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Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of
Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
, southwest of present-day
Selçuk Selçuk is a town in İzmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its previous Greek name, Ag ...
in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital, by
Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators. Ephesus was recipient city of one of the Pauline epistles; one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation; the Gospel of John may have been written there; Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible'', Palo Alto, Mayfield, 1985. and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (see
Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...
). The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. In 614, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from
Adnan Menderes Airport Adnan ( ar, عدنان, 'adnān) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. His ancestry can be traced back t ...
and from the resort town Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


History


Neolithic age

Humans had begun inhabiting the area surrounding Ephesus by the Neolithic Age (about 6000 BC), as shown by evidence from excavations at the nearby ''höyük'' (artificial mounds known as tells) of Arvalya and Cukurici.


Bronze Age

Excavations in recent years have unearthed settlements from the early Bronze Age at
Ayasuluk Hill Ayasuluk Hill (, ) is an ancient mound in İzmir Province in Turkey. It forms part of the Ephesus UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is home to a Byzantine Empire, Byzantine fortress and the ruins of the Basilica of St John. It was reputedly the tomb o ...
. According to Hittite sources, the capital of the kingdom of Arzawa (another independent state in Western and Southern Anatolia/Asia Minor) was Apasa (or ''Abasa''), and some scholars suggest that this is the same place the Greeks later called Ephesus.J. David Hawkins (1998). ‘Tarkasnawa King of Mira: Tarkendemos, Boğazköy Sealings, and Karabel.’ ''Anatolian Studies'' 48:1–31. In 1954, a burial ground from the Mycenaean era (1500–1400 BC), which contained ceramic pots, was discovered close to the ruins of the
basilica of St. John The Basilica of St. John ( el, Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου) was a basilica in Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apost ...
. This was the period of the Mycenaean expansion, when the '' Ahhiyawa'' began settling in Asia Minor, a process that continued into the 13th century BC. The names ''Apasa'' and ''Ephesus'' appear to be cognate,Jaan Puhvel (1984). 'Hittite Etymological Dictionary Vol. 1(A)' ''Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter'' 1984–. and recently found inscriptions seem to pinpoint the places in the Hittite record.J.David Hawkins (2009). 'The Arzawa letters in recent perspective' ''British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 14'' 73–83.Garstang, J. and O. R. Gurney (1959). 'The geography of the Hittite Empire' ''Occasional Publications of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara 5''London.


Period of Greek migrations

Ephesus was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC on a hill (now known as the Ayasuluk Hill), three kilometers () from the centre of ancient Ephesus (as attested by excavations at the
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
castle during the 1990s). The mythical founder of the city was a prince of Athens named Androklos, who had to leave his country after the death of his father, King Kodros. According to the legend, he founded Ephesus on the place where the oracle of
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
became reality ("A fish and a boar will show you the way"). Androklos drove away most of the native Carian and
Lelegian The Leleges (; grc-gre, Λέλεγες) were an aboriginal people of the Aegean Sea, Aegean region, before the Greek people, Greeks arrived. They were distinct from another pre-Hellenic people of the region, the Pelasgians. The exact areas to whic ...
inhabitants of the city and united his people with the remainder. He was a successful warrior, and as a king he was able to join the twelve cities of
Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
together into the Ionian League. During his reign the city began to prosper. He died in a battle against the Carians when he came to the aid of Priene, another city of the Ionian League. Androklos and his dog are depicted on the Hadrian temple frieze, dating from the 2nd century. Later, Greek historians such as Pausanias,
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
and
Herodotos Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an Classical Greece, ancient Greek historian and geographer from the List of ancient Greek cities, Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later ci ...
and the poet Kallinos reassigned the city's mythological foundation to Ephos, queen of the
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
. The Greek goddess Artemis and the great Anatolian goddess
Kybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible foreru ...
were identified together as ''Artemis of Ephesus''. The many-breasted "Lady of Ephesus", identified with Artemis, was venerated in the Temple of Artemis, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...
and the largest building of the ancient world according to Pausanias (4.31.8). Pausanias mentions that the temple was built by Ephesus, son of the river god Caystrus, before the arrival of the Ionians. Of this structure, scarcely a trace remains. Ancient sources seem to indicate that an older name of the place was Alope ( grc, Ἀλόπη, Alópē).


