From Hellenistic Foundation to Biblical City
History of Laodicea Ancient City
Discover how Laodicea grew from an ancient settlement in the Lycus Valley into a wealthy Roman metropolis and an influential center of early Christianity.
Archaeological research shows that the wider settlement area around Laodicea was occupied long before the Hellenistic city was founded. Finds from the western parts of the site and the surrounding valley reach back to the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age. Ancient sources also preserve the earlier names Diospolis, meaning “City of Zeus,” and Rhoas.
The Hellenistic city was founded in the middle of the 3rd century BCE, generally dated between 261 and 253 BCE, by the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos. He named the city after his wife, Queen Laodice. Its commanding position above the fertile Lycus Valley and at the meeting point of major roads quickly gave Laodicea commercial, administrative, and military importance.
The region came under Roman control in the late 2nd century BCE. During the following centuries, Laodicea became one of the leading cities of Roman Asia Minor. It was famous for textile production—especially high-quality wool and garments—as well as banking, trade, marble, grain, livestock, and medicinal products. The Roman statesman Cicero stayed in Laodicea in 50 BCE while carrying out legal and administrative duties in the province.
A devastating earthquake struck the city in 60 CE. Laodicea’s citizens were wealthy enough to finance the rebuilding themselves, and the reconstructed city gained wide streets, elaborate fountains, theatres, bath-gymnasium complexes, temples, agoras, and an immense stadium. Its most prosperous period extended through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries CE.
Laodicea also became one of the most important early Christian communities of western Anatolia. It is named in the New Testament and is one of the Seven Churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation. After Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire in 313 CE, a monumental church complex was built in a central part of the city. Laodicea later became a metropolitan bishopric and an important pilgrimage destination.
Earthquakes continued to damage the city, including major events in the late 5th and early 7th centuries. After the destructive earthquake during the reign of Emperor Phocas, the settlement was gradually abandoned and the population moved closer to more reliable water sources near present-day Denizli. In 2013, the Archaeological Site of Laodicea was added to Türkiye’s UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
