Constantia or
Konstantia (
Ancient Greek:
Κωνσταντία) was a town of some importance in the province
Osrhoene in
Mesopotamia, on the road between
Nisibis and
Carrhae, at no great distance from
Edessa. It was, after his departure from Nisibis, the residence of the
dux Mesopotamiae until the foundation of
Dara. There is considerable variation in different authors in the way in which the name of this town is written and the names under which it is known, including: Constantia or Konstantia (Κωνσταντία),
Constantina or
Konstantina (Κωνσταντίνα),
Antoninopolis,
Nicephorium or
Nikephorion (Νικηφόριον),
Maximianopolis (Μαξιμιανούπολις),
Constantinopolis in Osrhoene,
Tella and
Antiochia Arabis,
Antiochia in Mesopotamia (
Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Μεσοποταμίας –
Antiocheia tes Mesopotamias) and
Antiochia in Arabia (
Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Ἀραβική –
Antiocheia e Arabike).
According to Pliny it was founded by Seleucus I Nicator after the death of Alexander the Great. According to the Byzantine historian John Malalas, the city was built by the Roman Emperor Constantine I on the site of former Maximianopolis, which had been destroyed by a Persian attack and an earthquake. Jacob Baradaeus was born near the city and was a monk in a nearby monastery.
Under the names Constantina and Tella, it was also a bishopric, suffragan of Edessa; some names of early bishops have been preserved, including Sophronius who attended the Council of Antioch in 445. No longer a residential bishop, it remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church under the name Constantina. The city was captured by the Arabs in 639.
Its site is near the modern Viranşehir, Turkey.