Castabala (city)

Castabala (), also known as Hieropolis and Hierapolis () was a city in Cilicia (modern southern Turkey), near the Ceyhan River (ancient Pyramus).
The Turkish town of Kırmıtlı, in the Osmaniye district of Osmaniye Province, sits atop the ruins of the ancient city.
The ruins were first identified from inscriptions in March 1890 by the British explorer J. Theodore Bent.
Early history.
Castabala was one of the cities of the Late Hitite period. The name Castabala was probably of Luwian origin. The city was captured by Achaemenid Empire and became part of the Cilician satrapy and then by Alexander the Great. During the Hellenistic age it was called "Hieropolis". During the Roman Empire the city was a part of Capadocia Province. But after the Cilician pirates were defeated, Tarkondimotos, a pardoned pirate leader, became the governor of the region.
Roman Period.
The city was important enough in the Roman province of Cilicia Secunda to become a suffragan of its capital Anazarbus's Metropolitan Archbishopric, but would fade.
Titular see.
The Diocese of Castabala is a titular bishopric of the Catholic Church reflecting its active status in Late Antiquity.
It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank :