Editing Ephesus (section)

== History ==

=== Neolithic age ===
Humans had begun inhabiting the area surrounding Ephesus by the [[Neolithic Age]] (about 6000&nbsp;BC), as shown by evidence from excavations at the nearby ''höyük'' (artificial mounds known as [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]s) of [[:tr:Arvalya Höyük|Arvalya]] and [[Çukuriçi Höyük|Cukurici]].<ref>[VIII. Muze Kurtrma Kazilari Semineri ] ''Adil Evren – Cengiz Icten, pp 111–133'' 1997</ref><ref>[Arkeoloji ve Sanat Dergisi] – [[Çukuriçi Höyük]] sayi 92 ] ''Adil Evren'' 1998</ref>

=== Bronze Age ===
====Early Bronze====
Excavations in recent years have unearthed settlements from the early [[Bronze Age]] at [[Ayasuluk Hill]].

====Late Bronze====
According to [[Hittites|Hittite]] sources, the capital of the kingdom of [[Arzawa]] (another independent state in Western and Southern Anatolia/Asia Minor<ref name="Akurgal">{{cite book| author = Akurgal, Ekrem| author-link = Ekrem Akurgal|title = The Hattian and Hittite Civilizations| page = 111| publisher = Publications of the Republic of Turkey; Ministry of Culture| year = 2001| isbn = 975-17-2756-1}}</ref>) was Apasa (or ''Abasa''), and some scholars suggest that this is the same place the Greeks later called Ephesus.<ref name='BritishMuseum'/><ref>{{cite book|last=Müller-Luckner|first=herausgegeben von Kurt Raaflaub unter Mitarbeit von Elisabeth|title=Anfänge politischen Denkens in der Antike : die nahöstlichen Kulturen und die Griechen|year=1993|publisher=Oldenbourg|location=München|isbn=978-3-486-55993-4|page=117|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NySxd--wwYwC&pg=PA117|edition=[Online-Ausg.].}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Waelkens|editor-first=M.|title=Sagalassos|year=2000|publisher=Leuven Univ. Press|location=Leuven|isbn=978-90-5867-079-3|page=476|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zs5xuX231MoC&pg=PA476}}</ref><ref name="Hawkins1998">J. David Hawkins (1998). ‘Tarkasnawa King of Mira: Tarkendemos, Boğazköy Sealings, and Karabel.’ ''Anatolian Studies'' 48:1–31.</ref> In 1954, a burial ground from the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] era (1500–1400&nbsp;BC), which contained ceramic pots, was discovered close to the ruins of the [[basilica of St. John]].<ref name="C. Özgünel">{{cite journal| author=Coskun Özgünel| title=Mykenische Keramik in Anatolien| journal=Asia Minor Studien| year=1996| volume=23}}</ref> This was the period of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] expansion, when the ''[[Ahhiyawa]]'' began settling in [[Asia Minor]], a process that continued into the 13th century BC. The names ''Apasa'' and ''Ephesus'' appear to be cognate,<ref name="Puhvel1984">Jaan Puhvel (1984).  'Hittite Etymological Dictionary Vol. 1(A)' ''Berlin, New York, Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter'' 1984–.</ref> and recently found inscriptions seem to pinpoint the places in the Hittite record.<ref name="Hawkins2009">J.David Hawkins (2009). 'The Arzawa letters in recent perspective' ''British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 14'' 73–83.</ref><ref name="GarstangandGurney1959">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.</ref>

===Iron Age===
====Greek migration====
[[File:Templo-Artemisa-Efeso-2017.jpg|thumb|Site of the [[Temple of Artemis]] in the town of [[Selçuk]], near Ephesus.]]
Ephesus was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC on a hill (now known as the Ayasuluk Hill), three kilometers ({{convert|3|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) from the centre of ancient Ephesus (as attested by excavations at the [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuk]] castle during the 1990s). The mythical founder of the city was a prince of [[Athens]] 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]] 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]] together into the [[Ionian League]]. During his reign the city began to prosper. He died in a battle against the [[Caria]]ns when he came to the aid of [[Priene]], another city of the Ionian League.<ref name="Pausanias">{{cite book | title=Description of Greece| last=Pausanias| year=1965| pages=7.2.8–9| publisher=Loeb Classical Library| location=New York}}</ref> Androklos and his dog are depicted on the Hadrian temple frieze, dating from the 2nd century. Later, Greek historians such as [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [[Strabo]] and [[Herodotos]] and the poet Kallinos reassigned the city's mythological foundation to [[Ephos]], queen of the [[Amazons]].

