Editing Ephesus

{{Short description|Ancient Greek city in Anatolia}}
{{About|the ancient city in Anatolia|the town in the southern United States|Ephesus, Georgia|homonyms of the Turkish word Efes|Efes (disambiguation){{!}}Efes}}
{{redirect|Ephesian|the New Testament book|Ephesians}}
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{{Infobox ancient site
|name = Ephesus
|native_name = {{lang|grc|Ἔφεσος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Éphesos}})<br/>{{lang|tr|Efes}}
|alternate_name = 
|image =Ephesus Celsus Library Façade.jpg
|alt = The roof of the Library of Celsus has collapsed, but its large façade is still intact.
|caption = The [[Library of Celsus]] in Ephesus
|map_type = Turkey #Asia
|map_alt = #Asia
|map_size = 275
|relief=yes
|coordinates = {{coord|37|56|28|N|27|20|31|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Selçuk]], [[İzmir Province]], [[Turkey]], [[West Asia]]
|region = [[Ionia]]
|type = [[Ancient Greek]] settlement 
|part_of = [[West Asia]]
|length = 
|width = 
|area = Wall circuit: {{convert|415|ha|abbr=on}}<br/>Occupied: {{convert|224|ha|abbr=on}}
|height = 
|builder = [[Attica|Attic]] and [[Ionians|Ionian]] Greeks
|material = 
|built = 10th century BC
|abandoned = 15th century
|epochs = [[Greek Dark Ages]] to [[Late Middle Ages]]
|cultures = 
|dependency_of = 
|occupants = 
|event = 
|excavations = 1863–1869, 1895 - present
|archaeologists = [[John Turtle Wood]], [[Otto Benndorf]],
|condition = 
|ownership = 
|management = 
|public_access =yes 
|website = {{Official URL}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|child         = yes
|ID            = 1018
|Criteria      = Cultural: iii, iv, vi
|Year          = 2015
|Area          = 662.62 ha
|Buffer_zone   = 1,246.3 ha
}}
|fetchwikidata=Q64699469}}
'''Ephesus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛ|f|ɪ|s|ə|s}};<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ephesus| title = Ephesus Definition & Meaning {{!}} Dictionary.com}}</ref><ref name=Olausson2006 /> {{langx|grc|Ἔφεσος|Éphesos}}; {{langx|tr|Efes}}; may ultimately derive from {{langx|hit|{{cuneiform|ana|𒀀𒉺𒀀𒊭}}|{{Transliteration|hit|Apāša}}}}) was an [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]]<ref name=Gagarin2010 /><ref name="Ramirez-Faria2007" /> city on the coast of [[Ionia]], in present-day [[Selçuk]] in [[İzmir Province]], [[Turkey]].<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/acref/9780195065121.001.0001 |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-506512-1 |editor-last1=Meyers |editor-first1=Eric M. |publisher=Oxford University Press |last1=Bammer |first1=Anton  |chapter=Ephesus}}</ref> It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former [[Arzawa]]n capital,<ref name=BritishMuseum /><ref name=SteadmanMcMahon2011 /> by [[Attica|Attic]] and [[Ionians|Ionian]] Greek colonists. During the [[Classical Greece|Classical Greek]] era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the [[Ionian League]]. The city came under the control of the [[Roman Republic]] in 129 BC.

The city was famous in its day for the nearby [[Temple of Artemis]] (completed around 550&nbsp;BC), which has been designated one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Turkey/_Periods/Greek/_Texts/LETGKB/Ephesus*.html |title=accessed September 14, 2007 |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2009-04-20}}</ref> Its many monumental buildings included the [[Library of Celsus]] and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.<ref name="Ring 1995 217">{{cite book|last=Ring|first=Trudy|author2=Salkin, Robert|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe|publisher=Fitzroy Dearborn|location=London|year=1995|page=217|chapter=Ephesus|isbn=978-1-884964-02-2}}</ref>

Ephesus was a recipient city of one of the [[Pauline epistles]] and one of the [[seven churches of Asia]] addressed in the [[Book of Revelation]].<ref>2:1–7</ref> The [[Gospel of John]] may have been written there,<ref name="Harris">[[Stephen L Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible'', Palo Alto, Mayfield, 1985.</ref> and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils ([[Council of Ephesus]]). The city was destroyed by the [[Goths]] 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]] of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from [[Adnan Menderes Airport]] and from the resort town [[Kuşadası]]. In 2015, the ruins were designated a [[list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].