Archaic period

About 650 BC, Ephesus was attacked by the Cimmerians who razed the city, including the temple of Artemis. After the Cimmerians had been driven away, the city was ruled by a series of tyrants. Following a revolt by the people, Ephesus was ruled by a council. The city prospered again under a new rule, producing a number of important historical figures such as the elegiac poet
Callinus Callinus ( grc, Καλλῖνος, ''Kallinos''; fl. mid-7th c. BC) was an ancient Greek elegiac poet who lived in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor in the mid-7th century BC. His poetry is representative of the genre of martial exhortation elegy i ...
and the iambic poet
Hipponax Hipponax ( grc, Ἱππῶναξ; ''gen''. Ἱππώνακτος; fl. late 6th century BC), of Ephesus and later Clazomenae, was an Ancient Greek iambic poet who composed verses depicting the vulgar side of life in Ionian society. He was celebrat ...
, the philosopher Heraclitus, the great painter Parrhasius and later the grammarian
Zenodotos Zenodotus ( grc-gre, Ζηνόδοτος) was a Greek grammarian, literary critic, Homeric scholar, and the first librarian of the Library of Alexandria. A native of Ephesus and a pupil of Philitas of Cos, he lived during the reigns of the fi ...
and physicians Soranus and Rufus. About 560 BC, Ephesus was conquered by the Lydians under king
Croesus Croesus ( ; Lydian: ; Phrygian: ; grc, Κροισος, Kroisos; Latin: ; reigned: c. 585 – c. 546 BC) was the king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. Croesus was ...
, who, though a harsh ruler, treated the inhabitants with respect and even became the main contributor to the reconstruction of the temple of Artemis. His signature has been found on the base of one of the columns of the temple (now on display in the British Museum). Croesus made the populations of the different settlements around Ephesus regroup ('' synoikismos'') in the vicinity of the Temple of Artemis, enlarging the city. Later in the same century, the Lydians under Croesus invaded Persia. The Ionians refused a peace offer from
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
, siding with the Lydians instead. After the Persians defeated Croesus, the Ionians offered to make peace, but Cyrus insisted that they surrender and become part of the empire. They were defeated by the Persian army commander Harpagos in 547 BC. The Persians then incorporated the Greek cities of Asia Minor into the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...
. Those cities were then ruled by
satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
s. Ephesus has intrigued archaeologists because for the Archaic Period there is no definite location for the settlement. There are numerous sites to suggest the movement of a settlement between the Bronze Age and the Roman period, but the silting up of the natural harbours as well as the movement of the Kayster River meant that the location never remained the same.


Classical period

Ephesus continued to prosper, but when taxes were raised under
Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyses ...
and
Darius Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...
, the Ephesians participated in the Ionian Revolt against Persian rule in the Battle of Ephesus (498 BC), an event which instigated the Greco-Persian wars. In 479 BC, the Ionians, together with Athens, were able to oust the Persians from the shores of Asia Minor. In 478 BC, the Ionian cities with Athens entered into the
Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...
against the Persians. Ephesus did not contribute ships but gave financial support. During the
Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
, Ephesus was first allied to Athens but in a later phase, called the Decelean War, or the Ionian War, sided with Sparta, which also had received the support of the Persians. As a result, rule over the cities of Ionia was ceded again to Persia. These wars did not greatly affect daily life in Ephesus. The Ephesians were surprisingly modern in their social relations: they allowed strangers to integrate and education was valued. In later times, Pliny the Elder mentioned having seen at Ephesus a representation of the goddess Diana by
Timarete Timarete ( el, Τιμαρέτη) (or Thamyris, Tamaris, Thamar; 5th century BC), was an ancient Greek painter. She was the daughter of the painter Micon the Younger of Athens. According to Pliny the Elder, she "scorned the duties of women and pr ...
, the daughter of a painter. In 356 BC the temple of Artemis was burnt down, according to legend, by a lunatic called Herostratus. The inhabitants of Ephesus at once set about restoring the temple and even planned a larger and grander one than the original.


