Caria
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(1 Macc 15:23) - a region at the southwestern end of Asia Minor, bordered by Ionia, Lycia, Phrygia, and other lands. It was once celebrated for fertility and flourishing trade and was watered by the winding Maeander and its tributaries. Its chief cities included Antioch, Miletus, Magnesia, Nyssa, and Halicarnassus. After belonging to various lesser rulers and then Persia, it enjoyed freedom under Roman protection. First Maccabees mentions it because the Romans, allied with Judea under the high priest Simon, wrote to its inhabitants and others, directing them not to harm the Jewish people.