Side

SIDE sīd’ ĭ (Σίδη). A city in Pamphylia to which a letter favoring the Jews and requesting the return of Jewish renegades who had fled there, was sent by the Rom. consul Lucius in 139 b.c. (1 Macc 15:23). It was located near the mouth of the river Eurymedon, at the site of the modern Eski Adalia. It was occupied by Alexander the Great and later was the site of the sea battle between the naval forces of Rhodes and the fleet of Antiochus the Great, in which Antiochus was defeated. Early in the 1st cent. it was the base for activity by Cilician pirates.

It was particularly known for its harbor complex which is still distinguishable. The ruins, extant today on the original promontory of the city, consist of a wall separating it from the mainland, several protective fortifications and a theater of characteristically Rom. construction. Evidence has been found of an extensive Jewish population in Byzantine times.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

An ancient town of Pamphylia, occupying a triangular promontory on the coast. It was one of the towns to which a letter favorable to the Jews was sent by the Roman consul Lucius (1 Macc 15:23). The town seems to have been of considerable antiquity, for it had existed long before it fell into the possession of Alexander the Great, and for a time it was the metropolis of Pamphylia. Off the coast the fleet of Antiochus was defeated by the Rhodians. During the 1st century, Side was noted as one of the chief ports of pirates who disposed of much of their booty there. The ruins of the city, which are now very extensive, bear the name Eski Adalia, but among them there are no occupied houses. The two harbors protected by a sea wall may still be traced, but they are now filled with sand. The wall on the land side of the city was provided with a gate which was protected with round towers; the walls themselves are of Greek-Roman type. Within the walls the more important of the remains are three theaters near the harbors, and streets with covered porticoes leading from the city gate to the harbors. Without the walls, the street leading to the city gate is lined with sarcophagi, and among the shrubbery of the neighboring fields are traces of many buildings and of an aqueduct.