Troas

penetrated

Troas

the city from which St. Paul first sailed, in consequence of a divine intimation, to carry the gospel from Asia to Europe. (Acts 16:8,11) It is mentioned on other occasions. (Acts 20:5,6; 2 Corinthians 2:12,13; 2 Timothy 4:13) Its full name was Alexandria Troas (Liv. xxxv. 42), and sometimes it was called simply Alexandria sometimes simply Troas. It was first built by Antigonus under the name of Antigonea Troas, and peopled with the inhabitants of some neighboring cities. Afterward it was embellished by Lysimachus, and named Alexandria Troas. Its situation was on the coast of Mysia, opposite the southeast extremity of the island of Tenedos. Under the Romans it was one of the most important towns of the province of Asia. In the time of St. Paul it was a colonia with the Jus Italicum . The modern name is Eski-Stamboul , with considerable ruins. We can still trace the harbor in a basin about 400 feet long and 200 broad.

Troas

A maritime city of Mysia, in the northwest part of Asia Minor, situated on the Egean coast, at some distance south of the supposed site of ancient Troy. The adjacent region, including all the coast south of the Hellespont, is also called Troas, or the Troad. The city was a Macedonian and Roman colony of much promise, and was called Alexandria Troas. The Turks call its ruins Eski Stamboul, the old Constantinople. Its remains, in the center of a forest of oaks, are still grand and imposing. The apostle Paul was first at Troas for a short time in A. D. 52, and sailed thence into Macedonia, Acts 16:8-11. At his second visit, in A. D. 57, he labored with success, 2 1 Corinthians 2:12-13. At his third recorded visit he tarried but a week; at the close of which the miraculous raising of Eutychus to life took place, Acts 20:5-14, A. D. 58. See also 2 Timothy 4:13.

TROAS

tro'-as (Troas): The chief city in the Northwest of Asia Minor, on the coast of Mysia in the Roman province of Asia. From here, according to Acts 16:8, Paul sailed. Here, also, according to Acts 20:5-12, Paul raised Eutychus from the dead. The name Troas was not confined to the town itself, but it was also applied to the surrounding district, or to that part of the coast which is now generally known as the Troad. In its early history it bore the name of Antigona Troas, which was given it by its founder Antigonus, but after 300 B.C. it was generally known to the classical writers as Alexander Troas, a name given to it by Lysimachus. For a time the Seleucid kings made their homes at Troas. Later, when the city became free, it struck its own coins, of which vast numbers are found; a common type is one upon which is stamped a grazing horse. In 133 B.C. Troas came into the possession of the Romans, and later, during the reign of Augustus, it was made a Roman colonia, independent of the Roman governor of the province of Asia. Its citizens were then exempt from poll and land tax. During Byzantine times Troas was the seat of a bishopric.

The ruins of Troas, now bearing the name of Eski Stambul, are extensive, giving evidence of the great size and importance of the ancient city. They have, however, long been used as a quarry, and the columns of the public buildings were taken to Constantinople for use in the construction of the mosque known as the Yeni Valideh Jami. The site is now mostly overgrown with oaks, but from the higher portions of the ruins there is an extensive view over the sea and the neighboring islands. It is only with difficulty that one may now trace the city walls and locate the square towers which flanked them at intervals. Within the walls are the remains of theater, the temple and the gymnasium, which was provided with baths. The port from which Paul sailed was constructed by means of a mole, with an outer and an inner basin. The most imposing of the ruins, however, is a large aqueduct which was built in the time of Trajan.

E. J. Banks

A city on the coast of Mysia, in the north-west of Asia Minor, named after ancient Troy, which was at some little distance from it (about 4 miles) to the north. Here Paul, on his second missionary journey, saw the vision of a "man of Macedonia," who appeared to him, saying, "Come over, and help us" (Acts 16:8-11). He visited this place also on other occasions, and on one of these visits he left his cloak and some books there (2 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Timothy 4:13). The ruins of Troas extend over many miles, the site being now mostly covered with a forest of oak trees. The modern name of the ruins is Eski Stamboul i.e., Old Constantinople.