Sozusa in Palaestina

Sozusa in Palaestina was a city in the late Roman province of Palaestina Prima, and its episcopal see was a suffragan of Caesarea, the capital of the province.

It is to be distinguished from Sozusa in Libya, earlier known as Apollonia in Cyrenaica, which is now the modern city of Marsa Susa.

History

Like the Libyan city, Sozusa in Palaestina was at first called Apollonia. It is mentioned by Pliny, "Hist. nat.", V, 14, and Ptolemy, V, xv, 2, between Cæsarea and Joppa, and by other geographers. According to Josephus, "Ant. jud.", XIII, xv, 4, it belonged at first to the Phoenicians. From Appianus, "Hist. rom. Syr.", 57, it seems to have been founded by a King Seleucus, whose name it was given, but the history of this maritime city and the date of its establishment; are entirely unknown. The Roman proconsul, Gabinius, found it ruined in 57 BC, and had it rebuilt (Josephus, "Bel. jud.", I, viii, 4).

On the arrival of the Crusaders it was called Arsuf (Arsur or Azuffium), and was protected by strong walls; Godfrey de Bouillon attempted to capture it, but failed for want of ships (William of Tyre, IX, x). King Baldwin I took it in 1102, after a siege by land and sea, allowing the inhabitants to withdraw to Ascalon. Occupied in 1191 by Saladin, the town was captured by Richard Cœur de Lion after his victory at Rochetaillée. In 1251 St. Louis re-erected its ramparts, and fourteen years later, in 1265, after a siege of forty days, it was stormed by the sultan Baibars; the inhabitants were killed or sold as slaves and the town completely razed.

It never recovered, and in the 14th century the geographer Abulfeda said it contained no inhabitants ("Tabula Syriæ", 82).

Today its ruins may be seen at Arsûf, north of Jaffa.

The name had changed from Apollonia to Sozusa before 449, when Bishop Baruchius signed the acts of the Robber Council of Ephesus with this title. The name Sozusa also occurs in the Byzantine geographers Hierocles and George of Cyprus. In the Middle Ages the town was confused with Antipatris, situated more inland.

Bishopric

Apart from Baruchius of 449, the names of two more of its bishops, Leontius in 518, and Damianus in 553, are also known.[1]

As a diocese that is no longer residential, it is listed in the Annuario Pontificio among titular sees.[2] To some of its titular bishops it was also assigned under the name Antipatris. It is no longer assigned to bishops of the Latin Church, in accordance with the practice established after the Second Vatican Council regarding all titular sees situated in what were the eastern patriarchates.

References

  1. ↑ Le Quien, Oriens christianus, III, 595.
  2. ↑ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 976
Attribution