Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
Ephesos
Remains from Seljuk times are spread out over a wide part of the
provincial district of Selçuk in the province of ‹zmir. It has been shown
that this region was originally inhabited by the Carians and Lelegians. It
was later settled by Ionian colonists, who came here under the
leadership of Androclos, the son of Kodros, a king who ruled Attica. In
the 10 th century BC they founded the city of Ephesos. In the 7 th century
BC. Ephesos was invaded by the Cimmerians, who came from the Black
Sea region, and in 560 BC it was occupied by Kroisos, King of Lydia.
Kroisos relocated the city from the harbor of Koressos 1.200 m. away to
the site of what was later to become the Temple of Artemis.
The Persians invaded the city in 546 BC, whereby it was subsequently
conquered by Lysimachus and his generals. Lysimachus brought the
people living in Kolophon and Lebedos to the area around the
Artemision, located between the two mountains, Pion and Koressos,
known today as Panay›r and Bülbül, thus increasing the size of the city,
which he also had encircled by a fortifying wall. During Hellenistic times,
Ephesos was ruled by the Seleucids.
After 190 BC it became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon, and together
with that kingdom became a Roman dependency in 133 BC the city
experienced its brightest period of development, from the beginning of
the reign of Emperor Augustus whereas Ephesos became the capital of
the Roman province of Asia Minor and thus where the Roman proconsul
resided. That Ephesos was also of great importance during Christian
times is attested to by the facts that St. Paul visited the city after 50 AD
and that St. John was buried at Ayasuluk around the beginning of the 2 nd
century.
The city experienced its third bright period during the reign of the
Emperor Justinianus in the mid-6 th century. It was during this time that
the citadel at Ayasuluk and the church of St. John (located inside it)
were built. Ephesos was destroyed during the Arab invasions of the 7 th -
8 th centuries. The continued silting of the harbor caused a steady decline
of the city’s commercial importance. With the arrival of the Seljuk Turks
in the 14 th century there was a revival of activity in the vicinity of the
Statue of Artemis.
2 nd century AD.
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