Below is a sequence of some of the events that affected the history of the city of

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

(''historically also

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

'').

Timeline

Image:View GulfofIzmir from MountYamanlar.jpg, A port city unravels since millennia in the outlying waters of the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir ( tr, İzmir Körfezi), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchor ...

as narrow as a strait in its end as seen here from

Mount Yamanlar Mount Yamanlar ( tr, Yamanlar Dağı) is a mountain in İzmir, Turkey, located within the boundaries of the Greater Metropolitan Area of the city. Easily accessible from Izmir, Yamanlar is a popular excursion spot for the inhabitants of the cit ...

. Mount Yamanlar is also where a

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...

named ''Karagöl'' (meaning ''Black Lake'' in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

) and also called as "Lake

Tantalus Tantalus ( grc, Τάνταλος ) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the wate ...

" is found. Image:ManisaAglayanKayaWeepingStoneTurkey.jpg,

Mount Sipylus Mount Spil ( tr, Spil Dağı), the ancient Mount Sipylus ( grc, Σίπυλος) (elevation ), is a mountain rich in legends and history in Manisa Province, Turkey, in what used to be the heartland of the Lydians and what is now Turkey's Aegean Re ...

is famous for its "Weeping Rock", associated with

Niobe In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her father was the ru ...

, daughter of the semi-legendary local ruler

, the first recorded sovereign to have controlled the area of the

. Image:Throne of Pelops Mount Sipylus Manisa Turkey.jpg, The "Throne", conjecturally associated with

Pelops In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Oly ...

" in Yarikkaya locality in Mount Sipylus, is an isolated stone bench or altar possibly carved to accommodate a stone or wooden statue. Image:NejdetDuzen KarabelHittiteLuwianMonumentCarvedinRockKemalpasaTurkey.jpg, Karabel

Luvian Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

warrior monument carved in rock dated to the 13th century BC and at a distance of 30 km from İzmir, near

Kemalpaşa Kemalpaşa is a large town and the center of the district of the same name in İzmir Province, Turkey. Its district area extends immediately to the east of İzmir's easternmost metropolitan district, Bornova, and Kemalpaşa town being at a distan ...

, deciphered as having been dedicated to

Tarkasnawa Tarkasnawa was ruler of the Kingdom of Mira, and one of the last independent kings of Arzawa, a Bronze Age confederation of kingdoms in western Anatolia. He was probably the son of King Alantalli, and a contemporary of the later king Tudḫaliya ...

, a King of Mira within

Arzawa Arzawa was a region and a political entity (a "kingdom" or a federation of local powers) in Western Anatolia in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (roughly from the late 15th century BC until the beginning of the 12th century BC). The core o ...

complex, attests to the westernmost reaches of the late

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

and their dependent principalities. Image:Homer_British_Museum.jpg,

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

was also called ''Melesigenes (son of Meles)'' by the name of the

River Meles The river Meles ( el, Μέλης) (more appropriately described as "Meles Brook") is a stream charged with history and famous in literature, especially by virtue of being associated in a common and consistent tradition with Homer's birth and works, ...

which flows through İzmir and still carries the same name. LaudienceduConsuldeFrancechezleCadi JeanduMont1699

Izmir1714 Engraving by Henri Abraham Chatelain

Image:1843 Chenavard Agora.jpg, View of the site of Agora of Smyrna in an 1843 engraving Image:Jean-BaptisteCamilleCorot 1873 SmyrneBournabat.jpg, Bornova (''Bournabat'') as imagined by

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...

in 1873 Image:Kadifekale IzmirTurkey 1880s.jpg, A Turkish quarter in 19th century İzmir:

Kadifekale Kadifekale (literally "the velvet castle" in Turkish) is a hilltop castle in İzmir, Turkey. The castle is located on the Mount Pagos ( el, Πάγος, Pagus under the Roman Empire) which has an elevation of 186 metres. It was built in the 3rd ce ...

Image:Goztepe IzmirTurkey 1880s.jpg, A Greek quarter in 19th century İzmir: Göztepe (''Enopi''), with Susuzdede (''Agios Agapis'') hill in the background Image:Karatas IzmirTurkey 1900s.jpg, A Jewish quarter in 19th century İzmir:

Karataş Karataş ( gr, Μέγαρσος, Mègarsos) is a small city and a district in Adana Province, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 47 km from the city of Adana, between the rivers of Seyhan and Ceyhan, the Pyramos of Antiquity. The city of ...

Image:BornovaIzmirTurkey early20thcentury.jpg, A European quarter in 19th century İzmir:

Bornova Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir in İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98.6 percent, with corresponding high levels of devel ...

Sources

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Timeline

See also

Sources

Footnotes

Further reading