Aspendos Ancient City and History

Situated in the village of Belkıs in the Serik district of Antalya province, Aspendos was one of the wealthiest and most prosperous ancient cities of Pamphylia. While geographers Strabo and Pomponius Mela record that the city was founded by the Argives, archaeological indicators suggest it was founded by Achaeans in the 10th century BC. The name Aspendos, rooted in the pre-Greek native Anatolian language, points to the site's deep antiquity.

Positioned along an important trade route and connected to the Mediterranean via the Eurymedon River, Aspendos was coveted in every era. Under Persian rule until the first quarter of the 5th century BC, the city witnessed the Battle of the Eurymedon in 467 BC, where Greek forces defeated the Persians. The historian Thucydides notes that the river was navigable as far as Aspendos at that time, and the city derived immense wealth from trade in salt, oil, and wool.

Having come under Persian domination in 546 BC, Aspendos retained a high degree of freedom, evidenced by its continued minting of coins in its own name. Following the Battle of the Eurymedon, it joined the Delian League, but was recaptured by the Persians in 411 BC. In 389 BC, when Athenian commander Thrasybulus arrived to exact tribute, tensions flared, resulting in the citizens stabbing and killing the commander in his tent.

After capturing Perge in 333 BC, Alexander the Great marched on Aspendos, agreeing not to garrison troops if the citizens paid taxes and horses. When the citizens failed to ratify the agreement, Alexander returned and imposed harsh terms, leaving a Macedonian garrison and levying steep annual tributes. Surrendering to the Romans in 190 BC, the city later suffered the pillaging of its art treasures by the corrupt magistrate Verres.

The most monumental structure of Aspendos is its Roman theater, recognized as the best-preserved open-air theater of antiquity with its stage building intact. Built between 138 and 164 AD under Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, it was dedicated to the local gods and the imperial family. Designed by Zenon, son of Theodorus of Aspendos, the theater has a diameter of 96 meters and is tied to local legends of royal marriage trials.

Designed to meet the city's water demands, the Aspendos aqueduct ranks among the finest engineering feats of antiquity. Constructed between the mid-2nd and late 3rd centuries AD, the system utilized an inverted siphon to cross valleys. Epigraphic evidence credits Tiberius Claudius Italicus with funding the structure, which channeled water through carefully fitted limestone blocks and pressurized towers.

Aspendos produced a rich and extensive range of coinage in antiquity, starting around 500 BC. Silver staters commonly featured wrestling athletes on the obverse and a triskeles or slinger on the reverse, accompanied by the native Anatolian legend ESTFEDIIYS. The abundance of these coins stands as clear testimony to the city's robust commercial importance throughout the ancient world.

Ranked by Philostratus as the third city of Pamphylia during the Roman period, Aspendos was known as Primopolis in Byzantine times, during which it experienced a gradual decline. Despite this, the site remained a strong place in medieval times, with the Seljuks periodically repairing the theater for use as a caravanserai and palace, alongside rebuilding the Eurymedon Bridge.

Today, visitors to Aspendos encounter exceptionally preserved monuments, most notably the ancient theater and the towering aqueduct siphons. The theater continues to serve modern cultural life, hosting concerts, events, and the annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival organized by the Turkish State Opera and Ballet since 1994.