1Now about that time, King Herod stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly. 2He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. 3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This was during the days of unleavened bread. 4When he had arrested him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him. 6The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.
7And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Stand up quickly!” His chains fell off his hands. 8The angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” He did so. He said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9And he went out and followed him. He didn’t know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. 10When they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I truly know that the Lord has sent out his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.” 12Thinking about that, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13When Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she didn’t open the gate for joy, but ran in and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.” 16But Peter continued knocking. When they had opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.
18Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19When Herod had sought for him and didn’t find him, he examined the guards, then commanded that they should be put to death. He went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
20Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him and, having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21On an appointed day, Herod dressed himself in royal clothing, sat on the throne, and gave a speech to them. 22The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory. Then he was eaten by worms and died.
24But the word of God grew and multiplied. 25Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their service, also taking with them John who was called Mark.
Paul and Barnabas set sail on their first missionary journey (Acts 13.1-14.28), accompanied by John Mark (Acts 12.25), from this port five to six (5-6) miles north of the mouth of the Orontes River, which served as the port for the great city of Antioch (Acts 13.4), fifteen to sixteen (15-16) miles away. Seleucia appears once in the Bible, in Acts 13.4: "So Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus" (NET). Built in 301 B.C. by Seleucus Nicator I, "King of Syria," the most zealous of princes in the region for the building of cities, who is reputed to have built nine cities named Seleucia, sixteen named Antioch, and six named Laodicea. This particular city was also called "Seleucia by the Sea" (I Macc. 11.8).
The city was built upon a promontory, a high point of land projecting into the sea beyond the coastline. This high point of land was called Mt. Hazzi by Hittites, as well as the Ugaritians. The site of the city was chosen, according to legend, while Seleucus (312-281 B.C.), one of Alexander the Great's generals, was sacrificing on this mountain. An eagle allegedly descended, snatching part of the entrails of the animal sacrifice, and deposited the entrails at the place precisely where the new city would be constructed. Seleucus took control of one of the four fragments of Alexander's conquests, roughly covering modern Turkey unto what is now modern Iran, which new kingdom took his name, Seleucia. Seleucia, along with the other three fragmented kingdoms, Greece, Thrace, and Egypt, fulfilled Daniel's prophecy of the "four heads" in Daniel 7:6, predicting the four-fold fragmentation of the empire of Alexander the Great.
Seleucus, ever the general, viewed the site, however, as militarily unsafe from attacks from the sea; therefore, he moved the new capital of his kingdom to Antioch, where inland trade routes could be better protected. Almost prophetically, his prudence was confirmed by the occupation of the port by the Ptolemies (241-219 B.C.), as per 1 Maccabees 11:8, "... King Ptolemy took possession of the cities along the seacoast as far as Seleucia-by-the-Sea." The Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt and the Seleucid dynasty that ruled Seleucia fought over Israel until the decisive battle of Paneion in 200 B.C., where Antiochus III, the descendent of Seleucus, defeated the Ptolemaic general Scopus and consolidated all of Israel.
The port was actually created by the enlargement of the natural basin, which was fed by a stream. Because the stream silted the basin, Vespasian, then later Titus diverted the stream via a constructed watercourse. This canal was over fifteen hundred (1500) yards in length, the last approximate one-hundred forty-two (142) yards tunneled through rock at a height and width of over six (6) yards. This "Tunnel of Titus" was the greatest project undertaken by Rome in the provinces. Inscriptions of Vespasian (69-71) and Titus (79-81) remain on the tunnel's walls. Currently called "el-Kalusi," this ancient port of Seleucia is largely silted, but still partially visible.