A titular see of Palestina Prima, suffragan of Cæsarea. The town, at first called Apollonia, is mentioned by Pliny, "Hist. nat.", V, 14, and Ptolemy, V, xv, 2, between Cæsarea and Joppa, and by other geographers. According to Josephus, "Ant. jud.", XIII, xv, 4, it belonged at first to the Phœnicians. From Appianus, "Hist. rom. Syr.", 57, it seems to have been founded by a King Seleucus, whose name it was given, but the history of this maritime city and the date of its establishment; are entirely unknown. The Roman proconsul, Gabinius, found it ruined in 57 B. C. and had it rebuilt (Josephus, "Bel. jud.", I, viii, 4). On the arrival of the Crusaders it was called Arsur or Azuffium, and was protected by strong walls; Godfrey de Bouillon attempted to capture it, but failed for want of ships ( William of Tyre, IX, x). King Baldwin I took it in 1102, after a siege by land and sea, allowing the inhabitants to withdraw to Ascalon. Occupied in 1191 by Saladin, the town was captured by Richard Cœur de Lion after his victory at Rochetaillée. In 1251 St. Louis re-erected its ramparts, and fourteen years later, in 1265, after a siege of forty days, it was stormed by the sultan Bibars; the inhabitants were killed or sold as slaves and the town completely razed. It never recovered, and in the fourteenth century the geographer Abulfeda said it contained no inhabitants ("Tabula Syriæ", 82). Its name Apollonia was replaced by Sozusa at an early period; in 449 at the Robber Council of Ephesus Baruchius signs with this title; its bishops, Leontius in 518, and Damianus in 553, are also known ( Le Quien, "Oriens christianus", III, 595). Under the name of Sozusa it occurs in the Byzantine geographers Hierocles and George of Cyprus. In the Middle Ages it was confused with Antipatris, situated more inland, and it is under this name that some of its titular bishops are to be sought. To-day its ruins may be seen at Arsûf, north of Jaffa.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online