Getting there: 235km east of Çeşme in the centre of Alaşehir, the province of Manisa, via the E881 highway and D585. 2 hours and 45-minute drive by car via İzmir-Turgutlu-Karaoğlanlı.
Map location & entry: Soğuksu, İsmet Paşa Cd. No:120, 45600 Alaşehir/Manisa – Open daily 08:00-17:00 – Ticket price approx. €TBC.
Philadelphia lies in the Valley of Kogamos at the foot of the Tmolos modern-day Bozdağ in the current Alaşehir district. The city was mentioned among the Seven Churches of Asia in the Bible and was one of the cities from which Christianity began to spread. It was also the last metropolis of the Christian province of Lydia and, except for the Empire of Trebizond, was the last East Roman city in Anatolia to fall to the Turks. Unlike many Hellenistic-Roman long-settled ancient cities in Anatolia that went into decline or were abandoned after Late Antiquity, Philadelphia was inhabited until about the last 60 years of the East Roman Empire.
There are few visible building remains from Late Antiquity and the East Roman period; unfortunately, almost all of them are extensively damaged. The remains are in three sections of the city centre of Alaşehir: Gavurtepe Mound, Toptepe, and the walled precinct.
Brief History of Philadelphia
Philadelphia became an important centre during the reign of the King of Pergamon (159 – 138 B.C.), Attalus II Philadelphus, but may have been founded as early as Seleukos I (358 – 281 B.C.). Annexed by the Romans in 133 B.C. on the death of Attalus III Philometor Euergetes, it became one of the cities of the Roman Province of Asia through which the Imperial Post Road passed.
Attalus II Philadelphus “Attalus the brother-loving”
The throne’s predecessor was Attalus II’s elder brother, Eumenes II Soter (ruler 197 – 159 B.C.). In 172, while returning from a visit to Rome, Eumenes was attacked near Cirrha (the harbour of Delphi, Greece) and was believed to be dead. On learning this, Attalus married his brother’s widow, Stratonice, and became king of Pergamon. When his brother returned unharmed, he divorced Stratonice and ceded the power to his elder brother without contest. Later, the Romans offered him assistance to overthrow his brother, but he declined. When his brother died in 159 BC, Eumenus’s son, Attalus’s nephew (later Attalus III), was too young to rule, so he ascended the throne as regent and married Stratonice once again. From this, Attalus was given the monitor Attalus Philadelphus, “Attalus the brother-loving”. It may be that Eumenes II Soter founded the city of Philadelphia to honour his younger brother.
An earthquake damaged the city in 17 A.D. it was rebuilt directly afterwards, under the authority of Emperor Tiberius (42 B.C. – 37 A.D. Emporer 14 – 37 A.D.). Its ongoing importance in the Roman Period is attested by its title Neocorate (a distinction awarded to cities that had built temples), which enabled Philadelphia from the reign of Emporer Caracalla (188 – 217 A.D. Emporer 198 – 217 A.D.) to Emporer Trajan Decius (201 – 251 A.D. Emporer 249 – 251 A.D.) to celebrate imperial festivals repeatedly.
According to the Roman writer Pliny, Philadelphia was part of the conventus (administrative district of Sardis during the Roman Imperial Period. In the reign of Emporer Diocletian (242 – 311 A.D. Emporer 284 – 305 A.D.) Philadelphia became one of the cities of the province of Lydia in Late Antiquity, again under the jurisdiction of Sardis, which was afterwards to become the capital of the ecclesiastical province of Lydia until the 14th century. The late 5th/early 6th-century Byzantine historian Zosimus notes that in the 4th century, the Imperial Main Road passed through Philadelphia, and barbarian soldiers met soldiers from Egypt in the city and were recruited into their legions. With its Neocorate status, the city was known as “Little Athens” as late as the 6th Century A.D. due to the abundance of temples and festivals held there. The city preserved its importance during the Byzantine Period and was surrounded by walls in the 11th century A.D. after the Turkish Raids began.
