Troas in Biblical History

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Schaff's Bible Dictionary

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What is Troas?
TRO'AS
, a city of Lesser Mysia, in the north-eastern part of Asia Minor, on the sea-coast, 6 miles south of the entrance to the Hellespont, and 4 miles south of the Homeric Troy. It stood on a gentle eminence, having Mount Ida behind it and the island of Tenedos in front. Alexandria Troas, as its name implies, owed its origin to Alexander the Great. He chose the site with his usual happy discernment, but did not live to cover it with buildings. These were built by Antigonus, whose name the city consequently' bore for a short time. The city was improved by Lysimachus, the famous king of Thrace, and received a Roman colony during the reign of Augustus. It was to the Romans, in fact, that most of the buildings whose ruins still remain were due. Even the walls were repaired and strengthened by them, and it was under their rule that the commercial prosperity of the city reached its height. Its port was excellent, and made Troas for many centuries the key of the commerce between Asia and Europe. Paul visited Troas twice, and perhaps three times. The first visit was on his second missionary journey. It was from Troas that, after the visit of the "man of Macedonia," he sailed to carry the gospel into Europe. Acts 16:8-11. On his return journey he stopped at Troas for eight days and restored Eutychus to life. Acts 20:5-10. Upon one visit he left his cloak and some books there. 2 Tim 4:13. Present Condition. - Troas is now an utter ruin. The walls can still be traced for a circuit of several miles. The exploration of the ruins is somewhat fatiguing, as the ground is thickly strewn with stones and other fragments of ancient buildings, and planted with a forest of valonia oaks, whose branches make riding difficult and finding one's way still more so. Without a guide well acquainted with the place, it would be impossible to discover any road at all among the mazes of the wood. There are the remains of a gymnasium, 413 feet long and 224 feet wide. This structure Prof. A. II. Sayce describes (1880) as "a vast ruin whose desolation was only equalled by the solitude of the forest in the midst of which it stood. It had the shape of a hall, with pilasters along the sides, in front of which must have risen the columns that supported the vaulted roof. The line of the hall was broken in the centre by four square apartments formerly adorned with marble pillars and cornices. The break had the appearance of a transept in a Gothic cathedral, the two cross- aisles being entered through lofty arches, one of which still remains perfect. Within, all is a confused chaos of stone and brick, of fallen columns and disfigured ornaments. Only enough is left to tell us that the building was a gymnasium with baths attached. The Turks, who call it the Ral Serai, or 'honey palace,' have long used it as an inexhaustible quarry for the neighboring villages, and repeated earthquakes have aided their endeavors to undermine the solid masonry of St. Paul's contemporaries. At the northeastern angle of the building are a few ruined arches, which once supported an aqueduct, and at a little distance, among the trees, are the scanty relics of a Doric temple. "There are ruins of another large building of brick, which belongs to the Roman period. All that now remains of it is a vaulted chamber of considerable size, which opens into smaller chambers on each of its four sides. Above are other chambers, similarly vaulted, while the whole structure is surrounded by an enormous platform of brick. What its original use can have been is a matter of dispute. According to one conjecture, it was a temple; according to another, a bathhouse; but neither conjecture is supported by the form and structure of the building. All we can say with certainty is that the present ruins represent but a small part of the original edifice, the foundations of which can still be traced among the grass and brambles." The harbor is blocked by a sand-bar. The place is now called Eski Stamboul, or "Old Constantinople," and it is said that Constantine hesitated between Troas and Constantinople as the site of his capital.

Bibliography Information
Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'troas' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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