Ephesus

Ephesus may be derived from a Hittite term Apasa. Humans had begun inhabiting the area surrounding Ephesus by the Neolithic Age (about 6000 BC). Ephesus was an Ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, 3 kilometers southwest of present-day Selçuk in Turkey's zmir Province. It was erected by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the old Arzawan capital. It was one of the twelve cities that comprised the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era. In 129 BC, the Roman Republic took possession of the city.

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. About 650 BC, Ephesus was attacked by the Cimmerians who razed the city, including the temple of Artemis.

During the ancient period, Ephesus prospered, but when taxes were raised under Cambyses II and Darius, the Ephesians joined the Ionian Revolt against Persian control, sparking the Greco-Persian wars. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were liberated after Alexander the Great defeated the Persian armies. Pro-Persian tyran Syrpax and his family were stoned to death, and Alexander was hailed warmly as he entered Ephesus triumphantly. 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.

The city was destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th century AD, and much of its ruins were later covered by sediment from the nearby river. The ruins include many impressive structures, such as the Library of Celsus, the Great Theater, and the Temple of Hadrian.

• Ephesus was one of the largest and most important cities of the ancient world, with a population of over 250,000 people during its peak.
• The city was home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis, which was a massive temple dedicated to the Greek goddess of the hunt.