![](smyrna.jpg)
Smyrna,
Turkey. Marked in Red dots
The
Agora of Smyrna (columns of the western stoa)
![](Lydia_circa_50_AD_-_English_legend.jpg)
Smyrna
among the cities of Ionia and Lydia (ca. 50 AD)
Location
: Izmir, Izmir Province, Turkey
Region : Ionia
Coordinates : 38°25'7 N 27°8'21 E
Type
: Settlement
Smyrna
(Romanized: Smýrne, or Smýrna) was a Greek city
located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.
Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defense
and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence.
The modern name of the city is Izmir.
Two
sites of the ancient city are today within Izmir's boundaries.
The first site, probably founded by indigenous peoples, rose
to prominence during the Archaic Period as one of the principal
ancient Greek settlements in western Anatolia. The second, whose
foundation is associated with Alexander the Great, reached metropolitan
proportions during the period of the Roman Empire. Most of the
present-day remains of the ancient city date from the Roman
era, the majority from after a 2nd-century AD earthquake. In
practical terms, a distinction is often made between these.
Old Smyrna was the initial settlement founded around the 11th
century BC, first as an Aeolian settlement, and later taken
over and developed during the Archaic Period by the Ionians.
Smyrna proper was the new city which residents moved to as of
the 4th century BC and whose foundation was inspired by Alexander
the Great.
Old
Smyrna was located on a small peninsula connected to the mainland
by a narrow isthmus at the northeastern corner of the inner
Gulf of Izmir, at the edge of a fertile plain and at the foot
of Mount Yamanlar. This Anatolian settlement commanded the gulf.
Today, the archeological site, named Bayrakli Höyügü,
is approximately 700 metres (770 yd) inland, in the Tepekule
neighbourhood of Bayrakli. New Smyrna developed simultaneously
on the slopes of the Mount Pagos (Kadifekale today) and alongside
the coastal strait, immediately below where a small bay existed
until the 18th century.
The
core of the late Hellenistic and early Roman Smyrna is preserved
in the large area of Izmir Agora Open Air Museum at this site.
Research is being pursued at the sites of both the old and the
new cities. This has been conducted since 1997 for Old Smyrna
and since 2002 for the Classical Period city, in collaboration
between the Izmir Archaeology Museum and the Metropolitan Municipality
of Izmir.
History
:
![](640px-thumbnail1.jpg)
The
agora of ancient Smyrna
Etymology :
Several explanations have been offered for its name. A Greek
myth derived the name from an eponymous Amazon named Smyrna,
which was also the name of a quarter of Ephesus. This is the
basis of Myrina, a city of Aeolis.
In
inscriptions and coins, the name often was written as Zmýrna,
Zmyrnaîos, "of Smyrna".
![](640px-Izmir_Agora_Archs_(6998765708).jpg)
Arches
of the ancient city of Smyrna
The name Smyrna may also have been taken from the ancient Greek
word for myrrh, smýrna, which was the chief export of
the city in ancient times.
Third
millennium to 687 BC :
The region was settled at least as of the beginning of the third
millennium BC, or perhaps earlier, as suggested by finds made
in Yesilova Höyük in excavations since 2005. It could
have been a city of the autochthonous Leleges before the Greek
colonists started to settle along the coast of Asia Minor at
the turn of the second to first millennium BC. Throughout classical
antiquity, Smyrna was a leading city-state of Ionia, with influence
over the Aegean shores and islands. Smyrna was also among the
cities that claimed Homer as a resident.
The
early Aeolian Greek settlers of Lesbos and Cyme, expanding eastwards,
occupied the valley of Smyrna. It was one of the confederacy
of Aeolian city-states, marking the Aeolian frontier with the
Ionian colonies.
Strangers
or refugees from the Ionian city of Colophon settled in the
city. During an uprising in 688 BC, they took control of the
city, making it the thirteenth of the Ionian city-states. Revised
mythologies said it was a colony of Ephesus. In 688 BC, the
Ionian boxer Onomastus of Smyrna won the prize at Olympia, but
the coup was probably then a recent event. The Colophonian conquest
is mentioned by Mimnermus (before 600 BC), who counts himself
equally of Colophon and of Smyrna. The Aeolic form of the name
was retained even in the Attic dialect, and the epithet "Aeolian
Smyrna" remained current long after the conquest.
