İzmir Metropolis Archaeological Site

The ancient city of Metropolis between Yeniköy and Özbey villages in Izmir's Torbalı district was excavated between 1989 and 2007 under the direction of Recep MERIÇ and has been excavated by Serdar AYBEK since 2007. The city, leaned its back against the Gallesion Mountain, takes its name from the mother goddess Meter Gallesia. Ceramic pieces found as a result of archaeological excavations in the acropolis of the city indicate that Early and Middle Bronze Ages existed here. The first settlement traces around Metropolis date back to the Stone Age (Neolithic) Tepeköy, Dedecik, Kuşçuburun. The Hellenic settlement was established on the acropolis after the 9th century BC but the city showed its main development in the 3rd century BC. Metropolis made a great progress especially in the 2nd century BC, under the auspices of the Pergamene Kingdom, and monumental structures such as theater, bouleuterion and stoa were built during this period. It maintained its development on the Izmir – Ephesus trade route during the Roman Period and trade became the most important source of income. During this period, especially on the eastern slopes of it, houses of the rich (peristyle house), workshops, shops, the bath and sports complexes were built in accordance with the imperial tradition. In the Late Antiquity, Metropolis became an episcopal center but began to shrink due to wars and economic reasons, and a defensive fortress was built in the city. From the 14th century on with the conquest of the region by Aydinoğullari Principality, Metropolis was also under the administration of the Aydinoğullari Principality, but it could not survive in its old position and moved to Torbali. The name Torbali is the present-day form of the name Metropolis that has been spoken and changed over the centuries. During the Ottoman Period, the region was named as “Kizilhisar” for a while.