Hellenistic period

When Alexander the Great defeated the Persian forces at the
Battle of Granicus The Battle of the Granicus in May 334 BC was the first of three major battles fought between Alexander the Great of Macedon and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The battle took place on the road from Abydus to Dascylium, at the crossing of the G ...
in 334 BC, the Greek cities of Asia Minor were liberated. The pro-Persian tyrant Syrpax and his family were stoned to death, and Alexander was greeted warmly when he entered Ephesus in triumph. When Alexander saw that the temple of Artemis was not yet finished, he proposed to finance it and have his name inscribed on the front. But the inhabitants of Ephesus demurred, claiming that it was not fitting for one god to build a temple to another. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, Ephesus in 290 BC came under the rule of one of Alexander's generals,
Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessalian officer and successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became King of Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon. Early life and career Lysimachus was b ...
. As the river Cayster (Grk. name Κάϋστρος) silted up the old harbour, the resulting marshes caused malaria and many deaths among the inhabitants. Lysimachus forced the people to move from the ancient settlement around the temple of Artemis to the present site two kilometres () away, when as a last resort the king flooded the old city by blocking the sewers. The new settlement was officially called ''Arsinoea'' ( grc, Ἀρσινόεια or Ἀρσινοΐα) or Arsinoe (Ἀρσινόη), after the king's second wife,
Arsinoe II of Egypt Arsinoë II ( grc-koi, Ἀρσινόη, 316 BC – unknown date between July 270 and 260 BC) was a Ptolemaic queen and co-regent of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of ancient Egypt. She was given the Egyptian title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt", making ...
. After Lysimachus had destroyed the nearby cities of
Lebedos Lebedus or Lebedos ( grc, Λέβεδος) was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League, located south of Smyrna, Klazomenai and neighboring Teos and before Ephesus, which is further south. It was on the coast, ninety stadia (16.65 km) ...
and Colophon in 292 BC, he relocated their inhabitants to the new city. Ephesus revolted after the treacherous death of Agathocles, giving the Hellenistic king of Syria and Mesopotamia Seleucus I Nicator an opportunity for removing and killing Lysimachus, his last rival, at the Battle of Corupedium in 281 BC. After the death of Lysimachus the town again was named Ephesus. Thus Ephesus became part of the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
. After the murder of king Antiochus II Theos and his Egyptian wife, pharaoh
Ptolemy III , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hiero ...
invaded the Seleucid Empire and the Egyptian fleet swept the coast of Asia Minor. Ephesus came under Egyptian rule between 263 and 197 BC. The Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great tried to regain the Greek cities of Asia Minor and recaptured Ephesus in 196 BC but he then came into conflict with Rome. After a series of battles, he was defeated by
Scipio Asiaticus Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (properly Asiagenes; 3rd century BC – after 183 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC), Publius Cornelius Scipio and the younger broth ...
at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC. As a result of the subsequent Treaty of Apamea, Ephesus came under the rule of Eumenes II, the Attalid king of Pergamon, (ruled 197–159 BC). When his grandson Attalus III died in 133 BC without male children of his own, he left his kingdom to the Roman Republic, on condition that the city of Pergamon be kept free and autonomous.


Classical Roman period (129 BC–395 AD)

Ephesus, as part of the kingdom of Pergamon, became a subject of the Roman Republic in 129 BC after the revolt of Eumenes III was suppressed. The city felt Roman influence at once; taxes rose considerably, and the treasures of the city were systematically plundered. Hence in 88 BC Ephesus welcomed Archelaus, a general of
Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates ( Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic form of an Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by the Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It may refer to: Rulers *Of Cius (al ...
, king of Pontus, when he conquered Asia (the Roman name for western Asia Minor). From Ephesus, Mithridates ordered every Roman citizen in the province to be killed which led to the Asiatic Vespers, the slaughter of 80,000 Roman citizens in Asia, or any person who spoke with a Latin accent. Many had lived in Ephesus, and statues and monument of Roman citizens in Ephesus were also destroyed. But when they saw how badly the people of Chios had been treated by Zenobius, a general of Mithridates, they refused entry to his army. Zenobius was invited into the city to visit Philopoemen, the father of
Monime Monime, sometimes known as Monima ( el, Μονίμη; died 72/71 BC), was a Macedonian Greek noblewoman from Anatolia and one of the wives of King Mithridates VI of Pontus. According to the ancient sources she was a citizen of either Miletus or ...
, the favourite wife of Mithridates, and the overseer of Ephesus. As the people expected nothing good of him, they threw him into prison and murdered him. Mithridates took revenge and inflicted terrible punishments. However, the Greek cities were given freedom and several substantial rights. Ephesus became, for a short time, self-governing. When Mithridates was defeated in the First Mithridatic War by the Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Ephesus came back under Roman rule in 86 BC. Sulla imposed a huge indemnity, along with five years of back taxes, which left Asian cities heavily in debt for a long time to come. King Ptolemy XII Auletes of Egypt retired to Ephesus in 57 BC, passing his time in the sanctuary of the temple of Artemis when the Roman Senate failed to restore him to his throne. Mark Antony was welcomed by Ephesus for periods when he was proconsul and in 33 BC with
Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...
when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the battle of Actium with Octavius. When Augustus became emperor in 27 BC, the most important change was when he made Ephesus the capital of
proconsular Asia The Asia ( grc, Ἀσία) was a Roman province covering most of western Anatolia, which was created following the Roman Republic's annexation of the Attalid Kingdom in 133 BC. After the establishment of the Roman Empire by Augustus, it was the ...
(which covered western Asia Minor) instead of Pergamum. Ephesus then entered an era of prosperity, becoming both the seat of the governor and a major centre of commerce. According to
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, it was second in importance and size only to Rome. The city and temple were destroyed by the Goths in 263. This marked the decline of the city's splendour. However emperor
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.


