In 300 BC, the ancient city of Antioch was founded. It was located in today's southeastern Turkey, near Syria. It was known as the jewel in the Roman Empire. Its people considered themselves to be the most sophisticated and well educated people in that empire, even to the extent of Rome itself. Antioch was a center of learning and culture.

It was said that if you sat in the market place you would meet people from every city in the empire. Antioch was founded after the death of Alexander the Great. He had died without naming a successor. Seleukos was one of the generals of Alexander and he created Antioch to be the capital of his kingdom in Syria. This area had been occupied however since the Neolithic Period. In 64 BC the city became part of Rome. Its population consisted mainly of Greeks and people from the area.

Part of the city sits under the modern city of Antakya in Turkey. The city was situated near the River Orontes in Ancient Syria. It became a center for Greek culture and grew rich. The city was surrounded by stone walls that were seventy feet high. The city was a mecca for pilgrims because of its many temples in the grove of Daphne.

Many ancient cities were named Antioch but there were only two major cities. One is the ancient Antioch in Syria, which we are discussing here and the other is Antioch in Pisidia. The Greek language remained the main language of the city even under Roman rule, but some of the more important people of the city decided to learn Latin to try and improve their positions.

Antioch didn't fare too well over the years. Between the forces of nature and the forces of man, it was practically destroyed. The Persian King Chosroes I decided to sack the city in 538 AD. The sixth century was not a good one for Antioch. Plague had also struck the city, there was a great fire and earthquakes. The city would never recover and regain its former glory. Over the years many invading armies would control the city. Then came the Muslim Armies in 1268 and the old city was practically destroyed.

It is said that Antioch was the second most important city to the Christians, the first being Jerusalem. Many from the early church left Jerusalem to avoid persecution and went to Antioch.

The most important part of the old city lay buried for many hundreds of years under the mud of the Orontes River. It is strange but no one ever decided to try and dig up the city until the 1930s.

When the expedition did start to excavate the city it found many treasures, not treasures of gold and jewels, but treasures of our past. Three hundred floor tiles that decorated the floors of houses were found. Other items found were household furnishings, jewelry, furniture, attachments of bronze and bone, locks and keys, lighting instruments, pins, belt buckles, toilet articles, gaming pieces, scales and weights, statuettes and cult instruments for worship. Busts and statues were also found. There was a rich trove of other unique items found.

All this is from a lost city that we knew existed, but what about those cities that have disappeared into the dust of time without leaving a trace? There is a theory that life on earth is much older than first thought and the human race may have reached certain plateaus then fallen back only to rise again. If this is true there may be many older, much older cities just waiting to be discovered, only time will tell.