Thyateira Ancient City

Thyateira Ancient City, now part of the municipality and district of Akhisar (population c. 177,000), has been ruled by the Hittites, Akkadians, Lydians, Romans, Byzantines, Sarukhanids, and Ottomans throughout history. During the Lydians, Thyateira was an important city with its senate, crowded population, and wealth.

Akhisar takes its name from the old Byzantine “Asprokastro”, which means White (Ak/Aspro) Castle (Hisar/Kastro). The structures and streets of the modern town almost entirely cover ancient Thyateria, though buildings and ruins from ancient times and the Middle Ages can still be seen all over the city. In ancient times, Thyateira was an important centre of activity. It was on the ancient roads from Byzantine to Pergamom, Sardis and Ephesus. Thyateira was at the centre of many small towns and villages administratively and politically bound by it. Akhisar also hosted one of the Seven Churches of Asia, Thyatira, which is mentioned in the Bible.

Getting there: The few traces of the ancient city of Thyateira are in the centre of Akhisar, 200km northeast of Çeşme in the province of Manisa via the E881 highway. 2 hours drive by car via İzmir.

Map location & entry: Paşa, 19. Sk. No. 110, 45200 Akhisar/Manisa – Open daily (except Mondays) 08:00-19:00 – Ticket price approx €TBC.

Brief History of Thyateira

In Greek mythology, the region was occupied by the legendary Amazons (late Bronze Age 1,900-1,200 B.C.); a group of female warriors and hunters known for their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat.  In the 14th century B.C., it was said that their battles with the Scythians extended to Lydia, and that Queen Myrine established settlements between present-day Akhisar and Dikili, with Akhisar established as their base.

In classical times, the city stood on the border between north Lydia and south Mysia. Previously known as Pelopia, Semiramis, and Euhippa, it was named Thyateira in 290 B.C. by King Seleucus I Nicator (c. 358-281 B.C.), a Macedonian general and officer, the successor of Alexander the Great, and the founder of the Seleucid Empire (312-63 B.C.). The defensive Macedonian colony of soldiers was established at Thyatira between 300 and 282 B.C. for defence as a military outpost guarding the north-south road and became an important garrison city. Thyateira was known as the gateway to Pergamum, and the garrison’s purpose was to delay an attack and buy time for Pergamum. Because of its relative geographical weakness, Thyateira was repeatedly destroyed. In 190 B.C., it fell to the Romans and formed part of the province of Asia, becoming a flourishing commercial centre.

Thyateira suffered great damage due to the massive earthquakes in 25/24 B.C., 17 A.D. and 178/179 A.D., and was rebuilt with the help of the Emperors Tiberius (42 B.C. – 37 A.D. Emporer 14 – 37 A.D.) and Emporer Hadrian (76 – 138 A.D. Emporer 117 – 138 A.D.). Many constructions or repairs seen in the city belong to this period. During the reign of Emporer Caracalla (188 – 217 A.D. Emporer 198 – 217 A.D.), the city became the centre of a “conventus”, which also included towns of northern Lydia, such as Attaleia, Apollonis, Hermokapeleia and Hierokome. Emporer Caracalla visited the city in 215 A.D.

According to inscriptions at Thyateira, the city had many trade guilds, including wool, linen, baking, slaves, leather, bronze, pottery, and dyes. One of the major industries was the dying of textiles. The purple dye used in Thyateira was made from the madder (Rubia tinctorum) root, which was much easier to obtain and, therefore, a much less expensive alternative than the rare purple dye from the murex snail found on the Mediterranean coast. Today, the dye of Thyatira is known as “Turkey Red”. Turkey Red was a strong, fast red dye for cotton produced through a multistep process involving madder root, sumac, and oak galls, calf’s blood, sheep’s dung, oil, soda, alum, and a solution of tin.

Other than Lydia of Thyateira, mentioned in Acts of the Apostles chapter 16:14, famous citizens of the city included Artemidorus of Thyateira, an ancient Greek Olympic winner in the 193rd Olympiad held in 8 B.C. of the Stadion race, and Nicander of Thyateira, an ancient Greek grammarian (teacher of ancient poets such as Homer and Virgil).

