Overview
Philadelphia — modern Alaşehir — was founded around 189 BCE by King Eumenes II of Pergamon and named in honor of his brother Attalus II Philadelphus ("the brother-loving"), whose exceptional loyalty gave the city its name and established a tradition of steadfastness that would echo through centuries of history. Located in the fertile Cogamus valley in western Anatolia, the city commanded an important position on the imperial Roman road from Sardis to the east.
The city gained its greatest enduring fame as one of the Seven Churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 3:7-13). Uniquely among the seven, Philadelphia receives only praise and no rebuke in the apocalyptic letter. The text promises that God has set before the church an open door that no one can shut, and calls the faithful a "pillar in the temple of my God." This metaphor of the pillar is particularly resonant given the city's frequent experience of devastating earthquakes — the catastrophic earthquake of 17 CE, which also destroyed Sardis, left Philadelphia in ruins. Emperor Tiberius provided generous financial support for reconstruction, and the grateful city briefly adopted the name Neocaesarea.
"Philadelphia alone remains, a pillar of faith, holding fast what little is left."
— Manuel II Palaiologos (c. 1390 CE)
Philadelphia's seismic vulnerability continued throughout its history, with ancient authors noting that the city's walls were perpetually cracked and that inhabitants frequently fled to the countryside. The geographer Strabo described the alarming spectacle of walls pulling apart and remarked on the courage of the citizens who chose to remain. This geological reality gave the Revelation promise of becoming a permanent pillar even deeper meaning for the local community.
Under Roman rule, Philadelphia served as an important regional center and episcopal see. The city was noted for its wine production and festivals honoring Dionysus. As the Byzantine Empire contracted under Turkish pressure in the 13th and 14th centuries, Philadelphia became famous as the last independent Byzantine city in all of Asia Minor. Surrounded by Turkish-controlled territory for over a century, the city held out through a combination of diplomacy, tribute payments, and military tenacity that astounded contemporary observers.
Alaşehir Church of St. John 2 | simonjenkins' photos (Αρχικό) Wolfymoza (Ανέβασμα) (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The city finally fell to Sultan Bayezid I in 1390, reportedly after a combined Ottoman-Byzantine force besieged it — a bitter irony that the last Byzantine city in Asia was conquered with Byzantine assistance. When Tamerlane's Mongol army swept through Anatolia in 1402, Philadelphia again endured siege and destruction. The modern town of Alaşehir preserves scattered remains of the ancient and Byzantine city, including portions of the 6th-century basilica of St. John and sections of the Byzantine fortification walls.