Gavurtepe Mound
Located on the city’s southwest side Gavurtepe is the site of the earliest settlement with 6 levels of habitation going back to the Chalcolithic Age or Early Bronze Age. During the Late Bronze Age, the mound was surrounded by a fortification wall. The settlement was investigated and excavated from 1987 to 1991 by Recep Meriç and excavations of the wall on the south and west sides of the settlement uncovered Cyclopean masonry (stonework found in Mycenaean architecture). Two upright stone slabs on the west side may have formed the main entrance to the settlement. A megaron (a great hall in very early Mycenean period) was excavated at the highest point of the settlement mound. The 30 metre x 12 metre building consisted of Cyclopean walls, which are about 2 metres thick possibly erected in the 15th century B.C. and burned down towards the end of the Bronze Age.
Artifacts dating to the Troy II period (2600-2400 B.C.) were found throughout the mound, including marble idols, bowl fragments, bronze needles, a pithos burial, two gold earplugs, a necklace of gold beads, a marble violin-shaped idol, a stone seal, and two beak rimmed jugs. On the western part of the mound, there is a cemetery belonging to the Byzantine Period. Tombs from the Byzantine Period indicate that at least the slopes of the mound and its surroundings were used as a necropolis. No traces of a settlement from Late Antiquity or the East Roman period have been found except for the burials.
Toptepe & The Walled Precinct
Several burials and other remains have been uncovered in Toptepe, indicating a settlement in Late Antiquity and the East Roman period. The walled precinct and Toptepe were clearly the city centre of Philadelphia in this period. The theatre, temple, and stadium structures were partially unearthed during excavations in the early 1980s around Toptepe. However, since the excavations did not continue, it is impossible to see these remains clearly today. The East Gate, belonging to the Byzantine walls, was unearthed during the excavations. This door is the entrance door. The gate is preserved with two towers, one with a semicircle and the other with a rectangular plan.
The Church of St. Jean
One of the seven churches (religious centres) mentioned in the Bible is in Philadelphia. St. Jean Church has been in the city since the Early Byzantine Period (6th century). In constructing this church with three monumental piers, the column pieces of the first-age architectural works and inlaid stones were used abundantly.
Among the most significant monuments of the city are the ruins of the temple on the Toptepe plain, which was once the Acropolis of the ancient city of Philadelphia, the ruins of the theatre in the early Roman period on the northern outskirts of Toptepe, the walls built in the Byzantine period, the eastern gate and the Saint Jean Church dated to the 6th century A.D. Established in the name of loannes (John/Jean) of the Apostles, being one of the seven churches from the early Christianity in the Aegean region, the Church of St. Jean’s three existent pillars are intact. The height, thickness and connection of the pillars to the arches give the impression that it was once a magnificent structure. Cultural assets brought from Alaşehir and its surroundings are exhibited in the garden of St. Jeans’ Church.
According to Greek estimates published in 1905, the metropolis of Philadelphia included 19 Orthodox communities, mostly Turkish-speaking Christians, consisting of 14,000 people, 25 parishes and 23 priests. Apart from those found in Philadelphia itself, the most numerous and active communities were in the Kula region, Uşak, Denizli, Salihli and Afyon Karahisar. Following the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, the local Orthodox evacuated the region entirely in the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923.
Reference to Philadelphia in the Bible
Revelation 1:10-2 – (10) On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, (11) which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” (12) I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Revelation 2:7-10 – To the Church in Philadelphia (7) “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens, no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open. (8) I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. (9) I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. (10) Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
Source: Biblegateway.com
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
When the English Quaker and advocate of religious freedom William Penn founded Philadelphia in 1682, he looked to the Bible and found a name appropriate for his colony’s capital. The name’s origins are from Greek, combining the words phileo (φῐλέω), meaning “to love,” and adelphos (ἀδελφός), meaning “brother.” William Penn envisioned a utopia where people of all faiths could live as brothers, i.e., “brotherly love.”
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture & Tourism – Alaşehir Archaeological Site English Website (includes a link to their .pdf brochure)