Pisidia

Pisidia was an inland region of ancient Anatolia in southwestern Asia Minor, roughly corresponding to parts of today’s central and southern Turkey. It lay on a rugged highland between the Taurus Mountains to the north and the coastal lands of Pamphylia to the south, with deep valleys and limited arable plains. The area was home to several prominent urban centers and to the Pisidian people, whose name gave the region its designation.

During the classical and Hellenistic periods, Pisidia was a mosaic of city-states and strongholds that came under successive empires—the Persians, followed by Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms, then the Romans. Notable Pisidian cities include Antioch of Pisidia (Antiochia in Pisidia), Sagalassos, and Termessos, which is famed for its dramatic hillside fortress. The region played a role in imperial infrastructure, with road networks that connected interior Anatolia to the southern coast. In the first century CE, Antioch of Pisidia was an important regional center and is cited in the Acts of the Apostles for Paul’s visit.

Later centuries saw continued urban activity into the late antique and Byzantine periods, though many sites declined as routes shifted. In archaeology, Pisidia is valued for its well-preserved ruins, terraced settlements, and monumental tombs that reveal a blend of Greek, Persian, and local influences. In the modern era, Pisidia roughly corresponds to parts of the Turkish provinces of Isparta, Burdur, Konya, Afyonkarahisar, and Antalya, where major sites such as Sagalassos and Termessos attract study and visitors.