== 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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 | image1    = The_Statue_of_Artemis_at_Ephesus.jpg
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 | caption1  = Artemis Statue, 1st century AD, [[Ephesus Archaeological Museum]]
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 | caption2  = The Lady of Ephesus, 2nd century AD, [[Ephesus Archaeological Museum]]
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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.

==Ephesus and Christianity==
{{Main|Metropolis of Ephesus}}
{{see also|Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia|l1=Early centers of Christianity in Anatolia}}
[[File:Eustache Le Sueur - The Preaching of St Paul at Ephesus - WGA12613.jpg|thumb|''The Preaching of [[Paul the Apostle|Saint Paul]] at Ephesus'', [[Eustache Le Sueur]], 1649]]
Ephesus was an important centre for [[Early Christianity]] from the AD 50s. From AD 52–54, the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] lived for three years in Ephesus,<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|20:31}}</ref> working with the congregation and organizing missionary activity into the hinterlands.<ref>"Paul, St." Cross, F. L., ed. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005</ref> Initially, according to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], 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 (biblical figure)|Tyrannus]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:9}}</ref> The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary reminds readers that the unbelief of "some" ({{langx|el|τινες}}) implies that "others, probably a large number, believed"<ref>[[Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary]] on [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/acts/19.htm Acts 19] accessed 5 October 2015</ref> and therefore there must have been a community of [[Jewish Christian]]s in Ephesus. Paul introduced about twelve men to the '[[baptism with the Holy Spirit]]' who had previously only experienced the [[baptism]] of [[John the Baptist]].<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:1–7}}</ref> Later a silversmith named Demetrios stirred up a mob against Paul, saying that he was endangering the livelihood of those making silver Artemis shrines.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Acts|19:23–41|9|Acts 19:23–41}}</ref> Demetrios in connection with the temple of Artemis mentions some object (perhaps an image or a stone) "fallen from Zeus". Between 53 and 57&nbsp;AD Paul wrote the letter [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|1 Corinthians]] 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]] while he was in prison in Rome (around 62&nbsp;AD).

Roman Asia was also associated with [[John the Apostle|John]],<ref name="CC">[[Will Durant|Durant, Will]]. Caesar and Christ. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1972</ref> one of the chief apostles, and the [[Gospel of John]] might have been written in Ephesus, ''c'' 90–100.<ref name="Harris Gospels">[[Stephen L. Harris|Harris, Stephen L.]], ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "The Gospels" p. 266-268.</ref> John is said to have died of natural causes at Ephesus sometime after AD 98, during the reign of [[Trajan]], thus becoming the only apostle who did not die as a [[Christian martyr|martyr]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc06/htm/iii.lvii.lviii.htm |title=John the Apostle|website= CCEL}}</ref> His tomb is thought to be located in the former [[Basilica of St. John]] at [[Selçuk]], a small town in the vicinity of Ephesus.<ref>[[Procopius of Caesarea]], ''On Buildings'' General Index, trans. H. B. Dewing and Glanville Downey, vol. 7, [[Loeb Classical Library]] 343 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1940), 319</ref> Ephesus was one of the [[Seven churches of the Book of Revelation|seven cities]] addressed in the [[Book of Revelation]], indicating that the church at Ephesus was strong.

According to [[Eusebius of Caesarea]], [[Saint Timothy]], the companion of Saint Paul, was the first [[bishop]] of Ephesus.<ref>{{Citation | last = Eusebius | title = Historia Ecclesiastica | chapter = 3.4 | others = Williamson, G.A. transl. | trans-title = The History of the Church | place = Harmonsworth | publisher = Penguin | year = 1965 | page = 109}}.</ref>

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]] 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]] ({{langx|el|Πολυκράτης}}) 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]], Bishop of Rome, defending the [[Quartodeciman]] position in the [[Easter controversy]].

