Greek ancient city in Ionia - one of the Ionian dodecapolis. According to tradition founded as a colony by two sons of Codrus, King of Athens. Colophon was the strongest of the Ionian cities and famous both for its cavalry and for the inhabitants' luxurious lifestyle. In the first half of the VII century BC [665 BC] city was conquered by king of Lydia - Gyges (reign from 716 BC to 678 BC1). Gradually Kolophon lost her importance when she came under the Persian domination in the second half of the VI ventury BC. When Alexander the Great came to Asia Minor Kolophon regained her independence. Unfortunately diadochus Lysimachos (reign 306–281 BC) destroyed the city and forced to move citizens to the newly founded city of Ephesus. Some of the Kolophonians moved to Notion and the city was reduced to a very poor state. However, Kolophon was rebuilt after Lysimachus death in 281 BC. Since then Kolophon was known as "archaic Kolophon" for Notion became a "New Kolophon " or "Kolophon on the sea". Still existed under the administrations of the Notitiae Episcopatuum as late as the XIII century, as a suffragan of Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia2.
The excavations carried on in the first quatter of the twentieth century revealed areas with tombs of the
Mycenaean, Geometric, and Hellenistic periods.
Sources:
- W. Schuchhardt, 'Kolophon, Notion und Klaros, sv. Kolophon, AthMitt 11 (1886)
- George E. Bean, Aegean Turkey, London Benn Ltd., 1966, p.185-188
- https://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum0614/71kolophon.htm
- Ekrem Akurgal, Ancient Civilisations and Ruins of Turkey: From Prehistoric Times Until the End of the Roman Empir, II ed., Istanbul 1970, pp. 133-134
- Anton Bammer, Erich Draganits, Verena Gassner, Benedikt Grammer, Martin Gretscher, Olivier Mariaud, Ulrike Muss: Kolophon, Forum Archaeologiae - Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie 71 / VI / 2014 - -https://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum0614/71kolophon.htm
- Sophrone Pétridès, sv. Colophon in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1908) - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04128d.htm
- Oliver Hülden, s.v. Kolophon, in : The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2013 - https://www.academia.edu/11990005
References
- ↑Encyclopædia Britannica 1998, sv. Colophon - https://www.britannica.com/place/Colophon-ancient-city-Turkey
- ↑ "Notitiæ episcopatuum" - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04128d.htm