Ephesus, with its inspiring vistas along colonnaded streets, possesses the strongest Roman character. The ruins allow us to visualize this vibrant metropolis’s grandeur and vitality; they show the citizens’ wealth and convey imperial ideals. Arches, which played no role in Greek architecture, span generous openings. Ornate and symbolic sculpture enriches many surfaces to proclaim Ephesian values and desires.

The Neolithic Era and the Bronze Age Ephesus lie only 500m. outside the eastern walls of the city. The recently excavated tell of Çukuriçi Höyük dates back to the seventh millennium BCE.

In the fifteenth century BCE, the fertile land near the Kaystros River’s mount, on the western edge of the Hittite Empire, attracted Minoan and Mycenean colonists. The Myceneans left evidence of their Bronze Age occupation on Ayasuluk Hill, to the North of the classical city. Following the collapse of both the Hittite and Mycenean cultures in about 1200 BCE, the Strabo as Carians and Lelegians lived in Ephesus.

Roman Era in Ephesus

After the Pergamon King Attalos III’s death, who willed his empire to Rome, membership in the Roman Empire brought peace. Under Augustus (63-14 BCE), Ephesus entered a Golden Age; it became the Roman Province of Asia’s capital and the second-largest city in the Empire. An invasion of Asia by the Pontic King Mithridates completed in 88 BCE briefly interrupted Roman control, but the Roman General  Sulla drove him and restored Roman rule. By the year 100 BCE, the population reached at least 200,000. The fame and status of the rebuilt Temple of Artemis increased, enriching the goddess’s silversmiths who produced and exported effigies.

When you visit Ephesus ancient city, you will see; The Roman Bath, Necropolis, State Agora, Basilica, Odeon/Bouleuterion, Prytaneum, Pollio Monument and Fountain of Domitian, Temple of Emperors, Nike Relief, Memmius Monument, Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, Trajan’s Gate House, Nymphaeum Traiani, Bath Street, Temple of Hadrian, Varius Bath/Scholastica Bath, Academy Street, Latrines, Mosaics, Terrace Houses, Celsus Library, Forum, Marble Street, Theatre, Arcadian Street, Gymnasium.

You can book Ephesus Tour with Package Tour Turkey.