Heraclea Cybistra

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For other uses, see Heraclea (disambiguation).

Heraclea Cybistra (Greek: Hράκλεια Κύβιστρα; near modern Ereğli in Konya Province, Turkey), under the name Cybistra, had some importance in Hellenistic times owing to its position near the point where the road to the Cilician Gates enters the hills. It lay in the way of armies and was more than once sacked by the Arab invaders of Asia Minor (by Harun al-Rashid in 806 and al-Ma'mun in 832). Three hours’ ride south is the famous "Hittite" rock-relief of a lynx, representing a king (probably of neighbouring Tyana) adoring a god. This was the first "Hittite" monument discovered in modern times (early 18th century, by the Swede Otter, an emissary of Louis XIV).