Smyrna

For other meanings of Smyrna, see Smyrna (disambiguation).

Roman and Byzantine Smyrna

In the Roman period Smyrna vied with Ephesus and Pergamum for the title First City of Asia. A Christian church existed here from a very early time, having its origin in the considerable Jewish colony. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was martyred AD 153. The bishops of Smyrna were originally subject to the metropolitan of Ephesus; afterwards they became independent.

Related Topics:
Polycarp - 153

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When Constantinople became the seat of government the trade between Anatolia and the west lost in importance, and Smyrna declined. A Seljuk pirate named Tsacha seized Smyrna in 1084, but it was recovered by the generals of Alexius Comnenus. The city was several times ravaged by the Turks, and had become quite ruinous when the emperor John Ducas Vatatzes about 1222 rebuilt it. But Ibn Batuta found it still in great part a ruin when the famous chieftain Aidin had conquered it about 1330 and made his son Amur governor. It became the port of the Aidin amirate. Soon afterwards the Knights of Saint John established themselves in the town, but failed to conquer the citadel. In 1402 Timur stormed the town and massacred almost all the inhabitants. The Mongol conquest was only temporary, but Smyrna was resumed by the Seljuks of Aidin and remained Ottoman and then Turkish. Until the reign of Abdul Mejid it was included for administrative purposes in the vilayet of Jezair ("the Isles") and not in that of Anadoli. The representative of the Capitan Pasha, who governed that eyalet, was, however, less influential in the city than the head of the Kara Osman Oglus of Manisa. From the early 17th century till 1825, Smyrna was the chief provincial factory of the British Turkey Company, as well as of French, Dutch and other trading corporations. The passages with gates at each end within which most Frank shops in modern Smyrna lie, are a survival of the semi-fortified residences of the European merchants.

Related Topics:
1084 - Alexius Comnenus - 1222 - 1330 - Knights of Saint John - 1402 - Manisa - 17th century - 1825

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Western sources (such as the Catholic Encyclopedia 1908) estimated that shortly before World war I Smyrna had a population of at least 300,000, of whom 150,000 were Greeks. There were also numerous Jews and Armenians and almost 10,000 European Catholics living in the city at the close of the Ottoman empire.

Related Topics:
World war I - Ottoman empire

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