In this period the first city walls were built. Strabo informs us that Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt, who enlarged the city, gave it the name of Arsinoë after Arsinoe II of Egypt, his wife and sister, but it continued to be called by its ancient name, Patara. Antiochus III captured Patara in 196 BC and it became the capital of Lycia. The Lycian League was formally established in 176 BC. The Rhodians occupied the city and as a Roman ally, the city with the rest of Lycia was granted autonomy in 167 BC. In 88 BC, the city suffered siege by Mithridates VI, king of Pontus and was captured by Brutus and Cassius, during their campaign against Mark Antony and Augustus. It was spared the massacres that were inflicted on nearby Xanthos. Patara was formally annexed by the Roman Empire in 43 AD and attached to Pamphylia. Patara is mentioned in the New Testament as the place where Paul of Tarsus and Luke changed ships. The city was Christianized early, and several early bishops are known; according to Le Quien, they include: Methodius, dubious, more probably bishop of Olympus Eudemus, present at the Council of Nicaea (325) Eutychianus, at the Council of Seleucia (359) Eudemus, at the Council of Constantinople (381) Cyrinus, at the Council of Chalcedon (451) Licinius, at the Council of Constantinople (536) Theodulus, at the Council of Constantinople (879-880) Saints Leo and Paregorius were martyred at Patara around 260 AD. Nicholas of Myra was born at Patara around March 15, 270 AD. In the 5th century AD the city was reduced in size through the construction of a strong fortification wall adjoining the Bouleuterion using stone from the nearby structures. Patara is mentioned among the Lycian bishoprics in the Acts of Councils (Hierocl. p. 684). The Notitiae Episcopatuum mention it among the suffragans of Myra as late as the thirteenth century. The city remained of some importance during the Byzantine Empire as a way-point for trade and pilgrims. After the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum acquisition in 1211 the city declined and appears to have been deserted by 1340. With the demise of the bishopric as a residential see, Patara became a titular see and is included as in the Catholic Church's list of such sees. Monuments and Site The theatre was rebuilt under Antoninus Pius in 147 AD after an earthquake; its diameter is 265 feet, and