Aigai (Aeolis)

Initially the city was a possession of the Lydian Empire and later the Achaemenid Empire when it conquered the former. In the early third century BC it became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It changed hands from Pergamon to the Seleucid Empire, but was recaptured by Attalus I of Pergamon in 218 BC. In the war between Bithynia and Pergamon, it was destroyed by Prusias II of Bithynia in 156 BC. After a peace was brokered by the Romans, the city was compensated with hundred talents. Under the rule of Pergamon a market building and a temple to Apollo were constructed. In 129 BC the Kingdom of Pergamon became part of the Roman Empire. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 AD and received aid for reconstruction from emperor Tiberius. Ecclesiastical history Ægæ was important enough in the Roman province of Asia Prima to become one of the many suffragans of its capital Ephesus's Metropolitan Archbishopric; but it was to fade. Titular see The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as titular bishopric. It has sat vacant for decades, having had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank: • Titular Bishop Gérard-Marie Coderre (1951.07.05 – 1955.02.03) • Titular Bishop Marius Paré (1956.02.07 – 1961.02.18) • Titular Bishop Cornélio Chizzini, Sons of Divine Providence (F.D.P.) (1962.04.12 – 1978.05.26) == Remains ==

Layout The city is situated on a plateau at the summit of the steep Gün Dağı mountain, which can be climbed from the north. The plateau is surrounded by a wall with a length of 1.5 kilometers. On the eastern side are the remains of the three-story indoor market with a height of 11 meters and a length of 82 meters. The upper floor of the Hellenistic building was renovated in Roman times. By 2010 the access road, the bouleuterion, the odeon, shops, numerous water pipes and large parts of the market hall were uncovered. For the coming years it is planned to re-erect the market hall's facade with the original stones. In 2016, archaeologists discovered a mosaic depicting the god Poseidon. The mosaic was found in the frigidarium part of the ancient bath. The bottom part of the mosaic contains partly ruined inscription in Greek: "Greetings to all of you bathing." Archaeologists believe that it dates back to the 3rd or 4th century B.C. In 2018, archaeologists unearthed a Macellum, which is an ancient meat and fish market. In 2022 a marble inscription of the 2nd century AD during the excavations in the parliament building of Aigai found in 2005 was deciphered and records the people's complaints at Roman tax officials' greed. It also states that they sent a man named 'Fortunatus' to the Roman emperor to report on the various levels of taxes from goat skin by each tax collector and demanding that he solve the problem. The inscription is important in proving that the city's trade was based on goats and goat skins. The Roman Emperor later passed a law to fix the rate of tax from goat skin at 1/6th and threatened to enforce it strictly. File:AigaiAufgang.jpg|Path to Aigai File:AigaiMarkthalle2.jpg|Facade of market hall seen from the interior File:AigaiBouleuterion1.jpg|Bouleuterion File:AigaiOdeon.jpg|Macellum == References ==

• GCatholic with titular incumebt biography links • Official website of Aigai Excavations (in Turkish) • Official website of Aigai Excavations (in English) • More photos of the site • Ancient Coinage of Aeolis, Aegae • Hellenistic Inscriptions from Aigai • Description of Aigai on Current Archeology in Turkey