![](640px-thumbnail2.jpg)
Agora
of Smyrna, built during the Hellenistic era at the base of Pagos
Hill and totally rebuilt under Marcus Aurelius after the destructive
178 AD earthquake
Smyrna was located at the mouth of the small river Hermus and
at the head of a deep arm of the sea (Smyrnaeus Sinus) that
reached far inland. This enabled Greek trading ships to sail
into the heart of Lydia, making the city part of an essential
trade route between Anatolia and the Aegean. During the 7th
century BC, Smyrna rose to power and splendor. One of the great
trade routes which cross Anatolia descends the Hermus valley
past Sardis, and then, diverging from the valley, passes south
of Mount Sipylus and crosses a low pass into the little valley
where Smyrna lies between the mountains and the sea. Miletus
and later Ephesus were situated at the sea end of the other
great trade route across Anatolia; they competed for a time
successfully with Smyrna; but after both cities' harbors silted
up, Smyrna was without a rival.
The
Meles River, which flowed by Smyrna, is famous in literature
and was worshiped in the valley. A common and consistent tradition
connects Homer with the valley of Smyrna and the banks of the
Meles; his figure was one of the stock types on coins of Smyrna,
one class of which numismatists call "Homerian." The
epithet Melesigenes was applied to him; the cave where he was
wont to compose his poems was shown near the source of the river;
his temple, the Homereum, stood on its banks. The steady equable
flow of the Meles, alike in summer and winter, and its short
course, beginning and ending near the city, are celebrated by
Aristides and Himerius. The stream rises from abundant springs
east of the city and flows into the southeast extremity of the
gulf.
The
archaic city ("Old Smyrna") contained a temple of
Athena from the 7th century BC.
Lydian
period :
![](450px-Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Saffo_-_Copia_romana_da_orig_ellenist._-_da_Smirne_-_Foto_G._Dall%27Orto_28-5-2006_02.jpg)
Head
of the poetess Sappho, Smyrna, Marble copy of a prototype belonging
to the Hellenistic Period, in Istanbul Archaeology Museums
![](640px-Map_of_Lydia_ancient_times-en.svg.png)
Map
of Smyrna and other cities within the Lydian Empire
When
the Mermnad kings raised the Lydian power and aggressiveness,
Smyrna was one of the first points of attack. Gyges (ca. 687–652
BC) was, however, defeated on the banks of the Hermus, the situation
of the battlefield showing that the power of Smyrna extended
far to the east. A strong fortress was built probably by the
Smyrnaean Ionians to command the valley of Nymphi, the ruins
of which are still imposing, on a hill in the pass between Smyrna
and Nymphi.
According
to Theognis (c. 500 BC), it was pride that destroyed Smyrna.
Mimnermus laments the degeneracy of the citizens of his day,
who could no longer stem the Lydian advance. Finally, Alyattes
(609–560 BC) conquered the city and sacked it, and though
Smyrna did not cease to exist, the Greek life and political
unity were destroyed, and the polis was reorganized on the village
system. Smyrna is mentioned in a fragment of Pindar and in an
inscription of 388 BC, but its greatness was past.
Hellenistic
period :
This
section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this
section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material
may be challenged and removed. (February 2020)
Alexander the Great conceived the idea of restoring the Greek
city in a scheme that was, according to Strabo, actually carried
out under Antigonus (316–301 BC) and Lysimachus (301 BC—281
BC), who enlarged and fortified the city. The ruined acropolis
of the ancient city, the "crown of Smyrna", had been
on a steep peak about 380 metres (1,250 ft) high, which overhangs
the northeast extremity of the gulf. Modern Izmir was constructed
atop the later Hellenistic city, partly on the slopes of a rounded
hill the Greeks called Pagos near the southeast end of the gulf,
and partly on the low ground between the hill and the sea. The
beauty of the Hellenistic city, clustering on the low ground
and rising tier over tier on the hillside, was frequently praised
by the ancients and is celebrated on its coins.
