Ephesus Ancient City 5

 

Ephesus was undoubtedly the golden age, living in the Roman period, which was the capital of the Asian Roman province. Especially in the Augustus era, the city has a radical change in its construction plan. Participation of Ephesus in the universal Mediterranean market, the influx of foreign merchants and the demand for luxury goods cause the commercial activities to increase tremendously. In the last quarter of the 1st century AD, the port of Ephesus developed and became one of the most important ports of Asia Minor. The hexagonal basin was surrounded by ship shelters, skylights, warehouses and shops. The central harbor gate at Ephesus's main entrance, the gigantic harbor chapel, provided the opportunity for cleaning and relaxation before the traveler entered the city. The Great Theater, last addition is built in the 2nd century AD is located at the end of the port cave. Commercial facilities and commodities are arranged around the city's commercial center Tetragonos Agora. Kuretler Caddesi is surrounded with richly decorated housing structures, fountains, baths, halls, shops and honorary monuments. The street provides a way down to the Celsus Library, built on the grave of Julius Celsus Polemaeanus in the first quarter of the 2nd century AD. On the west end of Kuretler Caddesi, Yamaç Evleri is an extraordinary example reflecting the lifestyle of the upper class living in Ephesus. The busy residential area covering 4000 square meters is located on the skirts of the northern slope of Bülbüldağ. These detached dwelling units are arranged in groups of two on the slopes. Decorated with mosaics, wall paintings and marble panels, these houses bring out the lifestyle of the sophisticated upper layer of the Roman Empire's city. The houses built during the Tiberius period were used until the 3rd century when they were destroyed by a major earthquake. The huge Theater overlooks to the settlement on the west of the Panayırdağ. It was very important for the urban infrastructure because of its functions like the urban focal point and the place of the parliament. Approximately 25,000 theaters were completed during the Imperial period. Only cultural activities would not take place in the theater. At the same time gladiatorial games and at least ekklesia (People's Assembly) was the meeting place of the people of Ephesus. This function is also mentioned in the New Testament, which describes the uprising of silversmiths against the mission of Saint Paul. Today's appearance is largely due to repairs combined with the Byzantine fortification wall during the Late Roman Period.

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Definition of Settlement in Ephesus Ancient  City

Epehsus Ancient City remains have been preserved in the Çukuriçi Höyük, located in the southern part of the late Ephesus antique city, from the Prehistoric Period dating back to the 7th millennium BC. This early settlement was abandoned after its destruction. The next use of the settlement as much as it is now is dated to the mid-4th millennium BC about 1,500 years later. The mound should have been uninterruptedly settled for the Early Bronze Age, where it was abandoned, until 2500 BC. Çukuriçi Höyük is one of the oldest settlements in the whole region, not only around Ephesus. Moreover, the position of Anatolian and Aegean cultural regions in the region has enabled Ephesus to have an indispensable comprehensive relationship and contacts for many of the developments that preceded mankind.

In 2008, on the northeastern side of Panayırdağ, there was a residential area surrounded by mounds. Five residential buildings were partially excavated. These constructions are the first Classical Period houses researched in Ephesus. The most striking finding is a partially well-preserved fortification wall covering a 9-hectare habitat. On the rather steep slope to the north is the stone god of the Goddess Meter. There was a port on the north-west where a natural sheep could still be seen on the slope. The Classical-Early Hellenistic settlement in Panayırdağ was destroyed and abandoned around 300 BC, exactly the same as the city founded by Lysimakhos.

Most of the monuments and structures belonging to the Greco-Roman period of the city were preserved in Ephesus. In 300 BC, under the rule of King Lysimakhos, the city is surrounded by the wall of the Hellenistic Period. City walls are continued for 3 km on the Bülbüldağ, where it is particularly well preserved from the sea to the east.

The Hellenistic city has a rectangular grid plan. At the top of the city is the Tetragonos Agora with religious centers, the State Agora containing the main public and administrative monuments, and the major commercial bazaar in the lower part. There are also monumental structures, such as the Great Theater, which dates back to the Hellenistic Revolution but is completely reconstructed during the Roman Imperial period. Natural cove of Ephesus has been converted to bay by Attalos,  King of Pergamum II  before the 2nd century AD.

