مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - The Remains from Late Antiquity and the East Roman Periods and Their Location within the Lydian City of Philadelphia: New Comments

Abstract :

Philadelphia, mentioned amongst the seven churches of Asia in the Bible, was one of the cities from which Christianity began to spread. It was also the last metropolis of the ecclesiastical province of Lydia and, with the exception of the empire of Trebizond, was the last East Roman city in Anatolia to fall to the Turks. This study investigates the Late Antique and East Roman remains and their location within the ancient city centre of Philadelphia/Alaşehir in the lights of new observations. Unlike many Hellenistic-Roman long settled ancient cities in Anatolia that went into decline, or which were abandoned after Late Antiquity, Philadelphia was inhabited until about the last 60 years of East Roman Empire. Only a small number of remains from Late Antiquity and the East Roman period remain extant and unfortunately almost all of them are to a large extent damaged. One may nevertheless summarize the evidence as it follows: The remains are in three section of the city centre of Alaşehir: Gavurtepe Mound, Toptepe and the walled precinct. No traces of a settlement from the period in question have been found in the earliest settlement of Philadelphia, Gavurtepe, except for the burials. Similarly a number of burials have been uncovored in Toptepe as well as other remains which also indicate a settlement inhabited in Late Antiquity and the East Roman period. The walled precinct and Toptepe was clearly the city centre of Philadelphia in the Roman Imperial Period as in Late Antiquity and in the East Roman period.