Bible Encyclopedia: Iconium

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ICONIUM

i-ko'-ni-um (Ikonion, also Eikonion, on inscriptions): Iconium was visited by Paul on his first and on his second missionary journey (Acts 13:51; Acts 16:2), and

if the "South Galatian theory" be correct, probably also on his third journey. His sufferings there are referred to in 2 Timothy 3:11.

1. Topographical Position:

The topographical position of Iconium is clearly indicated in Acts, and the evidence of Acts has been confirmed by recent research. Was Iconium in Phrygia or in Lycaonia, and in what sense can it be said to have belonged to one ethnical division or the other? The majority of our ancient authorities (e.g. Cicero, Strabo, Pliny), writing from the point of view of Roman provincial administration, give Iconium to Lycaonia, of which geography makes it the natural capital. But Xenophon, who marched with Cyrus' expedition through Phrygia into Lycaonia, calls Iconium the last city of Phrygia. The writer of Acts 14:6 makes the same statement when he represents Paul and Barnabas as fleeing from Iconium to the cities of Lycaonia-implying that the border of Phrygia and Lycaonia passed between Iconium and Lystra, 18 miles to the South. Other ancient authorities who knew the local conditions well speak of Iconium as Phrygian until far into the Roman imperial period. At the neighboring city of Lystra (Acts 14:11), the natives used the "speech of Lycaonia." Two inscriptions in the Phrygian language found at Iconium in 1910 prove that the Phrygian language was in use there for 2 centuries after Paul's visits, and afford confirmation of the interesting topographical detail in Acts (see Jour. Hell. Stud., 1911, 189).

2. In Apostolic Period:

In the apostolic period, Iconium was one of the chief cities in the southern part of the Roman province Galatia, and it probably belonged to the "Phrygian region" mentioned in Acts 16:6. The emperor Claudius conferred on it the title Claudiconium, which appears on coins of the city and on inscriptions, and was formerly taken as a proof that Claudius raised the city to the rank of a Roman colonia. It was Hadrian who raised the city to colonial rank; this is proved by its new title, Colonia Aelia Hadriana Iconiensium, and by a recently discovered inscription, which belongs to the reign of Hadrian, and which mentions the first duumvir who was appointed in the new colonia. Iconium was still a Hellenic city, but with a strong pro-Roman bias (as proved by its title "Claudian") when Paul visited it.

3. Later History:

About 295 A.D., an enlarged province, Pisidia, was formed, with Antioch as capital, and Iconium as a "sort of secondary metropolis." The Byzantine arrangement, familiar to us in the Notitiae Episcopatuum, under which Iconium was the capital of a province Lycaonia, dates from about 372 A.D. Iconium, the modern Konia, has always been the main trading center of the Lycaonian Plain. Trade attracted Jews to the ancient Phrygio-Hellenic city (Acts 14:1), as it attracts Greeks and Armenians to the modern Turkish town.

4. Thekla:

Paul's experiences at Iconium form part of theme of the semi-historical legend of Thekla, on which see Professor Ramsay's Church in the Roman Empire, 380.

LITERATURE.

Ramsay Historical Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, 214; Cities of Paul, 317. To the literature referred to in the notes to the latter book (pp. 448) add Ath. Mitth., 1905, 324; Revue de Philologie, 1912, 48; Journal Hellenic Studies, 1911, 188.

W. M. Calder

Greek

2430. Ikonion -- Iconium, a city of Galatia
... Iconium, a city of Galatia. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: Ikonion
Phonetic Spelling: (ee-kon'-ee-on) Short Definition: Iconium Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2430.htm - 6k

Library

Of Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... Book V. Chapter XVI."Of Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. On the emperor's
return the admirable Amphilochius, whom I have often ...
/.../chapter xvi of amphilochius bishop of.htm

Ep. Clxxi. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... Ep. CLXXI. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium. Scarcely yet delivered from the
pains of my illness, I hasten to you, the guardian of my cure. ...
/.../select letters of saint gregory nazianzen/ep clxxi to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter ccxviii. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... Letter CCXVIII. To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. ... God grant that all may
go well with that Church at Iconium, which is so dear to me. ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxviii to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter cxc. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... TOU AGIOU BAChILEIOU PERI TOU PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CXC. To Amphilochius,
bishop of Iconium. 1. The interest which you have ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter cxc to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter cc. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... TOU AGIOU BAChILEIOU PERI TOU PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CC. To Amphilochius,
bishop of Iconium. I am attacked by sickness after ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter cc to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter ccxxxii. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... Letter CCXXXII. To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. Every day that brings me a
letter from you is a feast day, the very greatest of feast days. ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxxxii to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter clxxvi. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... TOU AGIOU BAChILEIOU PERI TOU PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CLXXVI. To Amphilochius,
Bishop of Iconium. God grant that when this letter ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter clxxvi to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter ccxlviii. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... Letter CCXLVIII. To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. So far as my own wishes are
concerned I am grieved at living at such a distance from your reverence. ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccxlviii to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter ccii. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... TOU AGIOU BAChILEIOU PERI TOU PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CCII. To Amphilochius,
bishop of Iconium. Under other circumstances I should ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter ccii to amphilochius bishop.htm