The Greek goddess [[Artemis]] 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]], one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World|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]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1133.html |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |publisher=Ancientlibrary.com |access-date=2009-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621092916/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1133.html |archive-date=2009-06-21 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> 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''' ({{langx|grc|Ἀλόπη|Alópē}}).<ref>{{Cite Pauly|I,2|1595|1596|Alope 5|[[Johannes Toepffer]]|RE:Alope 5|}}</ref>

==== Archaic period ====
[[File:Ephesus street scene.jpg|300px|left|thumb|Street scene at the archeological excavations at Ephesus.]]
Ephesus became an important ally to the [[Lydia|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 of Lydia|Gyges]] (680-652 BC), while his grandson Miletus married the daughter of [[Ardys of Lydia|Ardys]] in the late 7th c. BC. This may explain why in 640 BC, Ephesus and the sanctuary of Artemis were raided, following [[Sardis]], by the [[Cimmerians]], a warlike people who had destroyed the kingdom of [[Phrygia]] 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]] ascended to the Lydian throne. In the conflict over the Lydian throne Pindar took the side of [[Croesus]]’ half-brother Pantaleon.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia  |last=Paleothodoros |first=Dimitris |title=Ephesus (Antiquity) |url=http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/forms/fLemma.aspx?lemmaId=8197 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor |year=2006}}</ref>
[[File:Ephesos 620-600 BC.jpg|right|thumb|[[Electrum]] coin from Ephesus, 620–600 BC. Obverse: Forepart of stag. Reverse: Square incuse punch.]]
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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cremin |first=Aedeen |url=https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00aede/page/173 |title=The World Encyclopedia of Archaeology |publisher=Firefly Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-55407-311-5 |location=Richmond Hill, Ontario |page=[https://archive.org/details/worldencyclopedi00aede/page/173 173]}}</ref>

Later in the same century, the Lydians under Croesus went to war against Persia, which had recently conquered the [[Median kingdom|Median Kingdom]]. The Ionians refused a peace offer from [[Cyrus the Great]], 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.<ref>Herodotus i. 141</ref> They were defeated by the Persian army commander [[Harpagos]] in 547&nbsp;BC. The Persians then incorporated the Greek cities of Asia Minor into the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. Those cities were then ruled by [[satrap]]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 ===
{{multiple image
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Ephesus continued to prosper, but when taxes were raised under [[Cambyses II of Persia|Cambyses II]] and [[Darius the Great of Persia|Darius]], the Ephesians participated in the [[Ionian Revolt]] against Persian rule in the [[Battle of Ephesus (498&nbsp;BC)]], an event which instigated the [[Greco-Persian wars]]. In 479&nbsp;BC, the Ionians, together with [[Athens]], were able to oust the Persians from the shores of Asia Minor. In 478&nbsp;BC, the Ionian cities with Athens entered into the [[Delian League]] against the Persians. Ephesus did not contribute ships but gave financial support.

During the [[Peloponnesian War]], Ephesus was first allied to Athens<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keen |first=Antony G. |date=1993 |title=Athenian Campaigns in Karia and Lykia during the Peloponnesian War |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/632404 |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=113 |pages=152–157 |doi=10.2307/632404 |jstor=632404 |s2cid=162250367 |issn=0075-4269}}</ref> 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:<ref>{{Cite journal |last=BRINKS |first=C. L. |date=2009 |title="Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians": Acts 19:23-41 in Light of Goddess Worship in Ephesus |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43726616 |journal=The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |volume=71 |issue=4 |pages=776–794 |jstor=43726616 |issn=0008-7912}}</ref> they allowed strangers to integrate and education was valued. In later times, [[Pliny the Elder]] mentioned having seen at Ephesus a representation of the goddess [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]] by [[Timarete]], the daughter of a painter.<ref>Pliny the Elder [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D35%3Achapter%3D40 ''Naturalis historia'' xxxv.40.147].</ref>

In 356&nbsp;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 ===

[[File:Karte Ephesos MKL1888.png|thumb|left|Historical map of Ephesus, from ''[[Meyers Konversationslexikon]]'', 1888]]

When [[Alexander the Great]] defeated the Persian forces at the [[Battle of Granicus]] in 334&nbsp;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&nbsp;BC, Ephesus in 290&nbsp;BC came under the rule of one of Alexander's generals, [[Lysimachus]].

