Amorium

In Antiquity, the city of, will have become Amorium or Amorion at the time Roman and Byzantine, was on the site of the current Turkish village of Hisarköy, to 12 km of Emirdağ on the road of Davulga, in the province of Afyonkarahisar. Archaeological excavations there are always in hand, and are the subject regularly of scientific publications.

History

This city Phrygie which saw being born Ésope became an episcopal see as from the 6th century, and a fortified town of the Byzantine Empire.

After several unfruitful attempts under its predecessors, in particular in 668 (occupation then reconquest quickly afterwards) and in 716, Amorium was conquered by the caliph Abbasside Al-Mutasim the 17 Ramadan 223 (August 12th 838), a seat and a battle which would have mobilized on both sides close to 200 000 combatants and who was the subject of a poem become famous of Abû-Tammâm, Ode with the conquest of Amorium . To be avenged for the destruction by the Byzantines of its own birthplace, Zapetra (Syria), Al-Mu' tasim made shave the city, in which the Byzantine emperor in the time was originating, Theophilus, like his father Michel II. It made pass all the population (30 000 inhabitants) with the wire of the sword or reduced it in slavery except 42 officers who, after having preferred death with conversion with the Islam, were carried out in 845 and are appointed in the Martyr Christian ology like the “Saints Martyrs of Amorium”. On their side, the Moslems would have lost 70 000 soldiers during this seat. It should be noted that, right before its destruction, of the conflicts would have been held there between Chrétiens and Jews, with among the protagonists a sect Jewish whose enemies of the dynasty amoréenne claimed that the emperor Michel II came. This rumor is undoubtedly not without relationship with enthusiasm iconoclast of this emperor and his son.

The city is sometimes mentioned under an Arab name, Ammuriye , but it seems to be taken again later a few years by the Byzantines, benefitting from internal quarrels among the Arabs.

A battle proceeds there in 1073 between Roussel de Bailleul, chief of the Norman mercenaries to the service of the Byzantine emperor Romain IV Diogène with the Bataille of Manzikert (1071), but meanwhile determined to cut its own kingdom in Anatolia central, and an army sent by the new emperor, Michel VII Doukas. Bailleul gains the battle, captures the uncle of the emperor and carries on his road towards Constantinople. This episode of the Byzantine history is crucial, because it pushes Michel VII to conclude for the first time a treaty with the Seldjoukides against the Norman ones, which will be then beaten.

Amorium finally would have been conquered by the Othoman Turks only at the beginning of the 14th century, but according to the archeologist Christopher Lightfoot it had in fact already be abandoned at the end of the 11th century.

The diocese of Amorium

John Kallos, hiérarque Greek of the United States, summer named orthodoxe bishop of Amorion/Amorium in 1992, there even always formally exists a catholic archdiocese of Amorium, vacant since 1970. There in any event does not seem to be the least indigenous Christian any more on the spot, these titles of bishop of Amorium actually have only one character purely honorary for prelates with the retirement, he is what is called the bishops '' in titular partibus '' of dioceses qualified until 1882 of in partibus infidelium , i.e. “in the countries of the infidels”.

Personalities originating in Amorium

the Greek storyteller Ésope (seventh century BC - sixth century BC),
Michel II Psellos (the stammerer) or Amoréen (770-829), Byzantine Emperor of 820 with 829, it is the first of the dynasty amorienne to which also belong Theophilus (829-842) and Michel III of Constantinople, known as “the Drunkard” (842-867)
Saint-Blaise d' Amorium (? - 908) (see also: H. Gregoire, life of saint Blaise d' Amorium Byzantion 5 (1929) 391-414)

See too

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