The Roman population

Until recently, the population of Ephesus in Roman times was estimated to number up to 225,000 people by Broughton. More recent scholarship regards these estimates as unrealistic. Such a large estimate would require population densities seen in only a few ancient cities, or extensive settlement outside the city walls. This would have been impossible at Ephesus because of the mountain ranges, coastline and quarries which surrounded the city. The wall of Lysimachus has been estimated to enclose an area of . Not all of this area was inhabited due to public buildings and spaces in the city center and the steep slope of the Bülbül Dağı mountain, which was enclosed by the wall. Ludwig Burchner estimated this area with the walls at 1000.5 acres. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor uses an estimate of 345 hectares for the inhabited land or 835 acres (Murphey cites Ludwig Burchner). He cites Josiah Russell using 832 acres and Old Jerusalem in 1918 as the yardstick estimated the population at 51,068 at 148.5 persons per hectare. Using 510 persons per hectare, he arrives at a population between 138,000 and 172,500. J. W. Hanson estimated the inhabited space to be smaller, at . He argues that population densities of 150 or 250 people per hectare are more realistic, which gives a range of 33,600 to 56,000 inhabitants. Even with these much lower population estimates, Ephesus was one of the largest cities of Roman Asia Minor, ranking it as the largest city after Sardis and
Alexandria Troas Alexandria Troas ("Alexandria of the Troad"; el, Αλεξάνδρεια Τρωάς; tr, Eski Stambul) is the site of an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western coast, the area known historically a ...
. Hanson and Ortman (2017) estimate an inhabited area to be 263 hectares and their demographic model yields an estimate of 71,587 inhabitants, with a population density of 276 inhabitants per hectare. By contrast, Rome within the walls encompassed 1,500 hectares and as over 400 built-up hectares were left outside the Aurelian Wall, whose construction was begun in 274 CE and finished in 279 CE, the total inhabited area plus public spaces inside the walls consisted of ca. 1,900 hectares. Imperial Rome had a population estimated to be between 750,000 and one million (Hanson and Ortman's (2017) model yields an estimate of 923,406 inhabitants), which imply in a population density of 395 to 526 inhabitants per hectare, including public spaces.


Byzantine Roman period (395–1308)

Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire in Asia after Constantinople in the 5th and 6th centuries. Emperor
Flavius Arcadius Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
raised the level of the street between the theatre and the harbour. The
basilica of St. John The Basilica of St. John ( el, Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου) was a basilica in Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apost ...
was built during the reign of emperor Justinian I in the 6th century. Excavations in 2022 indicate that large parts of the city were destroyed in 614/615 by a military conflict, most likely during the Sasanian War, which initiated a drastic decline in the city's population and standard of living. The importance of the city as a commercial centre further declined as the harbour, today 5 kilometres inland, was slowly silted up by the river (today, Küçük Menderes) despite repeated dredging during the city's history. The loss of its harbour caused Ephesus to lose its access to the Aegean Sea, which was important for trade. People started leaving the lowland of the city for the surrounding hills. The ruins of the temples were used as building blocks for new homes. Marble sculptures were ground to powder to make lime for plaster. Sackings by the Arabs first in the year 654–655 by caliph
Muawiyah I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
, and later in 700 and 716 hastened the decline further. When the Seljuk Turks conquered Ephesus in 1090, it was a small village. The Byzantines resumed control in 1097 and changed the name of the town to Hagios Theologos. They kept control of the region until 1308. Crusaders passing through were surprised that there was only a small village, called Ayasalouk, where they had expected a bustling city with a large seaport. Even the temple of Artemis was completely forgotten by the local population. The Crusaders of the
Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...
fought the Seljuks just outside the town in December 1147.


