Ephesus (;
; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
city on the coast of
Ionia
Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...
, in present-day
Selçuk
Selçuk is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 317 km2, and its population is 38,151 (2022). The town Selçuk is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, o ...
in
İzmir Province
İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...
,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former
Arzawa
Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...
n 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. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
and
Ionian Greek colonists. During the
Classical Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archa ...
era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the
Ionian League
The Ionian League (; , ; or , , in ), also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian Greek city-states (a dodecapolis, of which there were many other ...
. The city came under the control of the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
in 129 BC.
The city was famous in its day for the nearby
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis or Artemision (; ), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, localised form of the goddess Artemis (equated with the Religion in ancient Rome, Roman goddess Diana (mythology), Diana) ...
(completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity, first established in the 1572 publication '' Octo Mundi M ...
. Its many monumental buildings included the
Library of Celsus
The Library of Celsus () is an Ancient Roman architecture, ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, today located near the modern town of Selçuk, in the İzmir Province of western Turkey. The building was commissioned in the years 110s CE b ...
and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.
Ephesus was a recipient city of one of the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...
and one of the
seven churches of Asia
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven churches of early Christianity mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them were located in Asia Min ...
addressed in the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
. The
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...
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 (
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
The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a port and 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
Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...
of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from
Adnan Menderes Airport and from the resort town
Kuşadası
Kuşadası () is a municipality and district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 130,835 (2022). It is a large resort town on the Aegean coast. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about west of Aydın. T ...
. In 2015, the ruins were designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
History
Neolithic age
Humans had begun inhabiting the area surrounding Ephesus by the
Neolithic Age
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wid ...
(about 6000 BC), as shown by evidence from excavations at the nearby ''höyük'' (artificial mounds known as
tells) of
Arvalya and
Cukurici.
Bronze Age
Early Bronze
Excavations in recent years have unearthed settlements from the early
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
at
Ayasuluk Hill.
Late Bronze
According to
Hittite sources, the capital of the kingdom of
Arzawa
Arzawa was a region and political entity in Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age. In Hittite texts, the term is used to refer both to a particular kingdom and to a loose confederation of states. The chief Arzawan state, whose capital wa ...
(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.
This was the period of the
Mycenaean expansion, when the ''
Ahhiyawa'' began settling in
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 ...
, 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.]
Iron Age
Greek migration

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 (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') 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
* S ...
castle during the 1990s). The mythical founder of the city was a prince of
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
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), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...
became reality ("A fish and a boar will show you the way"). He was a successful warrior, and as a king he was able to join the twelve cities of
Ionia
Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...
together into the
Ionian League
The Ionian League (; , ; or , , in ), also called the Panionic League, was a confederation formed at the end of the Meliac War in the mid-7th century BC comprising twelve Ionian Greek city-states (a dodecapolis, of which there were many other ...
. During his reign the city began to prosper. He died in a battle against the
Caria
Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...
ns when he came to the aid of
Priene
Priene (; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River (now called the Büyük Menderes Rive ...
, 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
and
Herodotos and the poet Kallinos reassigned the city's mythological foundation to
Ephos, queen of the
Amazons
The Amazons (Ancient Greek: ', singular '; in Latin ', ') were a people in Greek mythology, portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, Labours of Heracles, the ''Argonautica'' and the ''Iliad''. ...
.
The Greek goddess
Artemis
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
and the great Anatolian goddess
Kybele were identified together as ''Artemis of Ephesus''. The many-breasted "Lady of Ephesus", identified with Artemis, was venerated in the
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis or Artemision (; ), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, localised form of the goddess Artemis (equated with the Religion in ancient Rome, Roman goddess Diana (mythology), Diana) ...
, one of the
Seven Wonders of the World 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 ().
Archaic period

Ephesus became an important ally to the
kingdom of Lydia because, like other Ionian cities, it had a port that provided land locked Lydia with trade. Hence, its rulers were connected with the
Mermnad dynasty by marriage. Melas the Elder was the brother-in-law of
Gyges (680-652 BC), while his grandson Miletus married the daughter of
Ardys in the late 7th c. BC. This may explain why in 640 BC, Ephesus and the sanctuary of Artemis were raided, following
Sardis
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
, by the
Cimmerians
The Cimmerians were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into W ...
, a warlike people who had destroyed the kingdom of
Phrygia
In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River.
Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...
in central Anatolia decades before. Pythagoras became a tyrant towards the late 7th century BC and adopted an anti-aristocratic policy. Melas the Younger must have succeeded him in power, while his son Pindar was a tyrant when his uncle
Croesus
Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned:
)
was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...
ascended to the Lydian throne. In the conflict over the Lydian throne Pindar took the side of
Croesus
Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned:
)
was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...
