Antioch, << AN tee `ok` >> (pop. 216,960), is an ancient city in southern Turkey near the Syrian border. Its name in Turkish is Antakya << `ant` uh KYAH >>. Antioch lies along the Orontes River near the Mediterranean Sea. The city was founded about 300 B.C. by Seleucus, the ruler of the area. Antioch became one of ancient Rome’s great cities and was later a center of early Christianity. Saints Peter and Paul both preached there. Antioch was the capital of Syria during the A.D. 900’s and 1000’s. The Ottoman Empire captured Antioch in 1516. France took control of the city after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I (1914-1918). In 1939, Antioch became a part of the Republic of Turkey.
