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Izmir - History |
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The original
city was established in the third millennium B.C., and at that time-shared
with Troy the most advanced culture in Western Anatolia. By 1500 B.C. it
had fallen under the influence of Central Anatolia's Hittite Empire. In
the first millennium B.C., Izmir, then known as Smyrna, ranked as one of
the important cities of the Ionian Federation; during this period -- one
of the city's most brilliant -- it is believed that Homer lived here. Other
than the Hatti civilization, we know of a second important settlement in
Anatolia during the Middle Bronze Age; Troia-II around the city of
Canakkale. Troia-II was setup on the ruins of Troia-I after a long period
of time. The people of the city were mainly from the Balkans and the
Aegean regions. Some walls of the city are still standing in a
well-preserved state.
A
few items are on exhibition at the Istanbul Archaeology Museum today. By
1750 B.C., Hittites took control of a large part of Anatolia and set their
first Kingdom at Nesa near Kultepe in central Anatolia. The old city of
Bogazkoy was declared the capital of the Kingdom and the name of the city
was changed to Hatusa. Hattusili became the first king of the Hittites. It took only 200 years before
this first Kingdom turned out to be a large central authority in the form
of a federated Great Kingdom. In this period many great structures were
built, such as the rock sanctuary "Yazilikaya". During the reign
of King Muvatalli the empire expanded; the Hittites and Egyptians became
neighbours. The dispute about the strategically important city of Kadesh
created a problem between the two countries. The war became inevitable.
Hittites used chariots (3500 of them) against the Egyptian army, for the
first time in the history of wars. The Egyptians lost the war. The famous
Kadesh Treaty was signed between Hattusili IV and Ramses II; the treaty is
the first written treaty between countries in the history of mankind and a
copy of the document in the Hittite language is on exhibition at the
Istanbul Archaeology Museum today. Hittites used cuneiform script
on their inscriptions. Also they used the hieroglyph form on some
inscription, intended for ordinary people to understand the contents
easily. Hatti civilization to a great
extends in religion; mythology, art and culture influenced them. Although
Hittites were the Throughout the history,
Hittites formed the first society in human history by creating a legal
system, which recognized the human rights and more importantly recognition
of women's social rights and importance in the social fabric. Most
of the Ionian cities were built around 1050 B.C. Initially they lived on
agriculture and had no sophistication at all. Only at around 850 B.C. with
the influences coming from Egypt, Assuria, Phoenicia and Hittites they
started to show the first signs of a civilized society. The
most important outcome of the civilized Ionian cities was the creation of
scientific thinking and observation. This new methodical ideology suddenly
became the biggest step; humankind ever took in the history of
civilization. Especially, the city of Miletos became not only a city of
trade, but also an intellectual centre of Ionia and of the ancient world.
A new generation of the philosophers of nature (this is what they called
themselves) or in other words first scientists started the notion of
examining the nature free from the effects of religious beliefs and
superstition. The philosopher of nature, Thales (who was also a merchant,
mathematician and engineer), the historians Anaximander and Aneximenes,
the geographer Hecataeus and Kadmos, all lived in Miletus at this time.
These scientists, by using the knowledge they accumulated during their
visits to Egypt and Mesopotamia and synthesizing this knowledge with their
new philosophy, created modern day mathematics, geometry, astronomy,
philosophy and most of the other sciences. Thales demonstrated the power
of modern science to humankind by calculating the solar eclipse for the
first time in history before the event took place. The
bright civilization of Ionia was also very creative at art and literature.
The temple of Artemis in the city of Ephesus was 55 m. wide, 110 m. long
and built completely by marble. The architectural style of famous Ionian
cities and buildings has been copied even until the 20th century, in
Europe and America. The
cities of Bergama, Ephesus,Priene, Miletos, Didyma, Sardis and Aphrodisias
are the most elegant examples of the great Ionian architecture and city
planning. Homer
is the earliest and greatest of the Ionian poets. We do not know much
about his exact birthplace. It is widely believed that he was born either
in Chios or in Smyrna in the 8th century B.C. He spent most of his life in
Smyrna.
He
was described as blind according to some early Greek and Ionian documents.
But this does not exactly explain, how he wrote about the earth, the sea
and the nature so well. Even
if there are some critics, claiming that Homer might not be the only poet
of these two important poems, Aristotle points out convincingly in Poetics
that Iliad and Odyssey differ from all the other compositions of the epic
cycle through the unity and tautness of their action. The Lydian conquest of the
city, around 600 B.C., brought this period to an end, and Izmir remained
little more than a village throughout the Lydian and the subsequent 6th
century B.C. Persian rule. In the fourth century B.C. a new city was built
at the instigation of Alexander the Great on the slopes of Mount Pagos (Kadifekale).