’ half-brother Pantaleon.

Croesus besieged the city, but the Ephesians connected the walls with a rope extending to the sacred Artemisium and thus were spared. Consequently, Pindar was exiled and Ephesus made peace with Lydia, while Croesus is said to have regretted the sacrilege and thus became the main contributor to the reconstruction of the temple of Artemis.
Later in the same century, the Lydians under Croesus went to war against Persia, which had recently conquered the
Median Kingdom
Media (Old Persian: ''Māda''; Ancient Greek, Greek: ''Mēdía''; Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''wikt:𐎶𐎠𐎭#Descendants, Mādāya'') was a political entity centered in Ecbatana that existed from the 7th century BCE until the mid-6th cen ...
. The Ionians refused a peace offer from
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...
, 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, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
. Those cities were then ruled by
satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...
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 () was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning 530 to 522 BCE. He was the son of and successor to Cyrus the Great (); his mother was Cassandane. His relatively brief reign was marked by his conquests in North Afric ...
and
Darius, the Ephesians participated in the
Ionian Revolt
The Ionian Revolt, and associated revolts in Aeolis, Doris (Asia Minor), Doris, Ancient history of Cyprus, Cyprus and Caria, were military rebellions by several Greek regions of Asia Minor against Achaemenid Empire, Persian rule, lasting from 499 ...
against Persian rule in the
Battle of Ephesus (498 BC), an event which instigated the
Greco-Persian wars
The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...
. In 479 BC, the Ionians, together with
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, 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 was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...
against the Persians. Ephesus did not contribute ships but gave financial support.
During the
Peloponnesian War
The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...
, 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
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
mentioned having seen at Ephesus a representation of the goddess
Diana by
Timarete, 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
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
defeated the Persian forces at the
Battle of Granicus 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 language, Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessaly, Thessalian officer and Diadochi, successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became king of Thrace, Anatolia, Asia Minor and Mace ...
.
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'' ( or Ἀρσινοΐα) or Arsinoe (Ἀρσινόη), after the king's second wife,
Arsinoe II of Egypt. After Lysimachus had destroyed the nearby cities of
Lebedos and
Colophon in 292 BC, he relocated their inhabitants to the new city.
Ephesus revolted after the treacherous death of
Agathocles
Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name. The most famous person called Agathocles was Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from and .
Other people named Agathocles include:
*Agathocles, a sophist, teacher of Damon
...
, giving the Hellenistic king of Syria and Mesopotamia
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to fo ...
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 ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...
. After the murder of king
Antiochus II Theos and his Egyptian wife in 246 BC, pharaoh
Ptolemy III invaded the Seleucid Empire and the Egyptian fleet swept the coast of Asia Minor. Ephesus was betrayed by its governor
Sophron
Sophron of Syracuse (, ''fl.'' 430 BC), Magna Graecia, was a writer of mimes (μῖμος, a kind of prose drama).
Sophron was the author of prose dialogues in the Doric dialect, containing both male and female characters, some serious, others h ...
into the hands of the Ptolemies who ruled the city for half a century until 197 BC.
The Seleucid king
Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...
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 and the younger brother of Scipio Africanus. He was elected c ...
at the
Battle of Magnesia
The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the Roman consul, consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied ...
in 190 BC. As a result of the subsequent
Treaty of Apamea
The Treaty of Apamea was a peace treaty conducted in 188 BC between the Roman Republic and Antiochus III, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. It ended the Roman–Seleucid War. The treaty took place after Roman victories at the Battle of Thermopylae ( ...
, Ephesus came under the rule of
Eumenes II
Eumenes II Soter (; ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon.
Biography
The eldest son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, Eumenes was pr ...
, the Attalid king of
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...
, (ruled 197–159 BC). When his grandson
Attalus III
Attalus III () Philometor Euergetes ( – 133 BC) was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC.
Biography
Attalus III was the son of king Eumenes II and his queen Stratonice of Pergamon, and he was the nephew of A ...
died in 133 BC without male children of his own, he left his kingdom to the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
, 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
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...
in 129 BC after the revolt of
Eumenes III
Eumenes III (; ; (died 129 BC) originally named Aristonicus; in Greek Aristonikos Ἀριστόνικος) was a pretender to the throne of Pergamon. He led the revolt against the Pergamene regime and found success early on, seizing various cities ...
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 period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...
, king of
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, when he conquered Asia (the Roman name for western
Anatolia
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 ...