One of the Seven Churches of Revelation

During the early Christian period, as one of the most significant northern Aegean cities, the church at Thyateira was fundamental and is mentioned in the Bible. Thyateira is referenced in Acts and Revelation as the centre of Lydia and later one of the main churches of Asia Minor (Acts 16:14; Revelation 2:18-29). Paul, who spent most of his three years in the Asian provinces in Ephesus, may have visited Thyateira and brought the Gospel there.

The Christian community thrived until the population exchange of 1923. Since then, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has maintained an exarch based in London with the title Archbishop of Thyateira, responsible for the Greek Orthodox Church in Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain is based at Thyateira House in central London (W2), near Lancaster Gate.

Thyateira Ancient City

Akhisar Archeology and Ethnography Museum

The single-story Akhisar Museum consists of archaeology and ethnographic artefacts, in which 1,451 works are exhibited in 11 sections. In the archaeological section, fossils, idols, and hand tools are displayed, including the old Bronze Age Yortan Vessel dating to 6000-3000 B.C., uncovered in the early 1900s in the Necropolis in the vicinity of Bostancı Village (formerly Yortan) near Akhisar. Various terracotta pot forms, oil lamps, and figurines belonging to the period from the Bronze Age to the end of the Byzantine Period are exhibited in chronological order, including unique examples of Lydian culture such as a gold sheep and silver vessels found in the Gökçeler tumulus. There are glass vessels, silver ceremonial chalices, metal artefacts, jewellery, orthotics (medical braces), and steles (inscribed stone slabs) from the Roman and Byzantine periods. On display are coins dating from the Archaic Period to the Late Ottoman Period, including ancient Thyateira coins. The building was built as the Ali Şefik Hospital in 1933 and converted to the Akhisar Museum after renovation in August 2012. 

The Ethnography Section contains seals from the Late Ottoman and Early Republican periods illustrating coffee culture, Turkish bath culture, handicrafts, local women’s and men’s clothing, jewellery, various pot samples, and carpet weaving. The old bazaar, which reflects the history, culture, economy, and social life of Akhisar in Arasta, has been revived.

Thyateira Hill Tombs (Tepemezarlığı)

Some ruins of an ancient building complex are arranged into an archaeological park in the city’s centre, and the collonaded road can be seen in Tepemezarlığı adjacent to the Akhisar Archeology and Ethnography Museum. The portico is estimated to have a length of 100 m and probably connected the entrance of the large ancient building complex to the city Acropolis. An in-depth archaeological excavation was carried out at Tepemezarlığı between 1969 and 1971. These excavations revealed the walls of a rectangular Roman building along the north-south direction, with dimensions of about 40 metres by 10 metres.

Thyateira Ancient City Excavations

Thyatira’s ancient ruins were untouched until Rustem Duyuran began excavating the site from 1968 to 1971. Numerous inscriptions were found, and 21 were sent to the Manisa Museum. At that time, the location of the collonaded stoa and other public buildings was identified.

Thyateira Ancient City and Hastane Höyüğü (Hospital Mound) excavations were carried out by a team directed by Dokuz Eylul University, Department of Archaeology, Faculty member Prof. Dr. Engin Akdeniz with support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, and Museums. Excavations continue under the support of the Governorship of Manisa and were included in the support of the Turkish Historical Society in 2019. In 2011, excavations started under Akhisar Municipality, as well as archaeology, academicians and students from architecture, geology, geophysics, restoration, epigraphy, anthropology, and art history departments. Remains and finds related to the Prehistoric and Protohistoric periods in the Hospital Mound and the restoration works at the ruins of Tepe Mezarlığı.“Restoration Project of the Tepe Mezarlığı Columnated Roman Street”, prepared by Prof. Dr. Engin Akdeniz, Architect Kiyas Tökmeci.

Thanks to this restoration project, it is thought that the ruins of the Tepe Mezarlığı will increase tourism. Thyateira is an archaeological site that is visited by thousands of tourists every year within the scope of faith tourism, as it has one of the first seven churches (the first seven Christian communities) mentioned in the Bible. 

See also: LikeCesme.com – The Ancient Cities