![](640px-thumbnail3.jpg)
The
statue of the river god Kaystros with a cornucopia in Izmir
Museum of History and Art at Kültürpark
Smyrna is shut in on the west by a hill now called Deirmen Tepe,
with the ruins of a temple on the summit. The walls of Lysimachus
crossed the summit of this hill, and the acropolis occupied
the top of Pagus. Between the two the road from Ephesus entered
the city by the Ephesian gate, near which was a gymnasium. Closer
to the acropolis the outline of the stadium is still visible,
and the theatre was situated on the north slopes of Pagus. Smyrna
possessed two harbours. The outer harbour was simply the open
roadstead of the gulf, and the inner was a small basin with
a narrow entrance partially filled up by Tamerlane in 1402 AD.
The
streets were broad, well paved and laid out at right angles;
many were named after temples: the main street, called the Golden,
ran across the city from west to east, beginning probably from
the temple of Zeus Akraios on the west slope of Pagus, and running
round the lower slopes of Pagus (like a necklace on the statue,
to use the favorite terms of Aristides the orator) towards Tepecik
outside the city on the east, where probably stood the temple
of Cybele, worshipped under the name of Meter Sipylene, the
patroness of the city. The name is from the nearby Mount Sipylus,
which bounds the valley of the city's backlands. The plain towards
the sea was too low to be properly drained, and in rainy weather,
the streets of the lower town were deep with mud and water.
At
the end of the Hellenistic period, in 197 BC, the city suddenly
cut its ties with King Eumenes of Pergamum and instead appealed
to Rome for help. Because Rome and Smyrna had no ties until
then, Smyrna created a cult of Rome to establish a bond, and
the cult eventually became widespread through the whole Roman
Empire. As of 195 BC, the city of Rome started to be deified,
in the cult to the goddess Roma. In this sense, the Smyrneans
can be considered as the creators of the goddess Roma.
In
133 BC, when the last Attalid king Attalus III died without
an heir, his will conferred his entire kingdom, including Smyrna,
to the Romans. They organized it into the Roman province of
Asia, making Pergamum the capital. Smyrna, however, as a major
seaport, became a leading city in the newly constituted province.
Roman
and Byzantine period :
Map of Western Anatolia showing the "Seven Churches
of Asia" and the Greek island of Patmos
As one of the principal cities of Roman Asia, Smyrna vied with
Ephesus and Pergamum for the title "First City of Asia."
A
Christian church and a bishopric existed here from a very early
time, probably originating in the considerable Jewish colony.
It was one of the seven churches addressed in the Book of Revelation.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch visited Smyrna and later wrote letters
to its bishop, Polycarp. A mob of Jews and pagans abetted the
martyrdom of Polycarp in AD 153. Saint Irenaeus, who heard Polycarp
as a boy, was probably a native of Smyrna. Another famous resident
of the same period was Aelius Aristides.
After
a destructive earthquake in 178 AD, Smyrna was rebuilt in the
Roman period (2nd century AD) under the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Aelius Aristides wrote a letter to Marcus Aurelius and his son
Commodus, inviting them to become the new founders of the city.
The bust of the emperor's wife Faustina on the second arch of
the western stoa confirms this fact.[citation needed]
Polycrates
reports a succession of bishops including Polycarp of Smyrna,
as well as others in nearby cities such as Melito of Sardis.
Related to that time the German historian W. Bauer wrote :
Asian
Jewish Christianity received in turn the knowledge that henceforth
the "church" would be open without hesitation to the
Jewish influence mediated by Christians, coming not only from
the apocalyptic traditions, but also from the synagogue with
its practices concerning worship, which led to the appropriation
of the Jewish passover observance. Even the observance of the
sabbath by Christians appears to have found some favor in Asia...we
find that in post-apostolic times, in the period of the formation
of ecclesiastical structure, the Jewish Christians in these
regions come into prominence.
