Dülük 2.03

Dülük is a village in Şehitkamil district, a district of Greater Gaziantep, Turkey. At, it is about from Gaziantep city center. The population of Dülük was 2,256 as of 2012. As ancient Doliche (Δολίχη), a former bishopric, it remains a Latin Catholic titular see.HistoryFinds in Tell Dülük include stone tools from 30-40 thousand years ago. These tools are from a Neolithic culture, unofficially dubbed the "Dulicien culture" by researchers.Hittite periodDuring the Hittite period, it was a stop on the road connecting the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia. It was also a religious center. The sanctuary of the Hittite god Teshub was just to the north of the village.Hellenistic periodIn the literary sources, the existence of the hellenistic colony is not attested before the 2nd century BC. It is speculated that part of the original colonal population of Doliche came from the homonymous Thessalian city. The discovery of Rhodean amphorea handles suggest communications with the Aegean Sea during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. The Seleucids adopted the worship of the local storm-god as Zeus Dolichenus, identified with Baal. At this time it was a small city on the road from Germanicia to Zeugma.