Derbe

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.

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.

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][22]

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.[23]

Derbe is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[24]

− Saint Timothy was a native of Derbe (or of Lystra).[25] 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[26][27] (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"[28] in Meyers Reisebücher. Maybe the dance named devr-i veledi[29][30] 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[31] 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.[32]

 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.