In
the late 2nd century, Irenaeus also noted :
Polycarp
also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with
many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia,
appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna…always taught
the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which
the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these
things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men
who have succeeded Polycarp.
Tertullian
wrote c. 208 AD :
Anyhow
the heresies are at best novelties, and have no continuity with
the teaching of Christ. Perhaps some heretics may claim Apostolic
antiquity: we reply: Let them publish the origins of their churches
and unroll the catalogue of their bishops till now from the
Apostles or from some bishop appointed by the Apostles, as the
Smyrnaeans count from Polycarp and John, and the Romans from
Clement and Peter; let heretics invent something to match this.
Hence,
apparently the church in Smyrna was one of the churches that
Tertullian felt had real apostolic succession.
During
the mid-3rd century, most became affiliated with the Greco-Roman
churches.
When
Constantinople became the seat of government, the trade between
Anatolia and the West diminished in importance, and Smyrna declined.
The
Seljuq commander Tzachas seized Smyrna in 1084 and used it as
a base for naval raids, but the city was recovered by the general
John Doukas.
The
city was several times ravaged by the Turks, and had become
quite ruinous when the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes
rebuilt it about 1222.
Ottoman
period :
![](Tamerlan.jpg)
In the year 1403, Timur had decisively defeated the
Knights Hospitaller at Smyrna, and therefore referred to himself
as a Ghazi
![](Great_Fire_of_Smyrna.jpg)
The
Great Fire of Smyrna as seen from an Italian ship, 14 September
1922
Ibn Batuta found it still in great part a ruin when the homonymous
chieftain of the Beylik of Aydin had conquered it about 1330
and made his son, Umur, governor. It became the port of the
emirate.
During
the Smyrniote Crusade in 1344, on October 28, the combined forces
of the Knights Hospitaliers of Rhodes, the Republic of Venice,
the Papal States and the Kingdom of Cyprus, captured both the
harbor and city from the Turks, which they held for nearly 60
years; the citadel fell in 1348, with the death of the governor
Umur Baha ad-Din Ghazi.
In
1402, Tamerlane stormed the town and massacred almost all the
inhabitants. The Mongol conquest was only temporary, but Smyrna
was recovered by the Turks under the Aydin dynasty after which
it became Ottoman, when the Ottomans took over the lands of
Aydin after 1425.
Greek
influence was so strong in the area that the Turks called it
"Smyrna of the infidels" (Gavur Izmir). While Turkish
sources track the emergence of the term to the 14th century
when two separate parts of the city were controlled by two different
powers, the upper Izmir being Muslim and the lower part of the
city Christian.[citation needed][clarification needed]
During
the late 19th and early 20th century, the city was an important
financial and cultural center of the Greek world. [citation
needed] Out of the 391 factories 322 belonged to local Greeks,
while 3 out of the 9 banks were backed by Greek capital. Education
was also dominated by the local Greek communities with 67 male
and 4 female schools in total. The Ottomans continued to control
the area, with the exception of the 1919–1922 period,
when the city was assigned to Greece by the Treaty of Sèvres.
The
most important Greek educational institution of the region was
the Evangelical School that operated from 1733 to 1922.
Post
World War I :
![](640px-Greek_army_Smyrne_1919.jpg)
Greek
troops marching on Izmir's coastal street, May 1919
After the end of the First World War Greece occupied Smyrna
from 15 May 1919 and put in place a military administration.
The Greek premier Venizelos had plans to annex Smyrna and he
seemed to be realizing his objective in the Treaty of Sèvres,
signed 10 August 1920. (However, this treaty was not ratified
by the parties; the Treaty of Peace of Lausanne replaced it.)
The
occupation of Smyrna came to an end when the Turkish army of
Kemal Atatürk entered the city on September 9, 1922, at
the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). In the immediate
aftermath, a fire broke out in the Greek and Armenian quarters
of the city on September 13, 1922, known as the Great Fire of
Smyrna. The death toll is estimated to range from 10,000 to
100,000.