[[File:House of the Virgin Mary.jpg|left|thumb|[[House of the Virgin Mary]]]]
A legend, which was first mentioned by [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] in the 4th century, purported that 
[[Mary, the mother of Jesus]], 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.<ref>{{bibleverse|John|19:27}}</ref> 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.<ref>Vasiliki Limberis, 'The Council of Ephesos: The Demise of the See of Ephesos and the Rise of the Cult of the Theotokos' in Helmut Koester, ''Ephesos: Metropolis of Asia'' (2004), 327.</ref> Since the 19th century, The [[House of the Virgin Mary]], about {{convert|7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} from Selçuk, has been considered to have been the last home of Mary, mother of Jesus, before [[Assumption of Mary|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 [[First Council of Ephesus|Third Ecumenical Council]] in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of [[Nestorius]]. A [[Second Council of Ephesus]] 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 ===
{{Main|Seven Sleepers}}
[[File:20 YTL arka.jpg|thumb|250px|Image of Ephesus on the reverse of the 20 new lira banknote (2005–2008)]]
Ephesus is believed to be the city of the [[Seven Sleepers]], who were persecuted by the Roman emperor [[Decius]] because of their Christianity, and they slept in a cave for three centuries, outlasting their persecution.

They are considered saints by Catholics and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and their story is also mentioned in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{cite book|last= O'Mahony|first=Anthony|editor= Bartholomew, Craig G|editor-link= Craig Bartholomew|title=Explorations in a Christian Theology of Pilgrimage |year=2004|publisher= Ashgate|location=Aldershot, England|isbn=0-7546-0856-5|pages=135–6|chapter= Louis Massignon, The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus}}</ref>

