Editing Ephesus (section)

=== 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>