Pre-Ottoman period (1304–1390)

The town surrendered, on 24 October 1304, to Sasa Bey, a Turkish warlord of the Menteşoğulları principality. Nevertheless, contrary to the terms of the surrender the Turks pillaged the church of Saint John and deported most of the local population to Thyrea, Greece when a revolt seemed probable. During these events many of the remaining inhabitants were massacred. Shortly afterwards, Ephesus was ceded to the Aydinid principality that stationed a powerful navy in the harbour of Ayasuluğ (the present-day
Selçuk Selçuk is a town in İzmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its previous Greek name, Ag ...
, next to Ephesus). Ayasoluk became an important harbour, from which
piratical Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
raids to the surrounding Christian regions were organised, both official by the state and private. The town knew again a short period of prosperity during the 14th century under these new
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
rulers. They added important architectural works such as the
İsa Bey Mosque The İsa Bey Mosque ( tr, İsa Bey Camii), constructed in 1374–75, is one of the oldest and most impressive works of architectural art remaining from the Anatolian beyliks. The mosque is situated on the outskirts of the Ayasluğ Hills at Sel ...
, caravansaries and Turkish bathhouses (hamam).


Ottoman period

Ephesians were incorporated as vassals into the Ottoman Empire for the first time in 1390. The Central Asian warlord Tamerlane defeated the Ottomans in Anatolia in 1402, and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I died in captivity. The region was restored to the
Anatolian beyliks Anatolian beyliks ( tr, Anadolu beylikleri, Ottoman Turkish: ''Tavâif-i mülûk'', ''Beylik'' ) were small principalities (or petty kingdoms) in Anatolia governed by beys, the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A secon ...
. After a period of unrest, the region was again incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1425. Ephesus was completely abandoned by the 15th century. Nearby Ayasuluğ (''Ayasoluk'' being a corrupted form of the original Greek name) was
turkified Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
to Selçuk in 1914.


Ephesus and Christianity

Ephesus was an important centre for Early Christianity from the AD 50s. From AD 52–54, the apostle Paul lived in Ephesus, working with the congregation and apparently organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands. Initially, according to the
Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
, Paul attended the
Jewish synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish language, Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino language, Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word ...
in Ephesus, but after three months he became frustrated with the stubbornness of some of the Jews, and moved his base to the school of
Tyrannus ''Tyrannus'' is a genus of small passerine birds of the tyrant flycatcher family native to the Americas. The majority are named as kingbirds. Description They prefer semi-open or open areas. These birds wait on an exposed perch and then catch i ...
. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reminds readers that the unbelief of "some" ( gr, τινες) implies that "others, probably a large number, believed" and therefore there must have been a community of Jewish Christians in Ephesus. Paul introduced about twelve men to the ' baptism with the Holy Spirit' who had previously only experienced the baptism of John the Baptist. Later a silversmith named Demetrios stirred up a mob against Paul, saying that he was endangering the livelihood of those making silver Artemis shrines. Demetrios in connection with the temple of Artemis mentions some object (perhaps an image or a stone) "fallen from Zeus". Between 53 and 57 AD Paul wrote the letter
1 Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...
from Ephesus (possibly from the 'Paul tower' near the harbour, where he was imprisoned for a short time). Later, Paul wrote the
Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...
while he was in prison in Rome (around 62 AD). Roman Asia was associated with John, Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972 one of the chief apostles, and the Gospel of John might have been written in Ephesus, ''c'' 90–100. Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Gospels" p. 266-268. Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in the Book of Revelation, indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong. According to
Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...
, Saint Timothy was the first bishop of Ephesus. Polycrates of Ephesus ( el, Πολυκράτης) was a bishop at the
Church of Ephesus The Metropolis of Ephesus ( el, Μητρόπολις Εφέσου) was an ecclesiastical territory (metropolis) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in western Asia Minor, modern Turkey. Christianity was introduced already in the city o ...
in the 2nd century. He is best known for his letter addressed to the
Pope Victor I Pope Victor I (died 199) was the bishop of Rome in the late second century (189–199 A.D.). The dates of his tenure are uncertain, but one source states he became pope in 189 and gives the year of his death as 199.Kirsch, Johann Peter (1912). "Po ...
, Bishop of Rome, defending the Quartodeciman position in the
Easter controversy The controversy over the correct date for Easter began in Early Christianity as early as the 2nd century AD. Discussion and disagreement over the best method of reform of the date of Easter, computing the date of Easter Sunday has been ongoing eve ...
. In the early 2nd century, the church at Ephesus was still important enough to be addressed by a letter written by Bishop Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians which begins with "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly most happy, being blessed in the greatness and fullness of God the Father, and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for an enduring and unchangeable glory" (''Letter to the Ephesians''). The church at Ephesus had given their support for Ignatius, who was taken to Rome for execution. A legend, which was first mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis in the 4th century, purported that Mary, the mother of Jesus, may have spent the last years of her life in Ephesus. The Ephesians derived the argument from John's presence in the city, and Jesus’ instructions to John to take care of his mother, Mary, after his death. Epiphanius, however, was keen to point out that, while the Bible says John was leaving for Asia, it does not say specifically that Mary went with him. He later stated that she was buried in Jerusalem. Since the 19th century, The House of the Virgin Mary, about from Selçuk, has been considered to have been the last home of
Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
in the Roman Catholic tradition, based on the visions of Augustinian sister the Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774–1824). It is a popular place of Catholic pilgrimage which has been visited by three recent popes. The Church of Mary near the harbour of Ephesus was the setting for the
Third Ecumenical Council The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church thr ...
in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius. A Second Council of Ephesus was held in 449, but its controversial acts were never approved by the Catholics. It came to be called the Robber Council of Ephesus or Robber Synod of Latrocinium by its opponents.


