Philadelphia (Basilica of Saint John)

History: Philadelphia (Basilica of Saint John)

Philadelphia, today Alaşehir in Manisa Province, was founded in the second century BC by the Attalid kings of Pergamon and named after Attalus II Philadelphus, "the one who loves his brother". It stood on the road between Sardis and Laodicea and was prone to earthquakes; after a severe one in AD 17 the emperor Tiberius relieved it of taxes.

Philadelphia is generally identified as the sixth of the seven churches addressed in the Book of Revelation. Its message praises a church of "little power" that has kept the word, and promises to make whoever overcomes "a pillar in the temple of my God" (Revelation 3:8–12); the city's history of earthquakes may lie behind that image. Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter to its Christians in the early second century. Around 600 the domed Basilica of Saint John was built, and its massive piers are the city's main archaeological monument today. Philadelphia was the last Byzantine stronghold in Asia Minor until Bayezid I took it in 1390, and it remained an Orthodox centre until the early twentieth century.

An interesting detail

In the sixth century Philadelphia was called "little Athens" for its festivals and temples.