Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and the second most important port after Istanbul. Traditionally named Smyma, Izmir is an ancient city with a long and interesting history.

Ancient Izmir

Some artifact evidence suggests that indigenous people inhabited the area possibly as far back as 6500 BC, but around 3000 BC the Trojans founded the city in Tepekule.

By 1500 BC, the area was taken by the Central Anatolian Hittie Empire, and along with Troy became one of most culturally advanced areas of the empire. However, when the Balkans destroyed Troy in the 1200s, Central and Western Anatolia fell victim to their own Dark Ages.

This changed as the Phrygian civilization emerged in the 800s. It was during this time period that it is thought Homer was born in the area, and the residents began to earn a living from agriculture and fishing.

The Lydians then largely burnt the existing city and the area was soon invaded by the Persians. The old city is thought to have been destroyed by 545 BC.

Alexander the Great to the Romans

Alexander defeated the Persians and the city experienced a recovery from about 334 BC. Even after Alexander’s death in 336 BC, his generals carried out his wishes for the reestablishing of the area.

When Eumenes III died without heir in 133 BC he willed his kingdom to the Roman Republic, and under the Romans the area experienced a golden era.

Early A.D. History

The city was devastated by a severe earthquake in 178 AD, but the city was successfully rebuilt.

When the Roman Empire split into two divisions, the territory became part of the Eastern Roman Empire, and as the Byzantine Empire rose the city experienced a tumultuous era under various peoples.

It was captured by the Turks in 1076 and taken over by the Byzantine Empire around 1102. It was invaded by the Crusaders in 1204 and continued to be ruled by ever changing groups, until it was finally incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the early 1400s.

Izmir became an important trading port, despite a plague in 1676, another earthquake in 1688, and a devastating fire in 1743.

After World War I

The Ottoman Empire was defeated in World war I (1914-1918), and the victors long debated what to do with the empire’s territories.

In 1919 the Greek Army occupied Izmir, but during 1922 the Turkish Army retook the city, which ended the Greco-Turkish War of that three year period.

Within days of the Turks reclaiming Izmir, another historically terrible fire broke out. The city had to be gradually rebuilt following the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.