== Main sites ==
[[File:GateOfAugustus.jpg|thumb|The Gate of [[Augustus]] in Ephesus was built to honor the Emperor Augustus and his family.]]
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.
[[File:Coin found at Ephesus depicting the Temple of Artemis.jpg|thumb|158x158px|Coin found at Ephesus depicting the [[Temple of Artemis]]]]
{{main|Temple of Artemis}}
The '''Temple of Artemis''', one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]], once stood 418' by 239' with over 100 marble pillars each 56' high. The temple earned the city the title "Servant of the Goddess".<ref>The Revelation Explained: An Exposition, Text by Text, of the Apocalypse of St. John by F.G. Smith, 1918, public domain.</ref>  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]] in the 1870s. Some fragments of the [[frieze]] (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]].
[[File:Library of Celsus side view.jpg|thumb|Library of Celsus, side view]]
{{main|Library of Celsus}}
[[File:The Library of Celsus 02.jpg|thumb|Library of Celsus, details]]
The '''Library of Celsus''', the façade of which has been carefully reconstructed from original pieces, was originally built {{circa|125}} in memory of [[Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus]], an [[Ancient Greeks|Ancient Greek]]<ref name="Wallace, Richard 1998 106">{{cite book |author1=Richard Wallace |author2=Wynne Williams |title=The three worlds of Paul of Tarsus |publisher=Routledge |year=1998 |page=[https://archive.org/details/threeworldsofpau00wall/page/106 106] |isbn=9780415135917 |quote={{ISBN|0-415-13591-5}}" "Apart from the public buildings for which such benefactors paid – the library at Ephesos, for example, recently reconstructed, built by Tiberius Iulius Aquila Polmaeanus in 110–20 in honour of his father Tiberius Iulius Celsus Polemaeanus, one of the earliest men of purely Greek origin to become a Roman consul |url=https://archive.org/details/threeworldsofpau00wall/page/106 }}</ref><ref name="Nicols, John 1978 109">{{cite book |author= Nicols, John |title= Vespasian and the partes Flavianae, Issues 28–31 |publisher= Steiner |year= 1978 |page=109 |isbn= 9783515023931 |quote= {{ISBN|3-515-02393-3}}" "Ti. Julius Celsus Polemaeanus (PIR2 J 260) was a romanized Greek of Ephesus or Sardes who became the first eastern consul.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author= Forte, Bettie |title= Rome and the Romans as the Greeks saw them |publisher= American Academy in Rome |year= 1972 |page= 260 |oclc= 560733 |quote= The Julio-Claudian emperors admitted relatively few Greeks to citizenship, but these showed satisfaction with their new position and privileges. Tiberius is known to have enfranchised only Tib. Julius Polemaeanus, ancestor of a prominent governor later in the century) }}</ref> who served as governor of Roman Asia (105–107 AD) in the [[Roman Empire]]. Celsus paid for the construction of the library with his own personal wealth<ref name="Too, Yun Lee 2010 213">{{cite book |author= Too, Yun Lee |title=The idea of the library in the ancient world |url= https://archive.org/details/idealibraryancie00tooy |url-access= limited |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/idealibraryancie00tooy/page/n221 213] |isbn=9780199577804 |quote={{ISBN|0-19-957780-3}}" "...&nbsp;and son of Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, proconsul of Asia, who founds the Celsian library from his own wealth ... }}</ref> and is buried in a sarcophagus beneath it.<ref name="Hanfmann, George Maxim Anossov 1975 65">{{cite book |author=Hanfmann, George Maxim Anossov |title=From Croesus to Constantine: the cities of western Asia Minor and their arts in Greek and Roman times |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1975 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fromcroesustocon00geor/page/65 65] |isbn=9780472084203 |quote={{ISBN|0-472-08420-8}}" "...&nbsp;statues (lost except for their bases) were probably of Celsus, consul in A.D. 92, and his son Aquila, consul in A.D. 110. A cuirass statue stood in the central niche of the upper storey. Its identification oscillates between Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, who is buried in a sarcophagus under the library, and Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus, who completed the building for his father |url=https://archive.org/details/fromcroesustocon00geor/page/65 }}</ref> The library was mostly built by his son Gaius Julius Aquila<ref name="Swain, Simon 1998 171">{{cite book |author= Swain, Simon |title= Hellenism and empire: language, classicism, and power in the Greek world, AD 50–250 |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 1998 |page=171 |isbn=9780198152316 |quote={{ISBN|0-19-815231-0}}" "Sardis had already seen two Greek senators ... Ti. Julius Celsus Polemaeanus, cos. Suff. N 92 (Halfmann 1979: no 160), who endowed the remarkable Library of Celsus at Ephesus, and his son Ti. Julius Aquila Polemaeanus, cos. suff. in 110, who built most of it.}}</ref> 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 {{convert|180|m2|ft2|abbr=off}} and may have contained as many as 12,000 scrolls.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Library_of_Celsus/|title=Library of Celsus|date=22 July 2018 |publisher=[[World History Encyclopedia]] |access-date=13 August 2020 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://turkisharchaeonews.net/object/library-celsus-ephesus|title=Library of Celsus in Ephesus|date=12 July 2019|publisher=Turkish Archeo News|access-date=13 August 2020 }}</ref>

The '''Great Theatre''', with an estimated 25,000 [[seating capacity]], is believed to be the largest in the ancient world.<ref name="Ring 1995 217"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kupper |first=Monika |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6614479.stm |title=Gladiators' graveyard discovered |work=BBC News |date=2007-05-02 |access-date=2009-04-20}}</ref>

There were two [[agora|'''agoras''']], one for commercial and one for state business.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ephesus.us |url=http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/agora.htm |title=accessed September 21, 2007 |publisher=Ephesus.us |access-date=2009-04-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Ephesus.us |url=http://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/stateagora.htm |title=State Agora, Ephesus Turkey |publisher=Ephesus.us |access-date=2009-04-20}}</ref>

