A Tale of Two Port Cities: Ayasuluk (Ephesus) and Balat (Miletus) during the Beyliks Period*

Abstract

Ephesus and Miletus, the leading port cities of the ancient world in western Anatolia, fell into gradual decline during the Byzantine period. While governed as Turkish beyliks, from the fourteenth to the early fifteenth century, both port cities witnessed a revival period. Ephesus/Ayasuluk was governed by Aydinid and Miletus/Balat by Menteseid rulers, when they once more thrived as dynamic overseas ports in the trade network between east and west. This article presents a comparative morphological analysis of Ayasuluk and Balat with a particular focus on the spatial transformations they underwent in the period of the Beyliks. In addition to examining the cities in their current physical setting, related historical documents, texts and visual depictions are used to reveal the similarities and differences between these two port cities with regard to their urban form, settlement patterns, cityscape and architecture.