The
Armenians, alongside the Greeks, played a significant role in
the city's development, most notably during the age of exploration,
where Armenians became a crucial player in the trade sector.
The Armenians had trade routes stretching from the far east
to Europe. One most notable good the Armenians traded was Iranian
silk, where the Shah Abbas of Iran gave them the monopoly over
it in the 17th century The Armenians traded Iranian silk with
European and Greek merchants in Smyrna; this trade made the
Armenians very rich. Besides trade, the Armenians were involved
in manufacturing, banking, and other highly productive professions.
After
the Armenian Genocide and the Great Fire of Smyrna, the Armenians
perished, and the centuries-old history and culture that the
Armenians had built in Smyrna were eliminated.
Agora
:
The remains of the ancient agora of Smyrna constitute today
the space of Izmir Agora Museum in Izmir's Namazgah quarter,
although its area is commonly referred to as "Agora"
by the city's inhabitants.
Situated
on the northern slopes of the Pagos hills, it was the commercial,
judicial and political nucleus of the ancient city, its center
for artistic activities and for teaching.
Izmir
Agora Open Air Museum consists of five parts, including the
agora area, the base of the northern basilica gate, the stoa
and the ancient shopping centre.
The
agora of Smyrna was built during the Hellenistic era.
Excavations
:
![](640px-1843_Chenavard_Agora.jpg)
Engraving
with a view of the site of Smyrna Agora a few years after the
first explorations (1843)
Although Smyrna was explored by Charles Texier in the 19th century
and the German consul in Izmir had purchased the land around
the ancient theater in 1917 to start excavations, the first
scientific digs can be said to have started in 1927. Most of
the discoveries were made by archaeological exploration carried
as an extension during the period between 1931 and 1942 by the
German archaeologist Rudolf Naumann and Selâhattin Kantar,
the director of Izmir and Ephesus museums. They uncovered a
three-floor, rectangular compound with stairs in the front,
built on columns and arches around a large courtyard in the
middle of the building.[citation needed]
New
excavations in the agora began in 1996. They have continued
since 2002 under the sponsorship of the Metropolitan Municipality
of Izmir. A primary school adjacent to the agora that had burned
in 1980 was not reconstructed. Instead, its space was incorporated
into the historical site. The area of the agora was increased
to 16,590 square metres (178,600 sq ft). This permitted the
evacuation of a previously unexplored zone. The archaeologists
and the local authorities, means permitting, are also keenly
eyeing a neighbouring multi-storey car park, which is known
to cover an important part of the ancient settlement. [citation
needed] During the present renovations the old restorations
in concrete are gradually being replaced by marble.
The
new excavation has uncovered the agora's northern gate. It has
been concluded that embossed figures of the goddess Hestia found
in these digs were a continuation of the Zeus altar uncovered
during the first digs. Statues of the gods Hermes, Dionysos,
Eros and Heracles have also been found, as well as many statues,
heads, embossments, figurines and monuments of people and animals,
made of marble, stone, bone, glass, metal and terracotta. Inscriptions
found here list the people who provided aid to Smyrna after
the earthquake of 178 AD.[citation needed]
Economy
:
In the early 20th-century, there were mills spinning thread.
As of 1920, there were two factories in Smyrna dyeing yarn,
which were owned by British companies. These companies employed
over 60,000 people. During this time, there was also a French
owned cotton spinning mill. The city also produced soap made
of refuse olive oil. An ironworks, also owned by the British,
produced tools and equipment. Those tools were used to extract
tannin from valonia oak. As of 1920, the ironwork was exporting
5,000 tons of product a year. The city also produced wooden
boxes, which were used for fig and raisin storage. The wood
for the boxes was imported from Austria and Romania.
Toponyms
:
Several American cities have been named after Smyrna, including
Smyrna, Georgia; Smyrna, Tennessee; Smyrna, North Carolina;
Smyrna, Delaware; Smyrna, Michigan; Smyrna, Maine and New Smyrna
Beach, Florida.Also Smyrna, South Carolina.