[[File:Aqueduct near Ephesus - Mayer Luigi - 1810.jpg|thumb|Aqueduct near Ephesus – Mayer Luigi – 1810|left]]
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 (watercourse)|aqueduct]] systems in the ancient world, with at least six aqueducts of various sizes supplying different areas of the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Water Supply – ÖAI EN|url=http://www.oeai.at/index.php/water-supply.html|website=www.oeai.at|access-date=8 May 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ephesus Municipal Water System|url=http://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum1297/05wass.htm|website=homepage.univie.ac.at|access-date=8 May 2017|archive-date=3 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103155213/http://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum1297/05wass.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> They fed a number of water mills, one of which has been identified as a [[sawmill]] for [[marble]].
[[File:The Odeon at Ephesus 01.jpg|thumb|Odeon of Ephesus|left]]
The '''[[Odeon (building)|Odeon]]''' was a small roofed theatre<ref>{{cite web |url=http://community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=7393&EntryID=13307&n=The+Theater+and+The+Odeum |title=accessed September 24, 2007 |publisher=Community.iexplore.com |access-date=2009-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017132132/http://community.iexplore.com/planning/journalEntryActivity.asp?JournalID=7393&EntryID=13307&n=The+Theater+and+The+Odeum |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> constructed by [[Publius Vedius Antoninus]] and his wife around 150&nbsp;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.<ref name="Naci">Keskin, Naci. ''Ephesus''. {{ISBN|975-7559-48-2}}</ref>
[[File:Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus.jpg|thumb|Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus|left]]
The [[Temple of Hadrian (Ephesus)|'''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]] with his wife and eldest son.<ref name="Revak" /> The temple was depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|reverse]] of the Turkish 20&nbsp;million [[Turkish lira|lira]] banknote of 2001–2005<ref>[http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng/ Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615060512/http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng/ |date=2009-06-15 }}. Banknote Museum: 7. Emission Group – Twenty Million Turkish Lira – [http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/banknote/E7/20m.htm I. Series] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122023516/http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/banknote/E7/20m.htm |date=2008-11-22 }}. – Retrieved on 20 April 2009.</ref> and of the 20 new lira banknote of 2005–2009.<ref>[http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng/ Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615060512/http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/eng/ |date=2009-06-15 }}. Banknote Museum: 8. Emission Group – Twenty New Turkish Lira – [http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/banknote/E8/18.htm I. Series] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224222417/http://tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/banknote/E8/18.htm |date=2009-02-24 }}.<br />[http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/mevzuat/EMISYON/KARARTEBLIGVEGENELGELER/duyuruytl-ing.htm Announcement on the Withdrawal of E8 New Turkish Lira Banknotes from Circulation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422212451/http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/yeni/mevzuat/EMISYON/KARARTEBLIGVEGENELGELER/duyuruytl-ing.htm |date=April 22, 2009 }}, 8 May 2007. – Retrieved on 20 April 2009.</ref>
[[File:The Terrace House at Ephesus 04.jpg|thumb|Terrace Houses at Ephesus with the protective roofing above them.]]
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]]s on the floor and [[fresco]]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]] 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rathmayr |first=Elisabeth |url=https://doi.org/10.26530/oapen_611239 |title=Hanghaus 2 in Ephesos. Die Wohneinheit 7, Textband 1 : Baubefund, Ausstattung, Funde |date=2016 |publisher=Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |isbn=978-3-7001-7630-5}}</ref>

The '''[[Temple of the Sebastoi]]''' (sometimes called the Temple of [[Domitian]]), dedicated to the [[Flavian dynasty]], 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]].<ref name="Revak" />

The '''Tomb/Fountain of Pollio''' was erected in 97&nbsp;AD in honour of C. Sextilius Pollio, who constructed the Marnas aqueduct, by Offilius Proculus. It has a concave façade.<ref name="Naci" /><ref name="Revak">''Ephesus''. Distributed by Rehber Basım Yayın Dağıtım Reklamcılık ve Tic. A.Ş. and Revak publishers. {{ISBN|975-8212-11-7}},</ref>

[[File:Tomb of Saint John the Apostle.jpg|thumb|Tomb of [[John the Apostle]] at the [[Basilica of St. John]].]]A part of the site, '''[[Basilica of St. John]]''', was built in the 6th century, under emperor [[Justinian I]], over the supposed site of the apostle's tomb. It is now surrounded by Selçuk.