Seven Sleepers

Ephesus is believed to be the city of the Seven Sleepers, who were persecuted by the Roman emperor Decius because of their Christianity, and they slept in a cave for three centuries, outlasting their persecution. They are considered saints by Catholics and
Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...
and whose story is also mentioned in the Qur'an,


Main sites

Ephesus is one of the largest Roman archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean. The visible ruins still give some idea of the city's original splendour, and the names associated with the ruins are evocative of its former life. The theatre dominates the view down Harbour Street, which leads to the silted-up harbour. The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood 418' by 239' with over 100 marble pillars each 56' high. The temple earned the city the title "Servant of the Goddess". Pliny tells us that the magnificent structure took 120 years to build but is now represented only by one inconspicuous column, revealed during an archaeological excavation by the British Museum in the 1870s. Some fragments of the frieze (which are insufficient to suggest the form of the original) and other small finds were removed – some to London and some to the
İstanbul Archaeology Museums The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums: #Arch ...
. The Library of Celsus, the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from original pieces, was originally built c. 125 in memory of
Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus ( el, Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Κέλσος Πολεμαιανός, translit=Tibérios Ioúlios Kélsos Polemaianós), commonly known as Celsus ( – before ), was an Ancient Greek military commander a ...
, an Ancient Greek who served as governor of Roman Asia (105–107) in the Roman Empire. Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth and is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it. The library was mostly built by his son Gaius Julius Aquila and once held nearly 12,000 scrolls. Designed with an exaggerated entrance — so as to enhance its perceived size, speculate many historians — the building faces east so that the reading rooms could make best use of the morning light. The interior of the library measured roughly 180 square metres (2,000 square feet) and may have contained as many as 12,000 scrolls. By the year 400 C.E. the library was no longer in use after being damaged in 262 C.E. The facade was reconstructed during 1970 to 1978 using fragments found on site or copies of fragments that were previously removed to museums. At an estimated 25,000 seating capacity, the theatre is believed to be the largest in the ancient world. This open-air theatre was used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage; the first archaeological evidence of a gladiator graveyard was found in May 2007. There were two
agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...
s, one for commercial and one for state business. Ephesus also had several major
bath complexes Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
, built at various times while the city was under Roman rule. The city had one of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world, with at least six aqueducts of various sizes supplying different areas of the city. They fed a number of water mills, one of which has been identified as a sawmill for marble. The
Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...
was a small roofed theatre constructed by
Publius Vedius Antoninus Publius may refer to: Roman name * Publius (praenomen) * Ancient Romans with the name: ** Publius Valerius Publicola (died 503 BC), Roman consul, co-founder of the Republic **Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC – 52 BC), Republican politician * ...
and his wife around 150 AD. It was a small salon for plays and concerts, seating about 1,500 people. There were 22 stairs in the theatre. The upper part of the theatre was decorated with red granite pillars in the Corinthian style. The entrances were at both sides of the stage and reached by a few steps.Keskin, Naci. ''Ephesus''. The Temple of Hadrian dates from the 2nd century but underwent repairs in the 4th century and has been reerected from the surviving architectural fragments. The reliefs in the upper sections are casts, the originals now being exhibited in the
Ephesus Archaeological Museum The Ephesus Archaeological Museum ( tr, Efes Müzesi) is an archaeological museum in Selçuk near the Ancient Greek city of İzmir, Turkey. It houses finds from the nearby Ephesus excavation site. Its best-known exhibit is the ancient statue o ...
. A number of figures are depicted in the reliefs, including the emperor Theodosius I with his wife and eldest son. The temple was depicted on the
reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...
of the Turkish 20 million
lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...
banknote of 2001–2005 and of the 20 new lira banknote of 2005–2009. The Temple of the Sebastoi (sometimes called the Temple of Domitian), dedicated to the Flavian dynasty, was one of the largest temples in the city. It was erected on a
pseudodipteral Pseudodipteral describes an ancient Greek temple with a single peristyle surrounding the cella at the distance of two intercolumns and one column. Unlike peripteral temples, there is a greater space between the columns of the peristyle and the cell ...
plan with 8 × 13 columns. The temple and its statue are some of the few remains connected with Domitian. The Tomb/Fountain of Pollio was erected in 97 AD in honour of C. Sextilius Pollio, who constructed the Marnas aqueduct, by Offilius Proculus. It has a concave façade.''Ephesus''. Distributed by Rehber Basım Yayın Dağıtım Reklamcılık ve Tic. A.Ş. and Revak publishers. , A part of the site,
Basilica of St. John The Basilica of St. John ( el, Βασιλική του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Θεολόγου) was a basilica in Ephesus. It was constructed by Justinian I in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of John the Apost ...
, was built in the 6th century, under emperor Justinian I, over the supposed site of the apostle's tomb. It is now surrounded by Selçuk.


