Savatra Ancient City

tahirceylan · Antik Kentler · 2026-04-07

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Description

Savatra, located within the boundaries of Yağlıbayat Quarter at the foothills of Bozdağ National Park in the Karatay district of Konya, was one of the significant ancient cities of the Lycaonia Region. The city is notable for possessing an autonomous administrative structure. It is known that from the 1st century BC, Savatra minted its own coins bearing the Greek inscription ΣΟΑΤΡΕΙΣ. According to the scholar Ramsay, during the Roman Imperial Period, Savatra had its own mint from the reign of Trajan (AD 98–117) onward. Furthermore, during the reign of Antoninus Pius, the inscription “Lycaonian League” was added to the coinage, indicating the city’s growing regional and political significance. In the Byzantine Period, Savatra emerged as an important episcopal center. The city demonstrated its ecclesiastical prominence by sending representatives to the Council of Constantinople in 381 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451.