue occupied one of 

 the most important 

 places in the decora- 

 tion of the capital. 



A CITY OF FOUR PARTS 



About fifteen miles 

 to the east of Antioch 

 the Orontes River 

 makes a sharp bend to 

 the west. After flow- 

 ing across the broad, 

 fertile plain, it is 

 joined by the Black 

 River, the outlet of 

 the Lake of Antioch. 

 The union of these 

 whole empire centered on this point. Tt two streams and the numerous smaller 

 was the natural meeting place, the cross- tributaries from the neighboring moun- 

 roads of trade and erovernment and mili- tains makes a fine, broad river that flows 



Photograph by Maynard Owen Williams 



BAB-EI/-HADID, ONE OF THE I.KSSFR GATES OF ANTIOCH 



Down the side (if this valley the city wall descends almost 



perpendicularly. 



tary expeditions. Rome recognized this 

 and made Antioch her seat of govern- 

 ment for the Orient, and there she fitted 

 out all of her armies for the Eastern 

 campaigns. 



ANTIOCH REPRESENTED BY '"FORTUNE'' 



Modern trade has borne out the judg- 

 ment oi the ancients by maintaining the 

 commercial importance of the near-by 

 city oi Aleppo, 



Thus Seleucus chose the place for his 

 capital city whence he could easily strike 



with a rapid current almost straight west- 

 ward to the sea. 



Just north of Mount Silpius there is a 

 broad bend inclosing an island. It is 

 possible that the island was made origi- 

 nally by a canal cut across the bend. 

 Seleucus built his city on the rising 

 ground immediately south of the river. 



Mention is made by the geographer 

 Strabo that the city was of four parts — 

 the original city of Seleucus : the city on 

 the island built by Antiochus I : the por- 

 tion between the first city and the mouit- 



