Ephesus Layout

Layout of the city of Ephesus, following the tour as we did from the southeast to northwest gates. Ephesus has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (6000BC), but came to fame first under the Lydian Empire, then as part of the Delian League of Greek cities during the Peloponnesian Wars against Turkey. When Augustus became Emperor of Rome in 27BC, he made Ephesus the capital of the proconsul of Asia, marking the height of the city's power. The city was sacked by the Goths in 263 AD, starting the decline of its power. The Byzantines partially restored the city, but it fell to an earthquake in 614 AD, and by then, its importance as a harbor was fading as the harbor silted in and as the region was forced upwards by tectonics, causing the sea to recede. By the time the Crusaders came through here in the eleventh century, they were surprised to find the area sparsely inhabited, given its importance as one of the most important churches in early Christianity.

(map created using Google Maps: g.co/maps/ydwm3 for interactive version.)

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