Ephesus; is trusted by many to be the Apasa mentioned in Hittite sources as the capital of the kingdom of Arzawa. Mycenaean pottery has been found in excavations at the site. Many breasted "Lady of Ephesus", identified by Greeks with Artemis was venerated in the Temple of Artemis, the largest building of the ancient world, according to Pausanias, an of the 7 Wonders of the World, of which scarcely a trace remains.
Starting in the Roman Republic, Ephesus's the capital of proconsular Asia, which covered the western part of Asia Minor.
The original city of Ephesus's located on low ground and was completely flooded by the sea. The city was rebuilt by Lysimachus, who destroyed the cities of Lebedos and Colophon in 292 BC, relocated their inhabitants to the new city.
The city bore the title of "the I. and greatest metropolis of Asia". It's distinguished for the Temple of Artemis, who had her chief shrine there, for its library, for its theatre, which would have been capable of holding twenty five thousand spectators. It's, like all ancient theatres, open to the sky; it's used initially for drama, but during later Roman times gladiatorial combats were also held on its stage. The population of Ephesus's been estimated to be in the range of 400000 to 500000 inhabitants in the year one zero zero CE, making it the largest city in Roman Asia and one of the largest cities of the day. Ephesus also had several major bath complexes, built at various points during the city was under Roman rule. The city had an of the most advanced aqueduct systems in the ancient world, with multiple aqueducts of various sizes to supply distinct areas of the city, including four major aqueducts.
Although sacked by the Goths in 263 CE, Ephesus remained the most important city of the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople in the V. and VI. c. However, other destructions by the Arabs in the year 700 and 716 spurred a quick decline : the city was largely abandoned when the harbor completely filled in with river silt (despite repeated dredges during the city's history), removing its access to the Aegean Sea. When the Seljuk Turks conquered it in 1090, it's a small village. The Byzantines resumed control in 1100, kept control of the region until the end of the XII. c. After a short period of flourishing under the new rulers, it' s definitively abandoned in the XV. c.
Ephesus's an important center for early Christianity. Paul used it as a base. He became embroiled in a dispute with artisans, whose livelihood depended on the Temple of Artemis there and wrote One Corinthians from Ephesus. Later Paul wrote to the Christian community at Ephesus.
The Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "the Apostle and Evangelist John lived in Asia Minor in the last decades of the I. c. and from Ephesus had guided the Churches of that province. After Domitian's death the Apostle returned to Ephesus while the reign of Trajan, at Ephesus he died about 100 CE at a great age". Ephesus's 1 of the 7 cities addressed in Revelation.
There's also one letter written by Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians in the early II. c CE, that begins with "Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Ephesus, in Asia, deservedly the most happy, being blessed in the greatness, fulness of God the Father and predestinated before the beginning of time, that it should be always for one enduring and unchangeable glory".
The house of the Virgin Mary, about 7 km. from Selcuk, is believed by many to have been the end home of Mary, mother of Jesus, is a popular place of pilgrimage. Also nearby is the town of Meryemana.
Ephesus's the setting for the III. Ecumenical Council in 431, which resulted in the condemnation of Nestorius.