Archaeology

The history of archaeological research in Ephesus stretches back to 1863, when British architect John Turtle Wood, sponsored by the British Museum, began to search for the Artemision. In 1869 he discovered the pavement of the temple, but since further expected discoveries were not made the excavations stopped in 1874. In 1895 German archaeologist
Otto Benndorf Otto Benndorf (13 September 1838 – 2 January 1907) was a German-Austrian archaeologist who was a native of Greiz, Principality of Reuss-Greiz. He was the father of physicist Hans Benndorf (1870–1953). He studied under Friedrich Gottlieb We ...
, financed by a 10,000 guilder donation made by Austrian Karl Mautner Ritter von Markhof, resumed excavations. In 1898 Benndorf founded the
Austrian Archaeological Institute Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example ...
, which plays a leading role in Ephesus today. Finds from the site are exhibited notably in the
Ephesos Museum The Ephesos Museum in Vienna displays antiquities from the city of Ephesus ( gr, Έφεσος, german: Ephesos), in modern-day Turkey. Begun in the late 19th century, the collection includes original works of sculpture and architecture, and bel ...
in Vienna, the
Ephesus Archaeological Museum The Ephesus Archaeological Museum ( tr, Efes Müzesi) is an archaeological museum in Selçuk near the Ancient Greek city of İzmir, Turkey. It houses finds from the nearby Ephesus excavation site. Its best-known exhibit is the ancient statue o ...
in Selçuk and in the British Museum. In October 2016, Turkey halted the works of the archeologists, which had been ongoing for more than 100 years, due to tensions between Austria and Turkey. In May 2018, Turkey allowed Austrian archeologists to resume their excavations.