== Archaeology ==
[[File:Ephesos overall plan.svg|thumb|Historical topography of Ephesos]]
[[File:Ephesos historical topography.png|thumb|Historical topography of Ephesos]]
The history of archaeological research in Ephesus stretches back to 1863, when British architect [[John Turtle Wood]], sponsored by the [[British Museum]], began to search for the [[Temple of Artemis|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]], which plays a leading role in Ephesus today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oeai.at/eng/ausland/geschichte.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020429175442/http://www.oeai.at/eng/ausland/geschichte.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2002-04-29|title=Ephesos – An Ancient Metropolis: Exploration and History|publisher=Austrian Archaeological Institute|date=October 2008|access-date=2009-11-01}}</ref>

Finds from the site are exhibited notably in the [[Ephesos Museum]] 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]] and Turkey. In May 2018, Turkey allowed Austrian archeologists to resume their excavations.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/austrian-minister-thanks-turkey-for-resuming-excavations-131332| title = Austrian minister thanks Turkey for resuming excavations in Ephesus| date = 4 May 2018}}</ref>

== 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 of Lydia|Gyges]] and Melas the Younger was the son in law of [[Alyattes]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Great Online Encyclopaedia of Constantinople |url=http://constantinople.ehw.gr/forms/fLemmaBodyExtended.aspx?lemmaID=8197 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=constantinople.ehw.gr}}</ref>
*[[Heraclitus]] (c. 535 – c. 475 BC), presocratic philosopher<ref>{{cite web |author=theephesus.com |url=http://www.theephesus.com/ |title=accessed September 30, 2013 |publisher=theephesus.com |access-date=2013-10-30 |archive-date=2020-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817223318/http://www.theephesus.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Hipponax]] (6th Century BC) — poet
*[[Zeuxis (painter)|Zeuxis]] (5th century BC) — painter
*[[Parrhasius (painter)|Parrhasius]] (5th century BC) — painter
*[[Herostratus]] (d 356 BC) — criminal
*[[Zenodotus]] (fl. 280 BC) — grammarian and literary critic, first librarian of the Library of Alexandria
*[[Agasias, son of Menophilus|Agasias]] (2nd century BC) — Greek sculptor
*[[Menander of Ephesus|Menander]] (early 2nd century BC) — historian
*[[Artemidorus Ephesius]] ({{circa|100 BC}}) — geographer
*[[Tiberius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus]] ({{circa|45}} – before {{circa|120}}) — founder of the Celsus library
*[[John the Apostle]] (1st century) - one of the tweleve apostles of Jesus Christ
*[[Mary, mother of Jesus]] (1st century) - mother of [[Jesus Christ]]
*[[Publius Hordeonius Lollianus]] (1st century) — sophist
*[[Rufus of Ephesus|Rufus]] (1st century) — physician
*[[Polycrates of Ephesus]] (130–196) — bishop
*[[Soranus of Ephesus]] (1st–2nd century) — physician
*[[Artemidorus]] (2nd century AD) — diviner and author
*[[Xenophon of Ephesus|Xenophon]] (2nd–3rd century) — novelist
*[[Maximus of Ephesus|Maximus]] (4th century) — neoplatonic philosopher
*[[Sosipatra]] (4th century) — neoplatonic philosopher
*[[Manuel Philes]] (c. 1275–1345) — Byzantine poet

