Kastabala - Hierapolis Ruins
Kastabala-Hierapolis is located 12 km. north-northwest of Osmaniye Province in southeastern Anatolia, overlooking a small plain near the Ceyhan (Pyramos) River. Starting from the skirts of the castle on the east of the road from Osmaniye to Cevdetiye, Kesmeburun via Karatepe-Aslantaş ruins, the ruins of Kastabala, which covers an area of about 1500 acres, was also called Hierapolis in 1890 by the British researcher Th. Bent in 1890 thanks to the ancient inscriptions found here. An Aramaic border inscription found in 1961 near the village of Bahadırlı, 20 km. north of Kastabala, states that Kastabala is part of the land of the Anatolian mother goddess Kubaba, also known as Pirvashua. Kastabala, a place name derived from Anatolian languages, is the oldest written document in which the name is mentioned. Kastabala was first mentioned as Hierapolis on coins minted during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, one of the Seleucid kings (175-164 BC). Antiochus named the city “Holy City” because of the temple of the goddess named “Perasia” who had been worshipped in the city for a long time. The name Perasia is most likely derived from the name Pirvashua, which is mentioned in the Aramaic inscription mentioned above and has its roots in the late Hittite period.
