Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

582 21a. asia minor and cyprus
Shifts in priorities produced another fundamental change in the appearance
of the cities during this period – the abandonment of a number of
public spaces. At Phaselis, probably in the fifth century, a large basilica –
almost certainly a church, but just possibly a secular building – was built in
the agora, in the middle of an open space; similarly, a large Christian basilica
was built in the centre of the agora at Iasos, perhaps in the sixth century.
It is easy to see that many of the functions of an agora – in civic self-government
and pagan religion – may have been less relevant to this period,
while energetic commercial life still used the pattern of streets lined with
shops. This is exemplified at Ephesus, where the great open Staatsmarkt area
at the upper part of the site, which had been the centre of religious and
political life, was abandoned and occupied by small dwellings; spolia from
the public buildings there were used elsewhere on the site. But, during the
late fourth and early fifth century, the main streets in the lower, western,
part of the site were retained and even remodelled – most strikingly, the
great Arcadiane, leading from the theatre to the harbour, which was
equipped with street-lighting. Moreover, the agora in the lower town was
restored in the late fourth century, and remained in use – even if perhaps
only for commercial purposes.
In general, after a slack period in the early fourth century, the fifth and
the sixth century saw energetic building activity at many cities, such as Side,
Aphrodisias, Anemurium and the cities of Pamphylia and Pisidia. Recent
excavations at Amorium are uncovering a city which received new city
walls, and a new lease of life, principally under the emperor Zeno. At
Miletus, this surge of activity seems to have come even later: ‘Work has
demonstrated that, after a period of stagnation in the 4th and 5th centuries
a.d., Miletus once again enjoyed a period of lively building activity in the
6th and 7th centuries.’ 23
One of the biggest changes in the late Roman period is the enormous
reduction in the number of inscriptions. As a result, we know less than we
would like about the government of these cities. But, after the end of the
fourth century, the traditional formulae naming the Council and People as
the governing entity disappear. Instead, works are undertaken by the
council, by local benefactors, or by the bishop of a city – reflecting developments
in the legislation, where civic matters come increasingly to be
entrusted to bishops and local landowners. It is worth noting that this
change may be reflected in the archaeological record described above,
where church buildings, commercial activities and private houses invade
some of the previously civic spaces.
At many sites, as has been shown, new buildings used spolia from previous
structures, now redundant; but this should not overshadow the
23 W. Müller-Wiener in Mitchell (1985) 85.
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