Letter cxci. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.
... PNEUMATOCh BIBLION. Letter CXCI. To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium. On reading
the letter of your reverence I heartily thanked God. I ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/letter cxci to amphilochius bishop.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Iconium

coming

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Iconium

(little image), the modern Konieh , was the capital of Lycaonia, in Asia Minor. It was a large and rich city, 120 miles north from the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Taurus mountains, and on the great line of communication between Ephesus and the western coast of the peninsula on one side, and Tarsus, Antioch and the Euphrates on the other. Iconium was a well-chosen place for missionary operations. (Acts 14:1,3,21,22; 16:1,2; 18:23) Paul's first visit here was on his first circuit, in company with Barnabas; and on this occasion he approached it from Antioch in Pisidia, which lay to the west. The modern Konieh is between two and three miles in circumference and contains over 30,000 inhabitants. It contains manufactories of carpets and leather.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Iconium

A large and opulent city of Asia Minor now called Konieh. The provinces of Asia Minor varied so much at different times, that Iconium is assigned by different writers to Phrygia, to Lycaonia, and to Pisidia. Christianity was introduced here by Paul, A. D. 45. But he was obliged to flee for his life for a persecution excited by unbelieving Jews, Acts 13:51 14:1-6. They pursued him to Lystra, where he was nearly killed, but afterwards, A. D. 51, he revisited Iconium, Acts 14:19-21 2 Timothy 3:11. The church continued in being here for eight centuries, but under the Mohammedan rule was almost extinguished. At present, Konieh is the capital of Caramania. It is situated in a beautiful and fertile country, 260 miles southeast of Constantinople, and 120 from the Mediterranean. It is very large, and its walls are supported by 108 square towers, forty paces distant from each other. The inhabitants, 40,000 in number, are Turks, Armenians, Greeks, and Jews.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The capital of ancient Lycaonia. It was first visited by Paul and Barnabas from Antioch-in-Pisidia during the apostle's first missionary journey (Acts 13:50, 51). Here they were persecuted by the Jews, and being driven from the city, they fled to Lystra. They afterwards returned to Iconium, and encouraged the church which had been founded there (14:21, 22). It was probably again visited by Paul during his third missionary journey along with Silas (18:23). It is the modern Konieh, at the foot of Mount Taurus, about 120 miles inland from the Mediterranean.

Thesaurus

Iconium (6 Occurrences)
... They afterwards returned to Iconium, and encouraged the church which had been founded
there (14:21, 22). ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ICONIUM. ...
/i/iconium.htm - 12k

Ico'nium (6 Occurrences)
Ico'nium. Iconium, Ico'nium. Icy . ... Acts 13:51 and they having shaken off the
dust of their feet against them, came to Iconium, (See RSV). ...
/i/ico'nium.htm - 7k

Lystra (6 Occurrences)
... Here Paul preached the gospel after he had been driven by persecution from Iconium
(Acts 14:2-7). Here also he healed a lame man (8), and thus so impressed the ...
/l/lystra.htm - 14k

Derbe (4 Occurrences)
... Paul passed through Derbe on his route from Cilicia to Iconium, on his second
missionary journey (Acts 16:1), and probably also on his third journey (18:23; 19 ...
/d/derbe.htm - 15k

Phrygia (4 Occurrences)
... The towns of Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:14), Colosse, Hierapolis, Iconium, and
Laodicea were situated in it. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PHRYGIA. ...
/p/phrygia.htm - 11k

Lycaonia (2 Occurrences)
... and the south of Galatia. It was a Roman province, and its chief towns were
Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. The "speech of Lycaonia" (Acts ...
/l/lycaonia.htm - 10k

Galatia (6 Occurrences)
... administrative purposes; and the regiones coincided roughly with the old national
divisions Pisidia, Phrygia (including Antioch, Iconium, Apollonia), Lycaonia ...
/g/galatia.htm - 23k

Separate (115 Occurrences)
... (a) An outline of the narrative is as follows: At Iconium, Thecla, a betrothed maiden ...
This she did first at Iconium and then in Seleucia where she died. ...
/s/separate.htm - 71k

Won (24 Occurrences)
... Acts 14:19 But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and, having won
over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, believing ...
/w/won.htm - 13k

Pisidia (2 Occurrences)
... to the story preserved in the legend of "Paul and Thekla," it was along this road
that Paul and Barnabas passed on their way from Antioch to Iconium (Acts 13:51 ...
/p/pisidia.htm - 21k

Bible Concordance

Iconium (6 Occurrences)

Acts 13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Acts 14:1 It happened in Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Acts 14:19 But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Acts 14:21 When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Acts 16:2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Timothy 3:11 persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. Out of them all the Lord delivered me.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Iconium

Iconium: Paul is Persecuted by the People of

Iconium: Paul Preaches In

Related Terms

Ico'nium (6 Occurrences)

Lystra (6 Occurrences)

Derbe (4 Occurrences)

Phrygia (4 Occurrences)

Lycaonia (2 Occurrences)

Galatia (6 Occurrences)

Separate (115 Occurrences)