Antakya (Arabic: انطاكية‎, Anṭākyä from Syriac: ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ, Anṭiokia; Greek: Ἀντιόχεια, Antiócheia), is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey.In ancient times, Antakya was known as Antioch, was for centuries one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, and was an influential early center of Christianity. It has a population of about 250,000. Most of the population speaks Turkish as their native language, while a minority are native Arabic speakers.