). 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
Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...
had been treated by Zenobius, a general of Mithridates, they refused entry to his army. Zenobius was invited into the city to visit
Philopoemen
Philopoemen ( ''Philopoímēn''; 253 BC, Megalopolis – 183 BC, Messene) was a skilled Greek general and statesman, who was Achaean strategos on eight occasions.
From the time he was appointed as strategos in 209 BC, Philopoemen helped turn ...
, the father of
Monime, 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
The First Mithridatic War /ˌmɪθrəˈdædɪk/ (89–85 BC) was a war challenging the Roman Republic's expanding empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Roman rule ...
by the Roman consul
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
, 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
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus ( – 51 BC) was a king of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt who ruled from 80 to 58 BC and then again from 55 BC until his death in 51 BC. He was commonly known as Auletes (, "the Flautist"), referring to ...
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
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...
was welcomed by Ephesus for periods when he was proconsul and in 33 BC with
Cleopatra
Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...
when he gathered his fleet of 800 ships before the
battle of Actium
The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between Octavian's maritime fleet, led by Marcus Agrippa, and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, near the former R ...
with
Octavius.
When
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
became emperor in 27 BC, the most important change was when he made Ephesus the capital of
proconsular Asia
Asia () was a Roman province covering most of western Asia Minor (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 most ...
(which covered western Asia Minor) instead of
Pergamum
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...
. 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
, it was second in importance and size only to Rome.
The city and temple were destroyed by the
Goths
The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...
in 263 AD. This marked the decline of the city's splendour. However, emperor
Constantine the Great
Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...
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 acres. ]Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (born 10 April 1935, Cork City, Ireland – died 11 November 2013, Jerusalem) was an Irish Dominican priest, a leading authority on St. Paul, and a Professor of New Testament at the École Biblique in Jerusalem, a posi ...
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 150~250 people per hectare are more realistic, which gives a range of 33,600–56,000 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
Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...
and Alexandria Troas
Alexandria Troas ("Alexandria of the Troad"; ; , "Old Istanbul") 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 as Troad, a little south of Tenedos (mo ...
.[ 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 AD and finished in 279 AD, 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
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 History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
in Asia after Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
in the 5th and 6th centuries. Emperor Flavius Arcadius raised the level of the street between the theatre and the harbour. The basilica of St. John was built during the reign of emperor Justinian I
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
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
The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
, 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
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
first in the year 654–655 by caliph
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
Muawiyah I
Mu'awiya I (–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 death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and immediately after the four Rashid ...
, and later in 700 and 716 hastened the decline further.
When the Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...
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. 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 (1147–1149) 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 Crus ...
fought the Seljuks just outside the town in December 1147. In 1206, the city came under the control of the Laskaris. It was an important religious and intellectual center during the 13th century. Nikephoros Blemmydes, a prominent intellectual of the time, taught in the city. However, the Byzantines lost control of the region by 1308.
Pre-Ottoman period (1304–1390)
On 24 October 1304, the town surrendered to Sasa Bey, a Turkish warlord of the Menteşoğulları principality. Contrary to the terms of the surrender, the Turks pillaged the church of Saint John and, when a revolt seemed probable, deported most of the local population to Thyrea, Greece. 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 municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 317 km2, and its population is 38,151 (2022). The town Selçuk is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, o ...
, next to Ephesus). Ayasoluk became an important harbour, from which piratical raids on the surrounding Christian regions were organised, some officially sanctioned by the state and some by private parties.
The town knew a short period of prosperity again during the 14th century under these new Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') 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
* S ...
rulers. They added important architectural works such as the İsa Bey Mosque, caravansaries, and hamams (bathhouses).
Ottoman period
Ephesians were incorporated as vassals into the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
for the first time in 1390. The Central Asian warlord Tamerlane
Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...
defeated the Ottomans in Anatolia in 1402, and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I
Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...
died in captivity. The region was restored to the Anatolian beyliks
Anatolian beyliks (, Ottoman Turkish: ''Tavâif-i mülûk'', ''Beylik''; ) were Turkish principalities (or petty kingdoms) in Anatolia governed by ''beys'', the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A second and more exte ...
. 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 to Selçuk in 1914.
Ephesus and Christianity
Ephesus was an important centre for Early Christianity
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
from the AD 50s. From AD 52–54, the apostle Paul
Paul may refer to:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
lived for three years in Ephesus, working with the congregation and organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands. Initially, according to the Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire.
Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
, Paul attended the Jewish synagogue 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. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reminds readers that the unbelief of "some" () implies that "others, probably a large number, believed" and therefore there must have been a community of Jewish Christian
Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Roman Judea during the late Second Temple period, under the Herodian tetrarchy (1st century AD). These Jews believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and ...
s in Ephesus. Paul introduced about twelve men to the 'baptism with the Holy Spirit
In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctr ...
' who had previously only experienced the baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
of John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some 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 () 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-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in Anc ...
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.
Traditionally believed to have been written by the Paul the Apostle, Apostle Paul around AD 62 during his imprisonment in Rome, the Epistle to the Ephesians closely rese ...
while he was in prison in Rome (around 62 AD).
Roman Asia was also associated with John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
,[ Durant, Will. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972] one of the chief apostles, and the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the ...
might have been written in Ephesus, ''c'' 90–100.[ Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Gospels" p. 266-268.] John is said to have died of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of Trajan
Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
, thus becoming the only apostle who did not die as a martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
. His tomb is thought to be located in the former Basilica of St. John at Selçuk
Selçuk is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 317 km2, and its population is 38,151 (2022). The town Selçuk is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, o ...
, a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus. Ephesus was one of the seven cities addressed in the Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
, indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong.
According to Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
, Saint Timothy
Timothy or Timothy of Ephesus (Greek language, Greek: , ''Timótheos'', meaning "honouring God" or "honoured by God") was an early Christian Evangelism, evangelist and the first Christianity, Christian bishop of Ephesus, whom the Acts of Timothy ...
, the companion of Saint Paul, was the first bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of Ephesus.
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
Ignatius of Antioch (; ; died 108/140), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (), was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his Christian martyrs, martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This ...
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.
Polycrates of Ephesus () was a bishop at the Church of Ephesus in the 2nd century. He is best known for his letter addressed to the Pope Victor I
Pope Victor I (died 199) was a Roman African prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Bishop of Rome in the late second century. The dates of his tenure are uncertain, but one source states he became pope in 189 and gives the year of h ...
, 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 computing the date of Easter Sunday has been ongoing ever since and remains unresolve ...
.
A legend, which was first mentioned by Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis (; – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the Christianity in the 4th century, 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Catholic Churche ...
in the 4th century, purported that
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, 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 the "disciple whom he loved" to take care of his mother, Mary, after his death. Epiphanius, however, claimed 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, before her assumption into heaven 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 t ...
in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius
Nestorius of Constantinople (; ; ) was an early Christian prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 11 July 431. A Christian theologian from the Catechetical School of Antioch, several of his teachings in the fi ...
. A Second Council of Ephesus
The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted by the miaphysit ...
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
The Seven Sleepers (; ), also known in Christendom as Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, and in Islam as Aṣḥāb al-Kahf (اصحاب الکهف, ''aṣḥāb al-kahf'', lit. Companions of the Cave), is a Late antiquity, late antique Christianity, ...
, who were persecuted by the Roman emperor Decius
Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251.
A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...
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 and their story is also mentioned in the Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
.
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
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also known as the Seven Wonders of the World or simply the Seven Wonders, is a list of seven notable structures present during classical antiquity, first established in the 1572 publication '' Octo Mundi M ...
, 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 it is now represented only by one inconspicuous column, revealed during an archaeological excavation by the British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
in the 1870s. Some fragments of the frieze
In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...
(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 Library of Celsus, the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from original pieces, was originally built in memory of Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, an Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
who served as governor of Roman Asia (105–107 AD) in the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
. 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 and may have contained as many as 12,000 scrolls. By the year 400 A.D. the library was no longer in use after being damaged in 262 A.D. The facade was reconstructed during 1970 to 1978 using fragments found on site or copies of fragments that were previously removed to museums.
The Great Theatre, with an estimated 25,000 seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
, 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 agoras, one for commercial and one for state business.
Ephesus also had several major bath complexes, 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
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
for marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
.
The Odeon 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. A number of figures are depicted in the reliefs, including the emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...
with his wife and eldest son. The temple was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 20 million lira
Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...
banknote of 2001–2005 and of the 20 new lira banknote of 2005–2009.
On a slope opposite the Hadrian Temple, the Terrace Houses also called as "The Houses of the Rich" includes six luxury Roman residences, featuring mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s on the floor and fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
s on the wall. Built on three terraces at the lower end of the slope of Bulbul Mountain, they were built according to the Hippodamian plan
Hippodamus of Miletus (; Greek: Ἱππόδαμος ὁ Μιλήσιος, ''Hippodamos ho Milesios''; c. 480– 408 BC) was an ancient Greek architect, urban planner, physician, mathematician, meteorologist and philosopher, who is considered to ...
of the city in which roads transected each other at the right angles. The oldest structure dates to the first century BC, and some of them were in use until the seventh century AD. The discovery and excavations of them shed light on the family life during the Roman period. Today, Ephesus terrace houses are covered with protective roofing.
