Antakya Stadium

Antakya (Turkish pronunciation: [ɑnˈtɑkjɑ]), historically known as Antioch (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, Armenian: Andiok - Անտիոք), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes River, about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from the Levantine Sea.

Today's city stands partly on the site of the ancient Antiochia (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, Antiokheia, also known as "Antioch on the Orontes"), which was founded in the 4th century BC by the Seleucid Empire. Antioch later became one of the Roman Empire's largest cities, and was made the capital of the provinces of Syria and Coele-Syria. It was also an influential early center of Christianity, and gained much ecclesiastical importance in the Byzantine Empire. Captured by Umar ibn al-Khattab in the 7th century, the medieval Antakiyah (Arabic: أنطاكية‎, ʾAnṭakiya) was conquered or re-conquered several times: by the Byzantines in 969, the Seljuks in 1084, the Crusaders in 1098, the Mamluks in 1268, and eventually the Ottomans in 1517, who would integrate it to the Aleppo Eyalet then to the Aleppo Vilayet. The city joined the Hatay State under the French Mandate before joining the Turkish Republic.