Αἰγαί, Αἰγαῖαι(in Ancient Greek) | |
 Facade of Aigai's market hall | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Aigaiai |
|---|---|
| Location | Yuntdağı Köseler,Manisa Province,Turkey |
| Region | Aeolis |
| Coordinates | 38°49′52″N27°11′19″E / 38.83111°N 27.18861°E /38.83111; 27.18861 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Ownership | Public |
| Public access | Yes |
Aigai, alsoAigaiai (Ancient Greek:Αἰγαί orΑἰγαῖαι;Latin:Aegae orAegaeae;Turkish:Nemrutkale orNemrut Kalesi), was anancient Greek, later Roman (Ægæ, Aegae), city and bishopric inAeolis. Aegae is mentioned by bothHerodotus[1] andStrabo[2] as being a member of the Aeolian dodecapolis. It was also an important sanctuary ofApollo. Aigai had its brightest period under theAttalid dynasty, which ruled from nearbyPergamon in the 3rd and 2nd century BC.
The remains of the city are located near the modern village ofYuntdağı Köseler inManisa Province,Turkey. The archaeological site is situated at a rather high altitude almost on top ofMount Gün (Dağı), part of the mountain chain ofYunt (Dağları).
Initially the city was a possession of theLydian Empire and later theAchaemenid Empire when it conquered the former. In the early third century BC it became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon.[citation needed] It changed hands from Pergamon to theSeleucid Empire, but was recaptured byAttalus I of Pergamon in 218 BC.[3]
In the war betweenBithynia and Pergamon, it was destroyed byPrusias II of Bithynia in 156 BC. After a peace was brokered by theRomans, the city was compensated with hundredtalents.[4] Under the rule of Pergamon a market building and a temple to Apollo were constructed.
In 129 BC the Kingdom of Pergamon became part of the Roman Empire. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 AD and received aid for reconstruction from emperorTiberius.[5]
Ægæ was important enough in theRoman province ofAsia Prima to become one of the manysuffragans of its capitalEphesus's Metropolitan Archbishopric; but it was to fade.
The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 astitular bishopric.
It has sat vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank:
The city is situated on a plateau at the summit of the steep Gün Dağı mountain, which can be climbed from the north. The plateau is surrounded by a wall with a length of 1.5 kilometers. On the eastern side are the remains of the three-story indoor market with a height of 11 meters and a length of 82 meters. The upper floor of the Hellenistic building was renovated in Roman times.[6] The partially overgrown remains of many other buildings are scattered over the site. These include theacropolis which is laid out in terraces, aMacellum, agymnasium, abouleuterion and the foundations of three temples.[7]
About five kilometers to the east the foundations of a sanctuary of Apollo are found on the banks of the river which flows around the ruins. It was anIonic orderperipteros temple from the first century BC. Acella which is six meters high and threemonoliths still remain.[6][7]
The first western visitors of Aigai wereWilliam Mitchell Ramsay andSalomon Reinach in 1880. They reported about their visit in theJournal of Hellenic Studies[8] and theBulletin de Correspondance Hellénique.[9] They were followed byRichard Bohn andCarl Schuchhardt, who examined the site as a part of the excavations in Pergamon.[10]
Since 2004 the site is being excavated by Ersin Doğer ofEge University inİzmir.[11] By 2010 the access road, the bouleuterion, the odeon, shops, numerous water pipes and large parts of the market hall were uncovered. For the coming years it is planned to re-erect the market hall's facade with the original stones.[citation needed]
In 2016, archaeologists discovered amosaic depicting the godPoseidon. The mosaic was found in thefrigidarium part of the ancient bath. The bottom part of the mosaic contains partly ruined inscription inGreek: "Greetings to all of you bathing." Archaeologists believe that it dates back to the 3rd or 4th century B.C.[12]
In 2018, archaeologists unearthed aMacellum, which is an ancient meat and fish market.[13]
In 2022 a marble inscription of the 2nd century AD during the excavations in the parliament building of Aigai found in 2005 was deciphered and records the people's complaints at Roman tax officials' greed. It also states that they sent a man named 'Fortunatus' to the Roman emperor to report on the various levels of taxes from goat skin by each tax collector and demanding that he solve the problem. The inscription is important in proving that the city's trade was based on goats and goat skins. The Roman Emperor later passed a law to fix the rate of tax from goat skin at 1/6th and threatened to enforce it strictly.[14]
