This article is about the Turkish city. For the text editor, see; Zile (editor).

Zile is a city in eastern Turkey and an important agricultural trading centre. It is the site of the ancient city of Zela.

Zela

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This section incorporates text from the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia.

In pagan times the city, which was situated on the Seylax, belonged to priests, equal in dignity to the princes of Pontus, lords of the territory.

• Persian era - the Persian kings consecrate a famous temple on the eminence which rises in the middle of the city to their national divinities, Anahita, Vohu-Mano, and Anadates
• Third Mithridatic War - At first a mere hamlet, Zela obtained from Pompey the title of city, and became the capital of a district allotted to Queen Pythadoris (Strabo, XI, viii, 4; XII, iii, 37; Pliny, "Hist. Nat.", VI, 8).
• 67 BC - site of the victory of Mithridates Eupator over Valerius Trianus, lieutenant of Lucullus
• 47 BC site of the victory of Caesar over Pharnaces, of which he wrote his famous phrase, "Veni, Vidi, Vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered).
• Under Nero - Finally ceded to Rome, with all Pontus Polemoniacus, by its last king. and remained part of the Roman and then Byzantine empires until 1397
• 4th century - An Arian council was held there (letter 72 of St. Basil)
• 1397 - seized by the Turks

For a while, Zela, known as Zilch, was a kaza in the sandjak of Tokat.

As a see

Zela is a titular see of Asia Minor, suffragan of Amasea in the Helenopontus.

Le Quien (Oriens christ., I, 541) mentions several bishops:

• Heraclius, at Council of Nice (325)
• Atticus, at Council of Chalcedon (451)
• Hyperechius (458)
• Georgius (692)
• Constantine (787)
• Paul (879)

According to the "Acta Patriarchatus Constantinopolitani" of Miklosich and Muller (I, 69), there was a bishop at Zela in 1315; he was then named Metropolitan of Amasea; later the see was suppressed.

Derived from Catholic Encyclopedia | Towns in Turkey | Titular Sees

Zile | Зела | Zile, Tokat