EPISTLE OF EPHESIANS
Ephesus -Location
Ephesus was the most important city in western Asia Minor (now Turkey). The city was once considered the most important Greek city and the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region. Throughout history, Ephesus survived multiple attacks and changed hands many times between conquerors. The ancient city of Ephesus was once an important port on the cayster river,but over the centuries, sedimentation gradually filled in the inlet around the city.It generally flows westward and arrive into the Aegean Sea at Pamucak beach, near Selçuk, İzmir.Because it was also at an intersection of major trade routes, Ephesus became a commercial center.
Excavations in recent years have unearthed settlements from the early Bronze Age at Ayasuluk Hill. According to Hittite sources, the capital of the Kingdom of Arzawa was Apasa (or Abasa), later known as Ephesus
In the seventh century B.C., Ephesus fell under the rule of the Lydian Kings and became a thriving city. It was also the birthplace of the renowned philosopher Heraclitus.
The Lydian King Croesus, who ruled from 560 B.C. to 547 B.C., was most famous for funding the rebuilding of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus.
In 546 B.C., Ephesus fell to the Persian Empire, along with the rest of Anatolia.
In 334 B.C., Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and entered Ephesus.
Upon his death in 323 B.C., one of his generals, Lysimachus, took over the city and renamed it Arsineia.
Lysimachus moved Ephesus two miles away and built a new harbor and new defensive walls. The Ephesian people, however, wouldn’t relocate and remained in their homes until Lysimachus forced them to move.
In 281 B.C., Lysimachus was killed at the Battle of Corupedium and the city was renamed Ephesus again.
In 263 B.C., Ephesus fell under Egyptian rule along with much of the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid king Antiochus III took back Ephesus in 196 B.C.; however, after being defeated at the Battle of Magnesia six years later, Ephesus fell under Pergamon rule.
In 129 B.C., King Attalos of Pergamon left Ephesus to the Roman Empire in his will and the city became the seat of the regional Roman governor. The reforms of Caesar Augustus brought Ephesus to its most prosperous time, which lasted until the third century A.D.
Most of the Ephesian ruins seen today such as the enormous amphitheater, the Library of Celsus, the public space (agora) and aqueducts were built or rebuilt during Augustus’s reign.
During the reign of Tiberius, Ephesus flourished as a port city. A business district was opened around 43 B.C. to service the massive amounts of goods arriving or departing from the man-made harbor and from caravans traveling the ancient Royal Road. According to some sources, Ephesus was at the time second only to Rome as a cosmopolitan center of culture and commerce.
In 262 A.D., the Goths destroyed Ephesus, including the Temple of Artemis. Some restoration of the city took place, but it never regained its splendor. The Ottoman Empire took final control of Ephesus in the fifteenth century; however, the city was in dire straits, its harbor practically useless. By the end of that century, Ephesus was abandoned, its legacy left to archaeologists, historians and the thousands of visitors to flock to the region each year to see the ancient ruins
CHRISTIANITY IN EPHESUS:(Acts 18,19,20)
During Paul's second missionary journey , On his way back to Jerusalem, Paul left Aquila and Priscilla at Ephesus. While they were in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila came in contact with a believer named Apollos.
Check this to know more about pauls missionary journey https://www.understandchristianity.com/timelines/pauls-third-missionary-journey/
Paul,in his third missionary journey , journeys to Ephesus and stays in the city for about three months and two years (Acts 19:1-20).
In the 56 A.D., while at Ephesus, he writes the book of 1 Corinthians. He writes his second epistle to the Corinthians in 57 A.D.
Paul preaches boldly about the Gospel for three months in a local synagogue. Some, however, who do not believe what he teaches begin to speak evil of God's way. Paul and those who believe the Gospel leave the synagogue (Acts 19:8 - 10)
Paul leaves Ephesus and journeys to Macedonia. During his three month stay in the region he visits Corinth (Acts 20:1 - 3) and writes his letter to the Romans.
Timothy (1 Timothy 1:3-4), Acquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:25), and Apollos had spent time watering the Ephesian church.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, is thought to have spent her last years in Ephesus with John the apostle of Jesus. Her house and John’s tomb(The Basilica of St. John ) can be visited there today in ephesus
It was probably during the reign of Domitian (81-96 A.D.) that John was banished to Patmos. He was released and died during the reign of Trajan according to Iraneus (an early church historian).
EPISTLE OF EPHESIANS
The prison epistles—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon—are so named because they were written by the apostle Paul during one of his incarcerations. It is generally accepted that Paul wrote the prison epistles during his first Roman imprisonment. The exact dates he wrote each of the prison epistles is unknown, but the two-year period he spent under house arrest in Rome has been narrowed down to the years AD 60–62. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome is verified by the book of Acts, where we find references to his being guarded by soldiers (Acts 28:16) & (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1) Paul sent all these letters by the hand of Tychicus, accompanied by Onesimus (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7–9; Philemon 1:10–12). Paul’s Roman incarceration produced three great letters to the churches of Ephesus, Colosse, and Philippi, as well as a personal letter to his friend Philemon.
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