What is…
Derbe

This is a city on the eastern part of the upland plain of Lycaonia, about 20 miles (32 km) from the city of Lystra. It is in ancient Galatia.

History

Derbe first appears in written records in the 1st century BC as the seat of the local ruler Antipater of Derbe (a friend of Cicero). Derbe was later taken by Amyntas of Galatia. It then passed through client kings (Archelaus of Cappadocia, Antiochus IV of Commagene) before becoming more fully integrated into the Roman provincial system. Under Roman emperor Claudius it received the honorary name Claudioderbe.

In the mid-2nd century AD Derbe minted coins as a member of the Lycaonian League. The coins show emperors and deities such as Heracles, Nike, and Tyche.

How is the Apostle Paul linked to Derbe?

Paul and Barnabas passed through Derbe on his route from Cilicia to Iconium, on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:1), and probably also on his third journey (Acts 18:23; 19:1).

On his first journey (Acts 14:20, 21) he came to Derbe from the other side; i.e., from Iconium and Lystra, where he survive stoning by a mob (Acts 14:19). Lystra is about 75 miles (120 km) away from Derbe.

It was the native place of Gaius, one of Paul’s companions (20:4).

He did not suffer persecution here (2 Timothy 3:11).

Paul’s 1st missionary tour

Antioch, Syria → Seleucia → Cyprus, beginning with Salamis → Paphos, Cyprus → province of Pamphylia, beginning with the port of Attalia → Perga, Pamphylia → Pisidian Antioch → province of Lycaonia, beginning with Iconium → Lystra, Lycaonia → Derbe, Lycaonia → Lystra → Iconium → Lycaonia → Pisidia → province of Pamphylia → Perga → Attalia port → Seleucia → Antioch

Location

Derbe is inland in south-central Turkey (Karaman Province). Ancient Derbe is identified with Kerti Höyük (also spelled Kerti Hüyük or Derbe Höyüğü), a settlement mound about north of Ekinözü village (formerly Aşıran). It sits on the Lycaonian plain roughly 13-16 miles (22–25 km) northeast of Karaman, Turkey (ancient Laranda), at approximately 37.35°N, 33.36°E and an elevation of about 3281-3747 feet (1,000–1,145 meters).

Archaeology

Due to insufficent funding, Derbe remains largely unexcavated. There are no standing monuments or visitor facilities comparable to sites such as Ephesus. Finds are modest so far, and unfortunately the architecture is poorly preserved.

The most notable architectural discovery as of 2013 is a church-like structure with portions of northern and eastern apses. Excavators interpreted this as evidence of a Christian community, though the exact date of the building remains unpublished in detail. The site shows reuse and modification across periods. Known bishops include Daphnus (381 AD), Paul (451 at Chalcedon), and Michael.

In 1956 Michael Ballance found a large limestone block on the slope of Kerti Höyük bearing a Greek dedication by “the council and people of Derbe” to the gods and emperors, dated to 157 AD (reign of Antoninus Pius). The city appears as Claudioderbe on 2nd-century coins, a title granted under Claudius. A second inscription from nearby Sudurağı/Devri Şehri names “the most God-loving Michael, bishop of Derbe” (4th–6th century). These finds settled the location for most scholars. The inscriptions are now in the Konya and Karaman archaeology museums.

That nearby site, Devri Şehri (or Devrişehir) is about 4 km southeast near Sudurağı and is sometimes associated with later (Byzantine) occupation or the city’s territory. Some scholars have suggested the settlement may have shifted between the two mounds over time, but Kerti Höyük is the primary accepted location for the Hellenistic–Roman city.

Kerti Höyük measures roughly 250 × 150 meters and stands about 30 meters high (some descriptions give slightly different dimensions). It is a typical Anatolian höyük (tell) formed by successive occupation layers, now surrounded by farmland with marshes or former wetlands nearby—consistent with ancient references that Stephanus of Byzantium may have confused as a “harbor.”

Surface surveys recovered pottery from the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods, plus a few pieces possibly as early as the Neolithic. The site was used as a stone quarry in later times, which damaged architecture. A 2004 observation noted a round fortress on the hilltop.

They found stone and brick walls, storage or living spaces (sometimes using mudbrick repairs), pottery, glass, and metal objects. Graves and skeletons were encountered inside or associated with the walls; paleopathological study of the 2013 skeletal material has been published.

Derbe declined after the 7th century and was largely abandoned by the 10th–11th centuries, after which a small later village existed in the area.

More information

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