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[Ancient settlements in Turkey]]
* [[Christianity in the 1st century]]
* [[Christianity in the 2nd century]]
* [[Christianity in the 3rd century]]
* [[Early centers of Christianity]]
* [[Early Christian art and architecture]]
* [[Early Christianity]]
* [[Nea Efesos]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=Olausson2006>{{cite book|last1=Olausson|first1=Lena|last2=Sangster|first2=Catherine|title=Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=978-0-19-280710-6|page=120}}</ref>
<ref name="Gagarin2010">{{cite book|author=Michael Gagarin|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNV6-HsUppsC&pg=RA2-PA78|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517072-6|pages=2–|quote=Historical Overview A Greek city-state on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, at the mouth of Cayster River (Küçük Menderes), Ephesus ...}}</ref>
<ref name="Ramirez-Faria2007">{{cite book|author=Carlos Ramirez-Faria|title=Concise Encyclopedia Of World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC|date=1 January 2007|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0775-5}}</ref>
<ref name=BritishMuseum>{{cite journal | last = Hawkins | first = J. David | year = 2009 | title = The Arzawa letters in recent perspective | journal = British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan | issue = 14 | pages = 73–83 | url = https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_journals/bmsaes/issue_14/hawkins.aspx}}</ref>
<ref name="SteadmanMcMahon2011">{{cite book|author1=Sharon R. Steadman|author2=Gregory McMahon|author3=John Gregory McMahon|title=The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia: (10,000–323 BCE)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ND_CE9If3kC|date=15 September 2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-537614-2|page=366 and 608|quote=In the case of such settlements as Miletus and Ephesus, as implied, the Greeks chose the sites of former Anatolian cities of prominence}}</ref>
<ref name=hans253>{{cite book |last= Hanson |first= J. W. |chapter= The Urban System of Roman Asia Minor |title= Settlement, Urbanization, and Population |year= 2011 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford, England |isbn= 9780199602353 |page= 253 |editor1-last= Bowman |editor1-first= Alan |editor2-last= Wilson |editor2-first= Andrew |series= Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy |volume= 2}}</ref>
<ref name=hans258>{{cite book |last= Hanson |first= J. W. |chapter= The Urban System of Roman Asia Minor |title= Settlement, Urbanization, and Population |year= 2011 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford, England |isbn= 9780199602353 |page= 258 |editor1-last= Bowman |editor1-first= Alan |editor2-last= Wilson |editor2-first= Andrew |series= Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy |volume= 2}}</ref>
<ref name=hans252to257>{{cite book |last= Hanson |first= J. W. |chapter= The Urban System of Roman Asia Minor |title= Settlement, Urbanization, and Population |year= 2011 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford, England |isbn= 9780199602353 |pages= 252–257 |editor1-last= Bowman |editor1-first= Alan |editor2-last= Wilson |editor2-first= Andrew |series= Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy |volume= 2}}</ref>
<ref name=pric18>{{cite book |last= Price |first= Simon |chapter= Estimating Ancient Greek Populations |title= Settlement, Urbanization, and Population |year= 2011 |publisher= Oxford University Press |location= Oxford, England |isbn= 9780199602353 |page= 18 |editor1-last= Bowman |editor1-first= Alan |editor2-last= Wilson |editor2-first= Andrew |series= Oxford Studies on the Roman Economy |volume= 2 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yf5b50KuibQC&pg=PA18}}</ref>
}}

==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.&nbsp;47–63.

== External links ==
{{commons}}
{{AmCyc Poster}}
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Ephesus
  |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130831204501/http://www.muze.gov.tr/ephesus-archaeological Official website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170729223533/http://www.muze.gov.tr/ephesus-archaeological-site-the-terrace-houses Official website of the terrace houses of Ephesus]
*[http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/ionia/ephesos/i.html Coinage of Ephesus]
*[http://www.whitman.edu/theatre/theatretour/ephesus/ephesus.home.htm The Theatre at Ephesus]
*[http://turkishtravelblog.com/ephesus-turkey-ancient-ruins-city/ Photos from Ephesus (2015)]
*[https://themindcircle.com/ancient-greek-city-ephesus/ This Is What The Ancient Greek City Ephesus Most Probably Looked Like] (''The Mind Circle,'' Alpix, 2022)<!-- the author and the date of publication can be seen if you look up the term Ephesus in the search field -->

{{History of Anatolia}}
{{Ancient Greece topics}}
{{Ionian League}}
{{Journeys of Paul of Tarsus}}
{{Seven churches of Asia}}
{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}

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