Dorylaeum

DORYLAEUM(Αορύλαιον Eth. Δορυλαεύς, Dorylensis), a town in Phrygia. Steph. B. (s. v.) names it Dorylaeium (Δορυλάειον), and observes that Demosthenes calls it Dorylaeum. Strabo (p. 576) also calls it Dorylaeum. Meineke (ed. Steph. B. s. v. Δορυλάειον) has a note on the orthography of the word and the passage of Eustathius ( ad Dionys. Perieg. 815). But it is doubtful if he is right in correcting the text of Eustathius, which, as it stands, makes also a form Δορύλλειον, and so it stands in some editions of Ptolemy (Ptol. 5.2), who mentions it as a city of Phrygia Magna in his division of Asia. Meineke conjectures the Demosthenes whom Stephanus cites to be the Bithynian, and that he used the form Dorylaeum to suit his metre. The Latin form in Pliny (Plin. Nat. 5.29) is Dorylaeum, Dorylaum, or Doryleum; doubtful which. The coins, which are only of the imperial period, have the epigraph Δορυλαεων.Dorylaeum is Eski-shehr(Leake, Asia Minor, p. 18), which is traversed by a small stream, which at the foot of the hills joins the Pursek, or ancient Thymbres: this river rises to the south of Kutáya, passes by that city, and joins the Sangarius, a four hours to the north-east of Eski-shehr. The hot baths of Eski-shehrare mentioned by Athenaeus, and the water is described as being very pleasant to drink (2. p. 43). There were ancient roads from Dorylaeum to Philadelphia, to Apameia Cibotus, to Laodiceia Combusta and Iconium, to Germa, and to Pessinus: a coincidence which (their remote extremities being nearly certain) will not apply to any point but Eski-shehr, or some place in its immediate neighbourhood.(Leake.) Dorylaeum is in an extensive plain. The remains of antiquity do not appear to be of any note.
The origin of Dorylaeum is not known. The name occurs in the wars of Lysimachus and Antigonus (Diod. 20.108), whence we may conclude that the place is older than the time of Alexander. Lysimachus made an entrenched camp at Dorylaeum, which place had abundance of corn and other supplies, and a river flowing by it.The Dorylenses were among those who joined in the prosecution against L. Flaccus, who was praetor of the province of Asia (B.C. 62), and who was accused of maladministration. Cicero, who defended him, calls these Dorylenses pastores( pro Flacc. 100.17), from which we may collect that there was sheep feeding about Dorylaeum then as there is now. The roads from Dorylaeum and its position show that it must always have been an important town during the Roman occupation of Asia; and it was a flourishing place under the Greek empire.
[G.L]