1. Location

Olba was an ancient city of Rough Cilicia. It was located close to the modern site of Uğara, almost 25 kilometers northeast from Seleuceia ad Calycandus (modern Silifke). In the 1st century the nearby sanctuary of Zeus Olbius evolved into a separate city under the name Diocaesareia. The location of the sanctuary and the new city has been identified with the modern village of Uzuncaburc, at a distance of 4 kilometres from Olba.

2. History

It has been suggested that Olba corresponds to the Hittite Ura (or Harrua or Hyria according to Stephanus Byzantius),¹ capital of the land Pirindu,² and one of the most important cities of southern Anatolia during the Bronze and Iron Age, the exact location of which has not been discovered.³

According to a mythical tradition, the city of Olba and and the neighbouring sanctuary dedicated to Zeus were founded by the hero Aias, son of Teukros, and like many Asia Minor cities it attributed its foundation to the emigration which followed the Trojan War.⁴

During the Hellenistic period, the city, the sanctuary of Zeus Olbius (who was identified with the local deity Tarhuunt⁵ in the framework of the religious syncretism), as well as the surrounding area were administered by local priests-kings, the Teucrids, under the Seleucid supremacy. The dynasty of the priests was maintained in power later on by Marcus Antonius⁶ and then Octavian Augustus, who thus maintained a control over the local populations of the area, namely the Kennatai and the Lallaseis.⁷ In the 1st century Marcus Antonius Polemo, possibly an heir of Aias, is referred as the dynast of the city according to numismatic evidence .⁸ During the 1st century the city lost its autonomy, due to the foundation of the province of Cilicia (72 A.D.), whereas the settlement of the sanctuary was separated from Olba and constituted a new city under the name Diocaesareia.⁹ During the Byzantine times the cities of Olba and Diocaesareia constituted bishoprics of Isauria.

3. Minting

The first bronze issues are dated to the 1st century B.C. and were maintained throughout the Imperial times by both cities. Among the iconographic types stands out Zeus Olbius, whereas frequent are the depictions of other deities worshipped in both cities, such as Hermes, Athena, Selene, Helios, Dionysus, Heracles, Dioscouroi, Nemesis and Sarapis. It is also worth noting that cities such as Diocaesareia, bear on the coins the title metropolis of the Kennatae.¹⁰

4. Topography – Buildings

4.1 Olba

The remains of ancient Olba are situated on a rocky hill, close to the modern settlement of Uğara. There are still visible some traces of the fortifications, the largest part of which is dated to the Hellenistic period; of particular interest are the surviving rectangular towers, which reinforced the walls' defense. Architectural remains of private houses of the Roman and Early Byzantine period were found on the hill's slopes. At the north part of the hill the arcade of an aqueduct were discovered, which supplied the city with water. According to epigraphic testimonies, the monument was built in the period of Septimius Severus and was funded by a certain Heracleides.¹¹ To the west, below the hill, just at the city centre there was a small theater,¹² as well as a monumental nymphaeum.¹³ These public buildings are dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries respectively. A monumental colonnaded street facilitated the communication between the two cities, Olba and Diocaesareia. A necropolis with rock cut tombs as well as sarcophagi was found at the southern side of the hill. It is also worth mentioning a heroon, in the form of a small Corinthian prostyle tetrastyle temple, the remains of which are located at the southern part of the plain.¹⁴

4.2.Diocaesareia

The remains of the sanctuary of Zeus Olbius and of Diocaesareia were located between two hills in the area of the modern Turkish village of Uzuncaburç. The site experienced a magnificent building activity in the 1st century A.D., due to the foundation of the new city.

The sanctuary of Zeus Olbius was located in the city centre, on a low hill. An enclosure of ashlar masonry surrounded the rectangular complex, whereas on its eastern side it was closed by a portico, the erection of which is attributed to Seleucus I Nicator (306-281 B.C.). The temple of the sanctuary was of the Corinthian order (measuring 33.7 by 21.2 meters), peripteral with 6 by 12 columns. According to the stylistic features of its architectural forms it is dated to the 2nd quarter of the 2nd century B.C.¹⁵ It has been considered as one of the over-ambitious building projects of Antiochos IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.), who in the short period of his reign attempted to revive the prestige of the Seleucid kingdom and served his political interests through the foundation of lavish temples. The religious propaganda of the king focused on the cult of Zeus, whereas the selection of the Corinthian order apparently matched the preferences of a kingdom which was influenced by the oriental tradition. During the early Christian period the temple of Zeus Olbius was transformed into a three-aisled basilica.¹⁶

To the northwest of the sanctuary of Zeus, there was a temple dedicated to Tyche built around the second half of the 1st century A.D. It is a Corinthian-style temple elevated on a podium, the erection of which was funded by a certain Oppius, son of Obrimus, and his wife, according to the dedicatory inscription of the architrave.¹⁷

On a slope in the southeastern part of the city in the interior of the sanctuary complex there was the theatre, which is dated to the 2nd century A.D. It was a Roman-Asia Minor type theatre, oriented towards the south, which was divided horizontally by a broad corridor (diazoma, praesinctio) into two zones (maeniana).The lower section of seating (theatron, ima cavea-maenianum) was formed on the natural slope of the hill, whereas for the construction of the upper section of the seating area (summa cavea, epitheatron) and of the retaining walls (anallemata) there had to be made artificial substructures.¹⁸

The aqueduct bringing water into the city ended at the monumental nymphaeum in the form of an exedra, dated to the 3rd century A.D and situated on the Decumanus maximus.¹⁹ This central street heading from east to west was flanked by colonnades and led along the precinct of the sanctuary from the theater area to the temple of Tyche, whereas on the east of the temple it passed through monumental gate-buildings with Corinthian columns and lavish sculptural decoration.²⁰ The other central street of the city, the cardo, headed from north to south and was 12.5 meters wide. It was also flanked by colonnades and led to a monumental Gate opening on the defense wall with three archways, dating from the 2nd century.²¹

The architectural remains of a rectangular building from the Imperial era at the south of the sanctuary have possibly been identified as the gymnasium of the city. Extremely interesting is the Hellenistic rectangular tower measuring 12.49 by 15.6 and 22.5 meters high spreading on six storeys. The tower was situated on the north side of the defensive wall. It is built with isodomic masonry. In the interior the three lower storeys are divided in five rooms each. A stone staircase facilitated access to the upper storeys whereas there were also small windows for allowing light in the interior. According to an inscription the tower was built by the priest Tarkyares, around the 2nd century B.C. From this Hellenistic tower comes the name of the modern Turkish village, namely Uzuncaburç, which means tall tower.²²