Laodikeia

The ruined site of ancient Laodikeia (Laodicea) which is situated about 5km/3mi north of Denizli is referred to by local people as Eskihisar or "Old Castle". The town, built on the site of an earlier settlement known originally as Diospolis and later as Rhoas, was founded by Antiochos II of Syria (261-246 B.C.), who named it after his sister Laodike. The city subsequently became the part of the kingdom of Pergamon, probably after the Treaty of Apameia in 188 B.C. and thereafter passed into Roman hands. Its commercial activities and especially its wool and textile industries made it one of the wealthiest cities in Asia Minor (Revelations 3:17). After a devastating earthquake in A.D. 60, the citizens rebuilt the city out of their own