EPHESUS, a celebrated city of Ionia, and once the metropolis of Asia Minor, is affirmed by Pliny, Justin, and Orosins, to have been built by an Amazon, whose name also it is supposed to bear. It was then possess ed by the Carians and Leleger ; but was occupied by Androclus, the son of Codrus king of Athens, who con ducted the first colony of Ionians into Asia. This prince and his immediate descendants continued, during generations, to exercise the regal power in the new colony ; but afterwards, a change, of which the date and the occasion are unknown, took place in the form of government ; and the city remained under the adminis tration of a senate, till the time of the tyrant Pythagoras, who usurped the sovereign power, and who flourished before the birth of Cyrus the Great. Under his suc cessor Pindarus, who ruled with an authority equally absolute but with greater moderation, Ephesus was be sieged by Croesus king of Lydia, who, from respect to the tutelary goddess of the place, restored to the citizens their former liberty, and conferred upon them numerous marks of his favour. Pindarus, who, according to Mien, was the nephew of Croesus, being obliged to resign his power, retired to Peloponnesus ; but the city, which was successively subject to the Persians and to the Grecian states, seems to have again fallen under the dominion of tyrants. Of these, history has mentioned Athenagoras, Comas, Aristarchus, and Hegesias, the last of whom was expelled by Alexander, when he defeated the Per sians on the banks of the Granicus, and a democracy established in the city. After his death it passed into the hands of several of his successors, and particularly of Lysimachus, who caused the ancient city to be de stroyed, and built a new town in a more commodious situation, and nearer to the temple of Diana, which was about seven stadia from the walls of the former. From this period the Ephesians were subject to the kings of St ria, till the Romans, when they gave liberty to the Greek states in Europe, extended the same privileges to the Greek colonies in Asia. Reinstated in their an
cit nt rights, they became the allies of Rome ; but were afterwards persuaded by Mithridatcs of Pontus to take part with him against their protectors, and even to mas sacre, without distinction, all the Roman citizens within their gates. For this barbarity they were severely pun ished by the victorious Sylla, who suffered his solnias to live upon them at discretion, and almost reduet d them to beegary by the heavy contributions which he imposed; but by the favour which they expt.rieectd from the future emperors of Rome, they regained, in a great measure, their former splendour. and enjoyed for many years some show of liberty. The city suffered severely from the earthquake, which desolated the prin cipal cities of Asia in the reign of Tiberius ; but was completely iepaired by that emperor, and ornamented with many magnificent edifices. The games, originally instituted in honour of Diana, appear to have been much attended so late as the reign of Caracalla. It is cele brated as having been the seat of the most flourishing of the first Christian churches, where the apostle Paul preached for three years, where the evangelist John resided during the latter part of his life, and where Ti mothy was the first bishop. Under the auspices of Con stantine and Theodosius, the _Christian faith made rapid progress, and numerous churches were erected on the ruins of the Pagan temples. Under the reign of the emperor Alexis, the fa4her of Anna de Comnena, it first fell under the power of the Saracens, from whom it was retaken by the Greeks in 1206, but was again lost in 1283, and from the commencement of the 14th century has formed a part of the Turkish dominions. Long be fore the extinction of the Greek empire, Ephesus had fallen into general decay ; and a new town and citadel having been founded at Aiasoluk or Ajasoluk, about two miles distant, the ancient city was soon totally deserted.