Antioch lies on the Orontes river, north-west Syria near the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.  It was founded by Seleucus I Nicator, the Greek general under Alexander the Great who controlled Syria in the third century BCE  He named the city after his father Antiochus.  The city was enlarged and decorated by the succession of Seleucid rulers, particularly Seleucus II Callinicus (246-225 BCE) and Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BCE).  In 64 BCE. Antioch came under Roman rule.  During Roman rule, the converted inhabitants of Antioch were the first to be called "Christians" and it became the residence of the patriarch of Asia. It also gave its name to a particular school of Christian thought.