Mosque of Isa-Bey
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/2/2/3/11 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Isa Bey Mosque Ayasuluk |
| Dates | 1872-1873 |
| Donor/Creator |
Trotman, Corporal J. |
| Scope and Content | General view of the mosque. This is a Hellenic Society photograph. It is numbered (H.S. 3116) at the back. Further annotation in pencil survives. |
| Further information | The ancient Greek city of Ephesus (Efes), one the most prosperous Ionian cities/seaports in Asia Minor, is located close to the modern town of Selcuk. The original location of the first settlement is disputable: it was established either on the Aegean seashore or, more likely, on Ayasuluk hill where recent excavations have revealed findings that date from the Prehistoric to the Byzantine and the Turkish period. The city was conquered by the Lydians in about 560 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great it was ruled by Lysimachus and the Seleucids before entering an era of prosperity as part of the Roman Republic. Ephesus remained equally important during the Byzantine era. Although it served as the seat of the 431 Church Council it was reduced, following the upheaval of the seventh/eighth-century invasions, to about half of its original size before witnessing another period of prosperity and wealth which lasted until about 1090 when a series of newly-formed independent Turkish states were established on the Aegean coast. After 1209 the city flourished under the control of Theodoros Laskaris. The new period of prosperity lasted until 1304 when Ephesus was conquered by the Seljuks who renamed it Ayasuluk (a Turkish translation of the Greek name ‘Theologos’ which refers to the monumental basilica erected by Justinian over the small chapel which marked the tomb of Hagios Ioannis ho Theologos- St John the Theologian spend his last years in the region writing his gospel). The slow decline of the city lasted until the beginning of the 20th c. The temple of Artemis (Artemision) was built in the 6th c., and embellished by Croesus of Lydia who donated a series of columns decorated with relief sculture. The temple was extensively rebuilt before 334, the year Alexander the Great conquered the city following its destruction by fire by Herostratus. Artemision was a particularly popular destination for pilgrims until it was destroyed by the Goths and, finally, the Christians, marking the end of paganism. Parts of the temple’s sculture are kept in the British Museum. Isa Bey Mosque was erected in 1375 by the architect Ali of Damascus, for Isa Bey the grandson of the founder of the emirate to which Ayasuluk belonged. It was surrounded by a huge courtyard of domed porticos. A gateway with three arches leads to the mihrab which is covered by two domes supported by pendentives decorated with turquoise and blue enamelled ceramic. |
| Related records |
[BSA SPHS/1/1201.3116], Isa Bey Mosque near Ayasuluk, 1872-1873
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