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 ({{convert|2|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) away, when as a last resort the king flooded the old city by blocking the sewers.<ref name="Strabo">{{cite book | title=Geography (volume 1–7)| last=Strabo| date=1923–1932| pages=14.1.21| publisher=Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press| location=Cambridge}}</ref> The new settlement was officially called ''Arsinoea'' ({{langx|grc|Ἀρσινόεια}}<ref>Edwyn Robert Bevan, ''The House of Seleucus'', Vol. 1 (E. Arnold, 1902), p. 119.</ref> or Ἀρσινοΐα<ref>Wilhelm Pape, ''Wörterbuch der griechischen Eigennamen'', Vol. 3 (Braunschweig, 1870), p. 145.</ref>) or '''Arsinoe''' (Ἀρσινόη),<ref>{{Cite DARE|21155}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Barrington|61}}</ref> after the king's second wife, [[Arsinoe II of Egypt]]. After Lysimachus had destroyed the nearby cities of [[Lebedos]] and [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]] in 292&nbsp;BC, he relocated their inhabitants to the new city.

Ephesus revolted after the treacherous death of [[Agathocles (son of Lysimachus)|Agathocles]], giving the Hellenistic king of Syria and Mesopotamia [[Seleucus I Nicator]] an opportunity for removing and killing Lysimachus, his last rival, at the [[Battle of Corupedium]] in 281&nbsp;BC. After the death of Lysimachus the town again was named Ephesus.

Thus Ephesus became part of the [[Seleucid Empire]]. After the murder of king [[Antiochus II Theos]] and his Egyptian wife in 246&nbsp;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 of Ephesus|Sophron]] into the hands of the Ptolemies who ruled the city for half a century until 197&nbsp;BC.

The Seleucid king [[Antiochus III the Great]] tried to regain the Greek cities of Asia Minor and recaptured Ephesus in 196&nbsp;BC but he then came into conflict with Rome. After a series of battles, he was defeated by [[Scipio Asiaticus]] at the [[Battle of Magnesia]] in 190&nbsp;BC. As a result of the subsequent [[Treaty of Apamea]], Ephesus came under the rule of [[Eumenes II]], the Attalid king of [[Pergamon]], (ruled 197–159&nbsp;BC). When his grandson [[Attalus III]] died in 133&nbsp;BC without male children of his own, he left his kingdom to the [[Roman Republic]], on condition that the city of Pergamon be kept free and autonomous.

=== Classical Roman period (129 BC–395 AD) ===
[[File:The Temple of Hadrian (16127691050).jpg|thumb|left|The Temple of Hadrian]]
Ephesus, as part of the kingdom of Pergamon, became a subject of the [[Roman Republic]] in 129 BC after the revolt of [[Eumenes III]] was suppressed.
[[File:Ephesos amphitheatre.jpg|thumb|The Theatre of Ephesus with harbour street. Due to ancient and subsequent [[deforestation]], [[overgrazing]] (mostly by goat herds), [[erosion]] and [[soil degradation]], the Mediterranean coast is now {{convert|3|-|4|km|0|abbr=on}} away from the site, [[sediment]] having filled the plain and the coast. In the background can be seen the muddy remains of the former harbour, barren hill ridges and [[maquis shrubland]].]]

[[File:Turcja, Efez, Nike (Aw58).JPG|thumb|left|Stone carving of the goddess Nike]]
The city felt Roman influence at once; taxes rose considerably, and the treasures of the city were systematically plundered. Hence in 88&nbsp;BC Ephesus welcomed [[Archelaus (Pontic army officer)|Archelaus]], a general of [[Mithradates VI of Pontus|Mithridates]], king of [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], when he conquered Asia (the Roman name for western [[Anatolia]]). From Ephesus, Mithridates ordered every Roman citizen in the province to be killed which led to the [[Asiatic Vespers]], the slaughter of 80,000&nbsp;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]] had been treated by Zenobius, a general of Mithridates, they refused entry to his army. Zenobius was invited into the city to visit [[Philopoemen]], 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]] by the Roman consul [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]], Ephesus came back under Roman rule in 86&nbsp;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.<ref name="Mithridatic War">{{cite book |author=[[Appian of Alexandria]] (c.95&nbsp;AD-c.165&nbsp;AD) |title=History of Rome |section=The Mithridatic wars |at=§§46–50 |section-url=https://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_mithridatic_10.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2007-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808180836/http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_mithridatic_10.html |archive-date=2007-08-08}}</ref>

