Editing Colossae (section)

===Byzantine period and decline===
{{expand section | with SOURCED material relevant to its destruction by the Saracens and the Turks | small = no|date=February 2016}}
The city's fame and renowned status continued into the Byzantine period, and in 858, it was distinguished as a Metropolitan See. The Byzantines also built the church of St. Michael in the vicinity of Colossae, one of the largest church buildings in the Middle East. Nevertheless, sources suggest that the town may have decreased in size or may even been completely abandoned due to Arab invasions in the seventh and eighth centuries, forcing the population to flee to resettle in the nearby city of Chonai (modern day [[Honaz]]).<ref name="autogenerated47"/>

Colossae's church was destroyed in 1192/3 during the Byzantine civil wars. It was a suffragan diocese of Laodicea in Phyrigia Pacatiana but was replaced in the Byzantine period by the Chonae settlement on higher ground.<ref name=":0" />