theocracy · Anatolia and the Levant
Olba
Origins
Olba grew around the sanctuary of Zeus Olbios at Uzuncaburç, in the mountains above the Cilician coast. In the Seleucid period it was governed by a line of high priests, the Teucrids, who traced their descent to Teucer, a hero of the Trojan War, and ruled the surrounding temple lands.
Rule and society
The priest-kings controlled a territory of villages and forests from fortified towers. The temple of Zeus, built in the 3rd century BCE, still stands among later ruins. In the 1st century BCE the dynasty was disrupted by usurpers such as Zenophanes, whose daughter Aba won Roman favour.
Decline and legacy
Under Augustus the Teucrid Ajax son of Teucer ruled as high priest and toparch. A king Polemon, probably Polemon II of Pontus, later held Olba, and Vespasian absorbed it into Roman Cilicia in 72 CE; the sanctuary town became Diocaesarea.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Olba was a vassal of Seleucid Empire300 BCE – 150 BCE
- Olba was a vassal of Roman Empire27 BCE – 72 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Olba. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/olba
- MLA
- “Olba.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/olba. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Olba.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/olba.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Olba’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/olba (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