The Temple of the Sebastoi (sometimes called the Temple of Domitian
Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
), dedicated to the Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...
, was one of the largest temples in the city. It was erected on a pseudodipteral plan with 8 × 13 columns. The temple and its statue are some of the few remains connected with Domitian
Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
.
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, was built in the 6th century, under emperor Justinian I
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
, 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
John Turtle Wood (13 February 1821 – 25 March 1890) was an English architect, engineer and archaeologist.
Biography
Wood was born at London Borough of Hackney, Hackney, London the son of John Wood of Shropshire and his wife Elizabeth Wood, n� ...
, sponsored by the British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, 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, 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
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example:
** Austria-Hungary
** Austria ...
, 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 (, ), in modern-day Turkey. Begun in the late 19th century, the collection includes original works of sculpture and architecture, and belongs to the Kunsthistorisches Mus ...
in Vienna, the Ephesus Archaeological Museum 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
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and Turkey. In May 2018, Turkey allowed Austrian archeologists to resume their excavations.
Notable people
*Melas, the Elder and Younger (7th-6th century BC), name of two tyrants of Ephesus whose dynasty intermarried with the Mermnad dynasty. Melas the Elder was a brother in law of Gyges and Melas the Younger was the son in law of Alyattes
Alyattes ( Lydian language: ; ; reigned c. 635 – c. 585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He died after a r ...
*Heraclitus
Heraclitus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, ...
(c. 535 – c. 475 BC), presocratic philosopher
*Hipponax
Hipponax (; ; ''gen''. Ἱππώνακτος; ), 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 celebrated by ancient authors for his malicious w ...
(6th Century BC) — poet
* Zeuxis (5th century BC) — painter
* Parrhasius (5th century BC) — painter
* Herostratus (d 356 BC) — criminal
*Zenodotus
Zenodotus () 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 two Ptolemies, and was at ...
(fl. 280 BC) — grammarian and literary critic, first librarian of the Library of Alexandria
* Agasias (2nd century BC) — Greek sculptor
*Menander
Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...
(early 2nd century BC) — historian
* Artemidorus Ephesius () — geographer
* Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus ( – before ) — founder of the Celsus library
*John the Apostle
John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...
(1st century) - one of the tweleve apostles of Jesus Christ
*Mary, mother of Jesus
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
(1st century) - mother of Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
* Publius Hordeonius Lollianus (1st century) — sophist
*Rufus
Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''wikt:rufus, rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include:
Given name
Politicians
* Marcus Caelius Rufus, (28 May 82 BC – after 48 ...
(1st century) — physician
* Polycrates of Ephesus (130–196) — bishop
*Soranus of Ephesus
Soranus of Ephesus (; 1st/2nd century AD) was a Ancient Greek medicine, Greek physician. He was born in Ephesus but practiced in Alexandria and subsequently in Rome, and was one of the chief representatives of the Methodic school of medicine. Se ...
(1st–2nd century) — physician
* Artemidorus (2nd century AD) — diviner and author
*Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...
(2nd–3rd century) — novelist
*Maximus
Maximus (Hellenised as Maximos) is the Latin term for "greatest" or "largest". In this connection it may refer to:
* Circus Maximus (disambiguation)
* Pontifex maximus, the highest priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome
People Roman hi ...
(4th century) — neoplatonic philosopher
* Sosipatra (4th century) — neoplatonic philosopher
* Manuel Philes (c. 1275–1345) — Byzantine poet
See also
* Ancient settlements in Turkey
* Christianity in the 1st century
Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus (–29 AD) to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles () and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianit ...
* Christianity in the 2nd century
Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the period in Christian history following the Apostolic Age (1st century AD) up to the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD). Although the use of the term ''Christian'' () is attested in the Acts of the A ...
* Christianity in the 3rd century
Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the period in Christian history following the Apostolic Age (1st century AD) up to the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD). Although the use of the term ''Christian'' () is attested in the Acts of the A ...
* Early centers of Christianity
Early may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa, a city
* Early, Texas, a city
* Early Branch, a stream in Missouri
* Early County, Georgia
* Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort
Music
* Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...
* 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, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, ide ...
* Early Christianity
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
* Nea Efesos
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 website
Official website of the terrace houses of Ephesus
Photos 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 (; ; ; 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 ...
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