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Alasehir
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Alasehir ( (F??ad??fe?a)) is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay (Cogamus in antiquity), at the foot of the Bozdag (Mount Tmolus in antiquity). The city is connected to Izmir by a railway.
It stands on elevated ground commanding the extensive and fertile plain of the Gediz River, (Hermus in antiquity) presents at a distance an imposing appearance.
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Encyclopedia
Alasehir ( (F??ad??fe?a)) is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay (Cogamus in antiquity), at the foot of the Bozdag (Mount Tmolus in antiquity). The city is connected to Izmir by a railway.
It stands on elevated ground commanding the extensive and fertile plain of the Gediz River, (Hermus in antiquity) presents at a distance an imposing appearance. It has several mosques and Christian churches. There are small industries and a fair trade. From one of the mineral springs comes a heavily charged water popular around Turkey.
Within Turkey, the city's name is synonymous with the dried Sultana raisins, although cultivation for the fresh fruit market, less labour-intensive than the dried fruit, gained prominence in the last decades. Named Philadelphia in antiquity, Alasehir was a highly important center in the early-Christian and Byzantine periods, and remained a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.
Ancient Philadelphia
Alasehir began as perhaps one of the first ancient cities with the name Philadelphia. It was established in 189 BC by King Eumenes II of Pergamon (197-160 BC). Eumenes II named the city for the love of his brother, who would be his successor, Attalus II (159-138 BC), whose loyalty earned him the nickname, "Philadelphos", literally meaning "one who loves his brother". The city is perhaps best-known as the site of one of the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation.
Lacking an heir, Attalus III Philometer, the last of the Attalid kings of Pergamum, bequeathed his kingdom, including Philadelphia, to his Roman allies when he died in 133 BC. Rome established the province of Asia in 129 BC by combining Ionia and the former Kingdom of Pergamum.
Roman Philadelphia
Philadelphia was in the administrative district of Sardis (Pliny NH 5.111). In AD 17, the city suffered badly in an earthquake, and the emperor Tiberius relieved it of having to pay taxes (Tacitus Annales 2.47, cf. Strabo 12.8.18, 13.4.10, John Lydus de mensibus 4.115). in response, the city granted honors to Tiberius. Evidence from coinage reveals that Caligula helped the city; under Vespasian, Philadelphia received his cognomen, Flavia. Under Caracalla, Philadelphia housed an imperial cult; its coins bore the word Neokoron (literally, "temple-sweeper"--caretaker of the temple). A small theater located at the northern edge of Toptepe Hill is all that remains of Roman Philadelphia.
Philadelphia in the Book of Revelation
Although several ancient cities bore the name of Philadelphia, this is definitely the one listed among the seven churches by John in the Book of Revelation. Philadelphia is the sixth church of the seven.. A letter specifically addressed to the Philadelphian church is recorded in . According to this letter, the Philadelphian Christians were suffering persecution at the hands of the local Jews, whom Revelation calls "the synagogue of Satan" . The city's history of earthquakes may lie behind the reference to making her church a temple pillar . Permanency would have been important to the city's residents.
Byzantine Philadelphia
Philadelphia was a prosperous Byzantine city, called the "little Athens" in the 6th c AD because of its festivals and temples (Lydus de mensibus 4.58). Presumably this indicates that the city wasn't entirely converted to Christianity. Ammia, the Montanist prophetess, was from Philadelphia, however. In about the year 600 the domed Basilica of St. John was built, remains of which are the main archaeological attraction in the modern city. The Byzantine walls that once surrounded the city have all but crumbled away. A few remnants are still visible at the northeast edge of town, near the bus stand. The city was taken by the Ottoman Turks in 1071 and 1093-94, but was recovered by the Byzantines in 1098. In the 11th to 15th centuries AD, it was the seat of the doux (governor) and stratopedarches (military commander) of the theme Thrakesion.
It was the center of several revolutions from the Byzantine state in 1182, led by John Komnenos Batatzes, and 1188-1205 or 1206, led by Theodore Mankaphas, a local Philadelphian, against Isaac II Angelos. In the 14th century, Philadelphia was made the metropolis of Lydia by the patriarch in Constantinope, a status it still holds. It was granted this honor because the city did not capitulate to the Ottomans. The city was prosperous especially in the 13th and 14th centuries; there was a Genoese trading colony and the city was an important producer of leather goods and red-dyed silk (whence, perhaps, its Turkish name, which probably means "red city"). By the 14th century, the city was surrounded by Turkish emirates but maintained nominal allegiance to the Byzantine emperor. The town remained prosperous through trade and its strategic location.
Philadelphia was an independent, neutral city under the influence of the Latin Knights of Rhodes, when taken in 1390 by Sultan Bayezid I and an auxiliary Christian force under the Byzantine emperor Manuel II after a prolonged resistance, when all the other cities of Asia Minor had surrendered. Twelve years later it was captured by Timur, who built a wall with the corpses of his prisoners. A fragment of the ghastly structure is in the library of Lincoln Cathedral.
Philadelphia was the last Byzantine stronghold in inner Asia Minor. Its Greek inhabitants fled the town during World War I and created Nea Filadelfeia in Greece.
Turkish history
Greek occupation in Alasehir (1920-1922)
The English traveler Richard Chandler, visiting in the late 18th century, mentions that the town is of considerable size, with a Greek Orthodox population of about 300 families, none of whom apparently spoke Greek. He says further that the city is on an important road to Smyrna and was frequented by merchants, especially Armenians.
Modern Alasehir
The population of Alasehir in 1990 was 36,649.
Notable people from Alasehir
Prominent bishops and metropolitans
- Hetimasius (at Council of Nicaea, 325)
- Cyriacus (at Council of Philippopolis, 344)
- Theodosius (deposed at Council of Seleucia, 359)
- Theophanes (at Council of Ephesos, 431)
- John (at Council of Constantinople, 680)
- Theoleptus (1283-1322): led defense of P. against Turkish attack in 1310; writings include religious poetry, monastic treatises, anti-Arsenite writings, letters
- Macarius Chrysocephalas (1336-82): candidate for patriarchate in 1353, wrote Rhodonia (anthology of proverbs and gnomai), catenae (chains, quotations from theologians attached to Bible verses) on Matthew and Luke, homilies, and a vita of St. Meletios of Galesios
- Gabrius Severus (1577) wrote works against the Latins
- Gerasimus Blachus (1679), author of numerous works
- Meletius Typaldus (1685), deposed for becoming a Catholic
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