King [[Ptolemy XII Auletes]] of Egypt retired to Ephesus in 57&nbsp;BC, passing his time in the sanctuary of the temple of Artemis when the Roman Senate failed to restore him to his throne.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Dio Cassius]] |title=Historia Romana |at=39.16.3}}</ref>

[[Mark Antony]] was welcomed by Ephesus for periods when he was proconsul<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |title=Ant |at=23'1-24'12}}</ref> and in 33 BC with [[Cleopatra]] when he gathered his fleet of 800&nbsp;ships before the [[battle of Actium]] with [[Augustus|Octavius]].<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Plutarch]] |title=Ant |at=56.1–10}}</ref>

When [[Augustus]] became emperor in 27&nbsp;BC, the most important change was when he made Ephesus the capital of [[Asia (Roman province)|proconsular Asia]] (which covered western Asia Minor) instead of [[Pergamum]]. Ephesus then entered an era of prosperity, becoming both the seat of the governor and a major centre of commerce. According to [[Strabo]], it was second in importance and size only to Rome.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Strabo]] |title=Geography |volume=1–7 |at=14.1.24 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=Loeb Classical Library / Harvard University Press}}</ref>

The city and temple were destroyed by the [[Goths]] in 263&nbsp;AD. This marked the decline of the city's splendour. However, emperor [[Constantine the Great]] rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths.

====The Roman population====
[[File:Ephesus Terrace Houses.jpg|left|thumb|The 'terrace houses' at Ephesus, showing how the wealthy lived during the Roman period. Eventually the harbour became silted up, and the city lost its natural resources.]]
Until recently, the population of Ephesus in Roman times was estimated to number up to 225,000&nbsp;people by Broughton.<ref name=pric18/><ref name=hans253/> 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.<ref name=hans258/>

The wall of Lysimachus has been estimated to enclose an area of {{convert|415|ha}}. 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&nbsp;acres. [[Jerome Murphy-O'Connor]] uses an estimate of 345&nbsp;hectares for the inhabited land or 835&nbsp;acres (Murphey cites Ludwig Burchner). He cites Josiah Russell using 832&nbsp;acres and Old Jerusalem in 1918 as the yardstick estimated the population at 51,068 at 148.5&nbsp;persons per hectare. Using 510&nbsp;persons per hectare, he arrives at a population between 138,000 and 172,500&nbsp;.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jerome Murphy |last=O'Conner |title=St.&nbsp;Paul's Ephesus |year=2008 |page=130 |publisher=Liturgical Press |isbn=978-0-8146-5259-6}}</ref> J.W. Hanson estimated the inhabited space to be smaller, at {{convert|224|ha}}. He argues that population densities of 150~250&nbsp;people per hectare are more realistic, which gives a range of 33,600–56,000&nbsp;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]] and [[Alexandria Troas]].<ref name=hans252to257/> Hanson and Ortman (2017)<ref name=Hanson-Ortman-2017>{{cite journal |first1=J.W. |last1=Hanson |first2=S.G. |last2=Ortman |title=A systematic method for estimating populations of Greek and Roman settlements |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology |date=November 2017|volume=30 |pages=301–324 |doi=10.1017/S1047759400074134 |s2cid=165770409 }}</ref> estimate an inhabited area to be 263&nbsp;hectares and their demographic model yields an estimate of 71,587&nbsp;inhabitants, with a population density of 276&nbsp;inhabitants per hectare. By contrast, Rome within the walls encompassed 1,500&nbsp;hectares and as over 400 built-up hectares were left outside the Aurelian Wall, whose construction was begun in 274&nbsp;AD and finished in 279&nbsp;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)<ref name=Hanson-Ortman-2017/> model yields an estimate of 923,406&nbsp;inhabitants), which imply in a population density of 395 to 526&nbsp;inhabitants per hectare, including public spaces.