Notable people

* Heraclitus (c. 535 – c. 475 BC), Presocratic philosopher *
Hipponax Hipponax ( grc, Ἱππῶναξ; ''gen''. Ἱππώνακτος; fl. late 6th century BC), of Ephesus and later Clazomenae, was an Ancient Greek iambic poet who composed verses depicting the vulgar side of life in Ionian society. He was celebrat ...
(6th Century BC), poet *
Zeuxis Zeuxis may refer to: * Zeuxis (general) (), Greek general * Zeuxis (painter) (), Greek painter * Zeuxis of Tarentum (), Greek physician * Zeuxis (wrestler) Zeuxis (born November 3, 1988) is a Puerto Rican ''luchadora enmascarada'', or masked ...
(5th century BC), painter * Parrhasius (5th century BC), painter * Herostratus (d 356 BC), criminal *
Zenodotus Zenodotus ( grc-gre, Ζηνόδοτος) was a Greek grammarian, literary critic, Homeric scholar, and the first librarian of the Library of Alexandria. A native of Ephesus and a pupil of Philitas of Cos, he lived during the reigns of the first ...
(fl. 280 BC), grammarian and literary critic, first librarian of the Library of Alexandria * Agasias (2nd century BC), Greek sculptors *
Menander Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...
(early 2nd century BC), historian * Artemidorus Ephesius (c. 100 BC), geographer *
Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus ( el, Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Κέλσος Πολεμαιανός, translit=Tibérios Ioúlios Kélsos Polemaianós), commonly known as Celsus ( – before ), was an Ancient Greek military commander a ...
(ca. 45 – before ca. 120), founder of the Celsus library * Publius Hordeonius Lollianus (1st century), sophist * Rufus (1st century), physician * Polycrates of Ephesus (130 – 196), bishop * Soranus of Ephesus (1st–2nd century), physician *
Artemidorus Artemidorus Daldianus ( grc-gre, Ἀρτεμίδωρος ὁ Δαλδιανός) or Ephesius was a professional diviner who lived in the 2nd century AD. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek work, the '' Oneirocritica'' or ''Oneirokritikon ...
(2nd century AD), diviner and author * Xenophon (2nd–3rd century), novelist * Maximus (4th century), Neoplatonic philosopher * Sosipatra (4th century), Neoplatonic philosopher *
Manuel Philes Manuel Philes (c. 1275–1345, gr, Μανουήλ Φιλής), of Ephesus, Byzantine poet. Biography At an early age, he moved to Constantinople, where he was the pupil of Georgius Pachymeres, in whose honour he composed a memorial poem. Philes ...
(c. 1275 – 1345), Byzantine poet


See also

*
Ancient settlements in Turkey Below is the list of ancient settlements in Turkey. There are innumerable ruins of ancient settlements spread all over the country. While some ruins date back to Neolithic times, most of them were settlements of Hittite Empire, Hittites, Phrygians ...
* Christianity in the 1st century * Christianity in the 2nd century *
Christianity in the 3rd century Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the time in Christian history up to the First Council of Nicaea. This article covers the period following the Apostolic Age of the first century, c. 100 AD, to Nicaea in 325 AD. The second and third c ...
*
Early centers of Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
*
Early Christian art and architecture Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...
* Early Christianity *
Nea Efesos Nea Efesos (Greek: Νέα Έφεσος) is a rural settlement of the former Municipality of Dio, which is part of the municipality of Dio-Olympos Dion-Olympos ( el, Δίον-Όλυμπος, ''Díon-Ólympos'') is a municipality in the Pieria r ...


References


Sources

*Foss, Clive. 1979. "Ephesus After Antiquity." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Athas, Daphne. 1991. ''Entering Ephesus.'' Sag Harbor, NY: Second Chance Press. *Oster, Richard. 1987. ''A Bibliography of Ancient Ephesus.'' Philadelphia: American Theological Library Association. *Scherrer, Peter, Fritz Krinzinger, and Selahattin Erdemgil. 2000. ''Ephesus: The New Guide.'' Rev. ed. 2000. Turkey: Ege Yayinlari (Zero Prod. Ltd.). *Leloux, Kevin. 2018. "The Campaign Of Croesus Against Ephesus: Historical & Archaeological Considerations", in Polemos 21–2, p. 47–63.


External links


Official websiteOfficial website of the terrace houses of EphesusPhotos from Ephesus (2015)This Is What The Ancient Greek City Ephesus Most Probably Looked Like
(''The Mind Circle,'' Alpix, 2022) {{Authority control Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...
Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Athenian colonies Former populated places in Turkey History of İzmir Province Holy cities Ionian League Members of the Delian League New Testament cities Pauline churches Populated places established in the 10th century BC Asia (Roman province) Tourist attractions in İzmir Province Populated places in ancient Ionia Former kingdoms