Derbe

Shown within Turkey
Location	Turkey
Region	Karaman Province or Lycaonia
Coordinates	37°20′57″N 33°21′42″E / 37.349273°N 33.361715°E / 37.349273; 33.361715

Derbe or Dervi (Greek: Δέρβη), also called Derveia (Greek: Δέρβεια),^[1] was a city of Galatia in Asia Minor, and later of Lycaonia, and still later of Isauria and Cappadocia. It is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles at 14:6, 14:20, 16:1 and 20:4. Derbe is the only city mentioned in the New Testament where the message of the Gospel was accepted from the beginning by its inhabitants.^[2][3]

Etymology

Derbe is derived from Derbent which is derived from Persian "Darband" (Persian: دربند, lit. 'Barred gate', from dar “gate” + band “bar,” lit. “barred gate”^[4]), referring to an adjacent pass, to a narrow gate entrance.

Location

There may have been several cities with the name Derbe, since Derbe (meaning narrow gate or entrance) is mostly a geographical toponym (e.g. Derbent).

Strabo places Derbe “on the sides” of Isauria, and almost in Cappadocia.^[5] Elsewhere, he says it was in the eleventh praefecture of Cappadocia.^[6] When the apostles Paul and Barnabas visited Derbe, it was in Lycaonia. Stephanus of Byzantium places Derbe in Isauria.^[7][8][9]

In 1956, on the basis of an inscription dating to 157 BC, Michael Ballance fixed the site of Derbe at a mound known as Kerti Hüyük, some 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Karaman (ancient Laranda), near Ekinözü village in modern-day Turkey.^[10] Although subject to controversy, this is considered the most likely site.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

Stephanus of Byzantium says that Derbe would have had a port (λιμήν , limēn), but this is an obvious mistake, as the city was located inland. This has been corrected to the form limnē (λίμνη , 'lake'], as there are some lakes in the vicinity, albeit a little further away.^[16] In modern Turkey there is a village named Derbent, nearby a lake and nearby Iconium city.^[17] There is also a district that is named Derbent.

History

Antipater of Derbe, a friend of Cicero,^[18] was ruler of Derbe, but was killed by Amyntas of Galatia, who added Derbe to his possessions.^[19][20]

Claudioderbe was a special title given to Derbe during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it appears on second century coins from Derbe.^[10]

The apostles Paul and Barnabas came to Derbe after escaping a disturbance and surviving the stoning in Lystra (Acts 14:19), about 75 miles (120 km) away.^[11][21]

The Bishopric of Derbe became a suffragan see of Iconium. It is not mentioned by later Notitiae Episcopatuum. Just four bishops are known, from 381 to 672.^[22]

Derbe is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.^[23]

− Saint Timothy was a native of Derbe (or of Lystra).^[24] Derve may also be linked to Dervish or Derviş (literally means mendicant, 'beggar', 'one who goes from door to door'), a mystic Sufi fraternity from Iconium whose most common practice Sama is directly associated with the 13th-century Persian mystic Rumi. The firstborn son of Rumi named Veled escaped death miraculously nearby Derbe^[25][26] (other sources report that it was the second son of Rumi that escaped death miraculously). The place where the miracle happened is mentioned as "Paul's cave"^[27] in Meyers Reisebücher. Maybe the dance named devr-i veledi^[28][29] that precedes the Sema ceremony is also related to Derve. According some rumors, Devr-i veledi (that was played during circumcision ceremonies) also refers to the circumcision^[30] of Rumi's father Bahā ud-Dīn Walad during the pilgrimage, and this action is somehow accossiated to the circumcision of Saint Timothy Acts 16:1–3.^[31]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Derbe". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.