Hierapolis @ Travel Turkey

There are only a few historical facts known about the origin of the city. No traces of the presence of Hittites or Persians have yet been found. However it was customary to build a temple on the site of such a natural phenomenon. Phrygians built a temple dedicated to Hieron probably in the first half of the third century BC. This temple would later form the centre of Hierapolis.

Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the second century BC and given by the Romans to Eumenes II, king of Pergamon in 190 BC. Hierapolis became a healing centre where doctors used the hot thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began issuing bronze coins in the second century BC. These coins give the name Hieropolis (town of the temple Hieron). This name eventually changed into Hierapolis (Holy city).

In 133 BC, when Attalus III the last Attalid king of Pergamon died, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Rome. Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. The Hellenistic city was slowly transformed into a Roman town.

In the year 17 A.D., during the rule of emperor Tiberius, an earthquake destroyed the city. In 60 AD, during the rule of emperor Nero, an even more severe earthquake left the city completely in ruins. Afterwards the city was rebuilt in Roman style with the financial support from the emperor. It was during this period that the city attained its present form.

This was the "golden age" of Hierapolis. Thousands of people came to town to benefit from the medicinal properties of the hot springs. New building projects were started : two Roman baths, a gymnasium, several temples, a main street with a colonnade and a fountain at the hot spring. Hierapolis became one of the most prominent cities in the field of the arts, philosophy and trade in the Roman empire. The town grew to 100,000 inhabitants and became wealthy. According to the geographer Stephanus of Byzantium, the city was given its name because of the large number of temples it contained.

Antiochus the Great had sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by Jews from Palestine. It is estimated that the Jewish population in the region was as high as 50,000 in 62 BC. In 531 the Byzantine emperor Justinian raised the bishop of Hierapolis to the rank of metropolitan. The town was made a see of Phrygia Pacatiana. The Roman baths were transformed to a Christian basilica. During the Byzantine period the city continued to flourish and also remained an important centre for Christianity.

In the early 7th century, the town was devastated by Persian armies and again by a destructive earthquake. Afterwards came a slow recovery. In the 12th century, the area came under the control of the Seljuk sultanate of Konya.

In the year 1534, another earthquake toppled the remains of the ancient city. The ruins were slowly covered with a thick layer of limestone.

Excavations began in earnest in 1957 when Italian scientists, led by Paolo Verzone, began working on the site. These studies still continue. A restoration of the site has began. Many statues and friezes were transported to museums in London, Berlin and Rome. In 1970 the Hierapolis Museum was built on the site of the former Roman baths.

After the large white limestone formations of the hot springs became famous again, in the 20th century, it turned into a tourist attraction, Cotton Castle (Pamukkale). The ancient city was rediscovered by travelers, but also partially destroyed by hotels that were built there. The new buildings were removed in recent years; however, the hot water pool of one hotel was retained, and, for a fee, it is possible to swim amongst ancient stone remains.

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