Laodicea on the Lycus

Laodicea on the Lycus (Greek: Λαοδίκεια πρὸς τοῦ Λύκου Laodikeia pros tou Lykou; Latin: Laodicea ad Lycum, also transliterated as Laodiceia or Laodikeia) (Turkish: Laodikeia or archaically as Lâdik), earlier Diospolis and Rhoas, was a rich ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now Turkey, on the river Lycus (Çürüksu). It was located in the Hellenistic regions of Caria and Lydia, which later became the Roman Province of Phrygia Pacatiana. Its ruins are located near the modern city of Denizli, Turkey.

Since 2002, Pamukkale University has continued archaeological excavations, followed by intensive restoration work.

In 2013 the archaeological site was inscribed in the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in Turkey.

It contained one of the Seven churches of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Location

Laodicea is situated on the long spur of a hill between the narrow valleys of the small rivers Asopus and Caprus, which discharge their waters into the Lycus.

It lay on a major trade route and in its neighbourhood were many important ancient cities; it was 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of Colossae, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Hierapolis, and 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Ephesus. It was situated in the ancient region of Phrygia, although some ancient authors place Laodicea in differing provincial territories, not surprising because the precise limits of these territories were both ill-defined and inconstant; for example, Ptolemy and Philostratus call it a town of Caria, while Stephanus of Byzantium describes it as belonging to Lydia.

History

Laodicea on the Lycus was built on the site of an earlier pre-Hellenistic settlement, on a hill above the Lycus river, close to its confluence with the Maeander.

Classical Age

Laodicea was founded by Antiochus II Theos, king of the Seleucid Empire, in 261-253 BC in honour of his wife Laodice, together with several other cities of the same name. According to Pliny the Elder, the town was originally called Diospolis, "City of Zeus", and afterwards Rhoas. It soon became a wealthy city. In 220 BC, Achaeus declared himself king of the region but was defeated by Antiochus the Great in 213 BC. Antiochus transported 2,000 Jewish families to Phrygia from Babylonia.

After the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, when the Romans defeated the Seleucids, the Treaty of Apamea was signed, which gave control of the whole of western Asia Minor to the Kingdom of Pergamon. With the death of its last king, its territory was bequested to Rome in 133 BC. It received from Rome the title of free city. It suffered greatly during the Mithridatic Wars but quickly recovered under the dominion of Rome. Towards the end of the Roman Republic and under the first emperors, Laodicea benefitted from its advantageous position on a trade route and became one of the most important and flourishing commercial cities of Asia Minor, in which large money transactions and an extensive trade in black wool were carried out. Its renowned wealth is referred to in the Bible.

Roman period

During the Roman period, Laodicea was the chief city of a Roman conventus, which comprised 24 cities besides itself; Cicero records holding assizes there c. 50 BC. and that L. Valerius Flaccus of the ancient Roman plebeian family Fulvius later confiscated the considerable sum of 9 kilograms (20 lb) of gold, which was being sent annually to the Temple at Jerusalem.

Strabo (64 BC – 24 AD) attributes the celebrity of the city to the fertility of the soil and the wealth of some of its inhabitants, amongst whom may have been Hiero of Laodicea, who adorned the city with many beautiful buildings and bequeathed to it more than 2000 talents at his death.

The wealth of its inhabitants engendered a taste for the arts of the Greeks, as is manifest from its ruins, and that it contributed to the advancement of science and literature is attested by the names of the sceptics Antiochus and Theiodas, the successors of Aenesidemus (1st century BC), and by the existence of a great medical school. Its wealthy citizens embellished Laodicea with beautiful monuments. One of the chiefs of these citizens, Polemon (r. 37 BC - 8 AD), became King of Armenian Pontus (called after him "Polemoniacus") and of the coast round Trebizond. The city minted its own coins, the inscriptions of which show evidence of the worship of Zeus, Æsculapius, Apollo, and the emperors.

The area often suffered from earthquakes, especially from the great shock that occurred in the reign of Nero (60 AD) in which the town was completely destroyed. However, the inhabitants declined imperial assistance to rebuild and restore the city by their own means.

The martyrdom of Lulianos and Paphos is believed to have happened here.

Medieval Age

The Byzantine writers often mention Laodicea, especially in the time of the Komnenian emperors. In 1119, Emperor John II Komnenos and his chief military commander, John Axouch, captured Laodicea from the Seljuk Turks in the first major military victory of his reign. Laodicea lacked defences and so was fortified by the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1160. The city was sacked by the Seljuks in 1161 and much of its population was enslaved. It was raided again a few years later, when the Seljuks took many captives and much of the livestock. In 1206–1230, it was ruled by Manuel Maurozomes. In 1257 Laodicea (along with Chonae and the two fortresses of Sakaina and Ypsele) were given to the Empire of Nicaea by Sultan Kaykaus II in exchange for support in regaining Iconium, but only a few years later the city was captured again by Turkomans. Laodicea was destroyed during the invasions of the Turks and Mongols.