Izmir's Roman period, from the first century B.C., gave birth to its
second great era. Byzantine rule followed in the fourth century and lasted
until the Seljuk conquest of the 11th century. As
the traditional Roman influence on Anatolian art and architecture starts
to decay by the end of 3rd century A.D., a new source of influence starts
to play a dominant role; Christianity and Byzantine. Early Christian and
Byzantine works of art are considered to bean expressionist interpretation
of late Roman art. Constantinopolis
(Istanbul) built by Emperor Constantine at 330 A.D. became the center
stone of this emerging new architectural excellence. The Anatolian cities
such as Ephesus, Perge, Sardis, Antakia, Hierapolis and Side soon became
the followers of this spectacular style. Constantinopolis
became arts and cultural centre of the civilized world between 330-565
A.D. During the reign of Emperor Justinian(527-565 A.D.) early Christian
civilization gained a big momentum and created some of the best landmarks
of the history of civilization. Hagia Sophia, an early basilica erected by
Constantine at 325 and restored many times since then. This church is
accepted as one of the most important monuments of the Byzantine
architecture. Hagia Sophia is a domed basilica and consists of a hall with
exonarthex and narthex, a central room with three naves and a gallery, and
a garden surrounding the building. Hagia Sophia is the fourth biggest
basilica following St.Peters in Rome, Duomo in Milan and St.Pauls in
London. St.
John basilica (Justinian era) and church of Mary (4th and 6th century) in
Ephesus, Alahan church (5th and 6th century) in south Anatolia, St.Mary
Pammakaristos church (1310) and Chora church (late 11th century) are
considered to be the most important and well preserved architectural
masterpieces representing Byzantine style. Also,
the mosaics covering the church walls reflect a very powerful aspect of
Byzantine-Christian art form. Icons, wall paintings and colourful brick
lying are still visible on the walls of Byzantine buildings today. Silver
and golden plates and jewellery remained from this age represent a strong
tradition of master ship on jewellery making. Seljuk
Turks starting from 1071 A.D. entered Anatolia and mixed with the existing
Indo-European cultures. As they gained more control over the political
structure of Anatolia, because of the tolerance shown to the other
cultures and religions, Seljuks achieved to gain more trust of the
Anatolian people. Majority of the Anatolian population was from non-Seljuk
background. The natives, accepting the Islamic religion were regarded as
Turks during the 900 years of Turkish political dominance in Anatolia. So,
we can consider the contemporary Anatolian Turks living in Turkey today,
as the children of all Anatolian past and present civilizations. Seljuks
developed a ransoms period in Anatolia between the 9th and 12th centuries,
based purely on humanist They
had advanced studies on medicine, architecture, astronomy and geography.
On all Anatolian cities hospitals, observatories and schools were opened. The
road system was redeveloped during Seljuk era. Caravanserais were built
and looked after properly. The safe commerce became the reality everywhere
in Anatolia. An advanced judiciary system without any discrimination,
regardless the social and religious background of the person, assured the
people of Anatolia with a solid legal system which became the backbone of
the social life quickly. Although
Seljuks were influenced by Arabic and Persian art and culture from the
beginning, but they still protected and even developed a unique Anatolian
art and culture with the cooperation of native Anatolian people. They
created unique forms at architecture. Architectural decoration on
monumental gates became a great art form at the hands of Seljuks. Seljuks
influence the Gothic style brick buildings that we can see the examples at
some north European countries today. In 1415, under Sultan Mehmet
Celebi, Izmir became part of the Ottoman Empire. Anatolia
became a powerhouse to the Ottoman Empire, which lead the Islamic world
for about 600 years. Ottomans enriched the art and culture of Anatolia
during the first 450 years. Architectural style had reached to its peak
during this period in Anatolia. "Yesil Mosque" (1424) in Bursa,
"Mosque of Rumi Mehmet Pasa" (1471) and "Mosque of Atik Ali
Pasa" in Istanbul are early Ottoman era examples to architectural
excellence. The
power and elegance of the Ottoman Empire reached its zenith with Suleyman
the Magnificent, whose great architect Sinan embellished the Ottoman
cities with palaces, mosques, bridges and various other kinds of
buildings. "Mosque of Bayezit", "Mosque of Sehzade"
(1548), " Mosque of Suleymaniye" (1557),"Mosque of Selimiye"
(1567) are all great wonders left from Sinan to us reflecting the level of
architectural creativity and master ship. The
art of architecture during the Ottoman period created great palaces,
mansions, libraries, government houses, aqueducts, baths, mausoleums which
are attracting a big appreciation from spectators and visitors even today.
After
1700, the empire started to decline. Political and military power
diminished dramatically. Arts and cultural life followed this trend.
During the following 200 years until the collapse of Ottoman empire and
later the foundation of modern Republic of Turkey by Ataturk at 1923 in
Anatolia, not many advances are made on arts, culture and science. All
major examples of Ottoman era artistic and architectural creations are
displayed either openly or in museums of Turkey today. |
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A
German businessman Mr Heinrich Schliemann did the first excavations
rulers of the country, their kings adopted Hatti names. 
T
values and thinking. Mevlana Celalettin Rumi from Konya was one of the
most important philosophers of this era. 
