İzmir

İzmir (formerly Smyrna), city and seaport in western Turkey, capital of İzmir Province, at the head of the Gulf of İzmir. İzmir is the second largest seaport and the third largest city in Turkey and is served by several rail links. It is also an important commercial and industrial centre: dyes, soaps, and textiles are manufactured, and foods and tobacco are processed. The chief exports include carpets, foodstuffs, and minerals. The Aegean University (1955) and the Atatürk and Archaeological museums are here.

İzmir is one of the oldest cities in Turkey. Founded in the 11th century bc by the Aeolians, a Greek people, the city was seized by the Ionians before 688 bc. Later in the 7th century bc, Smyrna was devastated by the Lydians from Asia Minor. Antigonus I, king of Macedonia, restored the city in the 4th century bc, and subsequently it was fortified and improved by Lysimachus, a general in the service of Alexander the Great. Smyrna was later conquered by the Romans and subsequently became an early centre of Christianity, referred to as one of the “seven churches” (see Revelations 1:11). During the 4th century ad the city was made a part of the Byzantine Empire, and from the 11th to the 15th century was ruled alternately by the Byzantines and the Turks. In 1402 Smyrna was ravaged by the Mongols under Tamerlane, and after 1424 belonged to the Ottoman Turks.

Although major earthquakes devastated the city in the 17th and 18th centuries, İzmir continued as an important Ottoman dominion. As a world port, İzmir became home to a diverse population, including Jews, Armenians, and Greeks. The Greeks claimed Smyrna after World War I, and by the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres, drawn up in 1920, the administration of İzmir and its Ionian hinterland was assigned to Greece for five years. The Greek occupation was contested by the Turks, who seized Smyrna in 1922. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, the city was awarded to Turkey. After World War II, İzmir was chosen as a strategic location for the southern command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The development of shipping and industry has led to rapid development and created urban congestion. Population 2,409,000 (2000).