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Izmir’s history goes back to
3000 B.C. according to the results of historical knowledge
and archaeological excavations. Findings and many
investigations have been made to enlighten Izmir’s history:
The continuous excavations on the Bayrakli ridges by Prof.
Dr. Ekrem Akurgal since 1959, the discovery of the Zeus
Altar by the German archaeologist Carl Humman in Pergamon
(Bergama) between 1866 and 1878, the discovery of the
Artemis Temple in 1869 by the British Wood and the
continuous excavations by Austrian archaeologists at certain
intervals of the city of ancient Ephesus since 1904. Also
many researchers in different universities are still
investigating on the city’s historical development.
Many legends are known about the derivation of the name of
Izmir. According to the knowledge acquired from scientific
studies the word "IZMIR" came from Smyrna in the ancient
Ionian dialect and it was written as Smyrna in the Attican (around
Athens) dialect. The word Smyrna was not Greek, it came from
Anatolian root like many other names in the Aegean Region
from the texts belonging to 2000 B.C. in the Kültepe
settlement in Kayseri, a place called Tismyrna was come
across and the (Ti) at the beginning was omitted and the
city was pronounced as Smyrna. So the city was called Smyrna
the early years of 3000 B.C. or late 1800 B.C. In the
Turkish era the city was called Izmir.
In the years of 3000 B.C. Western Anatolia was under a rich
Trojan civilization influence. The settlement areas built on
the Aegean coast also developed generally under the Trojan
influence. The Hittites which Homer wrote about in the Iliad,
were an active force and civilization in the Anatolian
mountain pastures because the Trojans were allies of the
Hittites and they had a big influence on the Aegean
settlements. As a matter of fact Pitane (Çandarli) in the
Bakirçay River basin and similar settlements were built by
the Hittites. It is believed that the Amazons lived in the
area between Caria and the Lydia which today is the sides of
the Yamanlar Mountains, and they carried on their existence
until the arrival of the Aiolos and the Ions.
The Aiolos and the Ions who Fled from the Doric invasion
around 1000 B.C., came from Greece and settled in Izmir and
its surroundings. The important Aeol and Ionian settlements
are as follows: Bergama (Pergamon), Manisa (Magnesia), Izmir
(Smyrna), Urla (Klazomenai, near Cesme), Kemalpasa (Nimphaion),
Cesme-Ildiri (Erythrai), Sigacik (Teos), Phokaia, Selcuk (Ephesus).
Until the 7th century B.C. Izmir got richer because of its
trade with its neighbors especially Lydia. Its good neighbor
relationships with Lydia lasted until the Lydians were
conquered by the Persians. The Persian sovereignty ended
with Alexander the Great's arrival to Anatolia in 334 B.C.
In these years, in which the Hellenistic period began, a new
settlement was formed around Kadifekale (Mount Pagos) and
its city walls belong to the Hellenistic period and have
undergone many restorations in the following periods.
The city, which was tied to the Pergamon Empire in 197 B.C.,
passed into the control of the Roman Empire after a short
period between 27 B.C. and 324 A.D. Roman control
transformed Izmir into an important trade and harbor city.
For the west, Izmir was seen as the center of Asia. In this
period the Agora, Acropolis, Theater, Stadium, and
constructions that did not remain up to now, like the
libraries and the fountains, were built during this period.
The two roads stretching from Kadifekale (Mt. Pagos) to
Ephesus and Sardis were built during the Roman period. In
324 A.D. after the Roman Empire was divided into two, Izmir
had been taken by the Byzantine Empire and Ephesus
especially was an important cultural and religious center in
the classic Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods. An
important development was not seen during the Byzantine
period.
Even though Izmir came into the possession of the Hun
Emperor Attila, this authority did not last long and the
city re-taken the Byzantines.
Kutalmisoglu Suleyman Shah in 1076 was the first conqueror
of Izmir by the Seljuk Turks. In the period that the famous
sea admiral Çaka Bey was appointed as the mayor of Izmir;
Urla, Foça and the Islands of Sakiz (Chios), Samos and
Istanköy (Cos) were conquered. After Çaka Bey’s death the
city and its surroundings passed into the possession of the
Byzantines in 1098. Then Izmir was taken by the knights at
the time that Istanbul was invaded by the Crusaders. In 1320
the Turkish sailor Umur Bey returned Izmir from the Catholic
knights and added it to the Turkish land.
In the period of the principalities, Izmir and its nearby
surrounding were under the reign of the Saruhanogullari
principality. Pergamon (Bergama) and its surroundings were
tied to Karesiogullari principality. The reign of Izmir and
its surroundings passed into the Ottoman hands completely in
1426.
The following Turkish architectural constructions are
distinguished examples of the Turkish culture built during
the Ottoman period, they have adorned Izmir for centuries:
The Hisar Mosque, The Sadirvan Mosque, the Hatuniye Mosque,
the Konak Yali Mosque, the Kemeralti Mosque, the Kestane
Bazaar Mosque, the Izmir Clock Tower, the Kizlaragasi Han (Inn
- commercial building), the Mirkelamoglu and Cakaloglu Inns
and other inns (trade places for spending the night),
Bedesten (Ottoman’s special trade constructions).
Beginning with the 16th century Izmir had an important place
in the world trade. There was an increase in the consulates
of foreign countries especially due to the capitulations
that the Ottoman government provided for Europe. It is known
that these consulates participated in the trade activities
and each anchored their ships in the bay.
A castle was built on the narrowest point of the bay to
check the ships entering and leaving the Izmir Gulf. New
constructions were built in the second half of the century
to help developing of the city’s trade. Among these
constructions, the most important examples are the customs
building in the 19th century, the sectors of packing,
insurance, stock and banking.
In the years of the struggle of Liberation, Izmir underwent
a great wreckage with huge destructions and fires. With the
driving away of the Greek army by the leadership of the
great leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on September 9th 1922,
Izmir started to become a modern city of the young Turkish
Republic and developed this character more everyday.
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