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During the reign of Emperor I. Theodosius in 380 AD, every person living in the empire was imposed Catholic faith and paganism was 'officially' dead. This new appearance, rising with the spread of Christianity, leads to the gradual abandonment of all structures that witness the existence of a very godly cult and to the building of Christian churches in their place. In 431 the third ecumenical consul is held in Ephesus. The city is transported to the old port area where public buildings, churches and habitats are established. Life in this area lasts until the 14th century. However, at the beginning of the 10th century a second Byzantine settlement developed around the summit of Ayasuluk Tepesi. The exchange of power relations manifests itself in the 11th and 13th centuries. After 1206, for the first time under the sovereignty of the Laskarid Dynasty, a longer peace period is provided. As it is named in Italian sources, the center of Ephesus / Ayasuluk or Altaluogo settlement is deployed around St. John's Basilica. Eventually, in 1304, Ephesus passed through Turks, but continues to be an important center for Christian crucifixion and is visited by countless travelers on the Holy Land route. Despite the economic difficulties, Ephesus / Ayasuluk remain an important commercial center and regional maritime power. Ephesus is the most important port of the city of Aydın and after 1348 it became the capital of the empires. The city passes the last years of prosperity at the beginning of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century under the rule of the Aydinids of the Seljuk Emirate. In 1402 the city was attacked by the Mongols under the command of Timur. After the Mongols have left the city, the emirate will reestablish. After 20 years of power relations, the Ottomans conquered the city in 1425. Prosperity continues throughout the 15th century. However, there is a marked decline soon. In this 17th-century old metropolis, only 100 people live, malaria circling people and animals. By the 20th century, the sand carried by Menderes had extended the oven to 5 km. After Ephesus was abandoned and slowly began to collapse, the ruins of the ancient glorious structures provided a source of raw material, and these ruins were disintegrated, reused, and processed. These tremendous ruins, providing information about Ephesus and Ayasuluk for trip reports and sketches in the early modern period, have been the targets of numerous tradesmen. During the following centuries the settlement was often mentioned in the descriptions of travelers primarily in English and French sources. Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi has made the most detailed and best description of the Turkish remains while European travelers are mostly interested in antiquities.

 

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In 129 BC, Attalos, the king of Pergamon, inherited his kingdom to the Roman Empire to join the entire region as an Asian province, and they benefited from the conditions of this testament. Ephesus city becomes a very important trade center in Augustus period and later. Historian Aelius Aristides describes Ephesus as the most important trading center in Asia. At the same time, the second philosophy school in Aegean is the leading political and intellectual center. Efes enjoys the privileged position of the East and the West with its exceptionally good climate, and it is also important to have the Artemis cult. Artemision also had an economic role, apart from the civilian precaution. A bank has become increasingly an investment because it is the most important local landlord and multifunctional as a refuge for refugees. From the 1st century onwards, Ephesus was visited by disciple who tried to propagate the one god faith of Christianity and therefore forced to escape from the Roman persecution and seek refuge. As we have learned from the written sources, this is where Saint Paul stayed in the city for three years from 65 to 68, gave famous sermons and told his listeners to embrace one God's faith. Later in the 1st century Evangelical came to Ephesus with the legendary Virgin Mary in St. John's patronage and was finally buried in Ayasuluk Tepesi. The 2nd century AD testifies to the golden age of Ephesus. Numerous honorary monuments are given to the public and the people of Ephesus by private citizens. Ephesus gained the privilege of building two emperor shrines, one for the honor of Hadrianus, the other of Domitianus. In the 3rd century Ephesus and its surrounding country are devastated by Goths. In addition, the entire city becomes one with a severe earthquake that lived around AD 270. At that time, the destruction of the temple still practiced by the Artemis clique to the Gothic tribes, and the earthquake had serious consequences for future religious development. Although the temple continued to function until 381 and continued to be worshiped, the people of Ephesus turned to religious imaginations based on salvation. The Egyptian god Serapis and Christian Jesus Christ have grown up and become more popular alternatives to the old official cults.