Mount Galesios or Galesion (), today known as Alamandağ or Gallesion in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

, is a mountain north of

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

in modern-day Turkey. The mountain is located on the northern bank of the Küçükmenderes River (ancient Kaystros), on the western coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. It is notable as the seat of a large

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monastic community in late

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times, from the 11th century to the area's conquest by the Turks in the 14th century.

History

The first monastic community on the mountain was established by the

stylite A stylite ( () "pillar dweller", derived from () "pillar" and ()) or pillar-saint is a type of Christian ascetic who lives on pillars, preaching, fasting and praying. Stylites believe that the mortification of their bodies would help ensure ...

monk

Lazaros of Mount Galesios Saint Lazaros of Mount Galesios (, ''Lazaros ho Galēsiōtēs''; – 7 November 1053) was an 11th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine monk and stylite, who founded a monastic community at Mount Galesios near Ephesus. Life Lazaros, whose secular ...

, who died there in 1053. Already during his lifetime, three monasteries were established near his pillar: the

Saviour Savior or saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or li ...

, reserved for 12

eunuch A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...

s; the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

, for 12 monks, and the Resurrection (''Anastasis'') of 40 monks. Each had its own ''

hegoumenos Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns ...

'' (abbot). A fourth monastery, the Theotokos of Bessai, was established by the imperial family and housed up to 300 monks, but it rapidly declined after the 11th century. There was also a female convent, that of Eupraxia, where the monks' female relatives could stay. The death of Lazaros deprived the community of much of its prestige, but it re-emerged into prominence in the 13th century, with the establishment of the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...

, when the neighbouring city of Nymphaion became the favourite winter residence of the Nicaean emperors. The patriarchs

Joseph I of Constantinople Joseph I of Constantinople (; - died 23 March 1283) was a Byzantine monk who served twice as list of Ecumenical Patriarchs of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, from 1266 to 1275 and from 1282 until shortly before his death ...

(1266–1275 and from 1282 to 1283),

Gregory II of Constantinople Gregory II of Constantinople (; 1241 – 1290) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople between 1283 and 1289. Life Gregory was born in Lapithos, Cyprus. His name was originally George. His parents were middle class but of noble origin. H ...

(1283–1289) and

Athanasius I of Constantinople Athanasius I of Constantinople (; – 28 October 1310) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for two terms, from 1289 to 1293 and from 1303 to 1309. He was born in Adrianople and died in Constantinople. Chosen by the emperor Androniko ...

(1289–1293 and 1303–1309) were all monks of the "monastery of Galesios"; Gregory II even wrote a new version of the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of St. Lazaros. The monastery featured a considerable library and a

scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...

. The area's history as a monastic centre ended when it was captured by the

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in the early 14th century.

References

Sources

* {{Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ref={{harvid, ODB History of İzmir Province Byzantine Anatolia Greek Orthodox monasteries in Turkey Geography of the Byzantine Empire Alamandag Landforms of İzmir Province Galesios Ephesus Selçuk District