Antioch on the Orontes River was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC and named in honour of his father Antiochus.1 One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as the capital of the Seleucid Empire and later as regional capital to both the Roman and Byzantine Empire. The city's location offered geographical, military, and economic benefits to its occupants. It was 24 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean coast.2 Antioch was heavily involved in the spice trade and lay within close reach of the Silk Road and the Royal Road. During Roman occupation, the city’s population may have reached a peak of over 500,000 inhabitants (most generally estimate between 200,000 and 250,000), making the city the third largest in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria.
20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.