=== Byzantine Roman period (395–1308) ===

Ephesus remained the most important city of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in Asia after [[Constantinople]] in the 5th and 6th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=VanVoorst|first1=Jenny Fretland|title=The Byzantine Empire|date=2013|publisher=Compass Point Books|location=North Mankato, MN|isbn=978-0756545864|page=32}}</ref>  Emperor [[Arcadius|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]] 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 [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|Sasanian War]], which initiated a drastic decline in the city's population and standard of living.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/oeai/press/news-archive/news-detail/ephesos-more-than-1400-year-old-area-of-the-city-discovered-under-a-burnt-layer-1|title=Ephesos: More than 1,400-year-old area of the city discovered under a burnt layer|date=2022-10-28 |publisher=Austrian Archaeological Institute|access-date=2022-10-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028125334/https://www.oeaw.ac.at/en/oeai/press/news-archive/news-detail/ephesos-more-than-1400-year-old-area-of-the-city-discovered-under-a-burnt-layer-1|archive-date=2022-10-28|url-status=live}}</ref>

The importance of the city as a commercial centre further declined as the harbour, today 5&nbsp;kilometres inland, was slowly silted up by the river (today, Küçük Menderes) despite repeated dredging during the city's history.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tore |last=Kjeilen |url=http://lexicorient.com/e.o/ephesus.htm |title=accessed September 24, 2007 |publisher=Lexicorient.com |date=2007-02-20 |access-date=2009-04-20 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052555/http://lexicorient.com/e.o/ephesus.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The loss of its harbour caused Ephesus to lose its access to the [[Aegean Sea]], 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 [[Umayyad Caliphate|Arabs]] first in the year 654–655 by [[caliph]] [[Muawiyah I]], and later in 700 and 716 hastened the decline further.

When the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk Turks]] conquered Ephesus in 1090,<ref>Foss, Clive (1979) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=i6Q8AAAAIAAJ&dq=Ephesus+after+antiquity:+a+late+antique,+Byzantine,+and+Turkish+city Ephesus after antiquity: a late antique, Byzantine, and Turkish city]'', Cambridge University Press, p. 121.<br>Gökovalı, Şadan; Altan Erguvan (1982) ''Ephesus'', Ticaret Matbaacılık, p.7.</ref> 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]] [[Battle of Ephesus (1147)|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.<ref>[https://byzantine-world.com/city/byzantine-ephesus-the-slow-slide-to-obscurity-of-a-major-city/ Byzantine World]</ref>

=== Pre-Ottoman period (1304–1390) ===
[[File:İsa Bey Camii.jpg|right|thumb|The [[İsa Bey Mosque]] constructed in 1374–75, is one of the oldest and most impressive remains from the [[Anatolian beyliks]].]]

On 24 October 1304, the town surrendered to Sasa Bey, a Turkish warlord of the [[Menteşe (beylik)|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foss|first=Clive|title=Ephesus After Antiquity|date=1979|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6Q8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA144}}</ref>

Shortly afterwards, Ephesus was ceded to the [[Aydinids|Aydinid]] principality that stationed a powerful navy in the harbour of [[Selçuk|Ayasuluğ]] (the present-day [[Selçuk]], 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Foss|first=Clive|title=Ephesus After Antiquity|date=1979|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=viii|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6Q8AAAAIAAJ}}</ref>

The town knew a short period of prosperity again during the 14th century under these new [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk]] rulers. They added important architectural works such as the [[İsa Bey Mosque]], caravansaries, and [[Hammam|hamams]] (bathhouses).
[[File:Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 43.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the baths at Ephesus, by [[Luigi Mayer]]]]

=== Ottoman period ===

Ephesians were incorporated as vassals into the [[Ottoman Empire]] for the first time in 1390. The Central Asian warlord [[Tamerlane]] defeated the Ottomans in Anatolia in 1402, and the Ottoman sultan [[Bayezid I]] died in captivity. The region was restored to the [[Anatolian beyliks]]. 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<ref>{{cite web| url = https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bjrl/ephesus_bruce.pdf| title = Bruce F.F., "St John at Ephesus", ''The John Rylands University Library'', 60 (1978), p. 339}}</ref>) was [[Turkification|turkified]] to Selçuk in 1914.