Mardin (Kurdish: Mêrdîn, Syriac: ܡܶܪܕܺܝܢ, Arabic/Ottoman Turkish: ماردين Mārdīn, Armenian: Մարդին) is a city in southeasternTurkey. The capital of Mardin Province,

it is known for the Artuqid (Artıklı or Artuklu in Turkish) architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris River that rises steeply over the flat plains. 

The territory of Mardin and Karaca Dağ was known as Izalla in the Late Bronze Age (variously: ^KURAzalzi, ^KURAzalli, ^KURIzalla), aHurrian kingdom first mentioned during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, c. 1230 BC).^{[citation needed]} The ciry was absorbed into Assyriaduring the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365-1020 BC), and then again during the Neo Assyrian Empire (911-605 BC).^[5]

The ancient name was rendered as Izalā in Old Persian and it survived into the Assyrian Christian period as the name of Mt. Izala(Izla), on which in the early 4th century AD stood the monastery of Nisibis, housing seventy monks.^[6]

In the Roman period, the city itself was known as Marida (Merida),^[7] supposedly from a Syriac–Assyrian name translating to “fortress”.^[8][9] The bishopric of the Assyrian Church of the East that was centred on the town when it was part of the Roman province of Osrhoene (a former Neo Assyrian kingdom) became part of the Catholic Church in the late 17th century AD, and is still included in the Catholic Church‘s list of titular sees under the ancient name of the town.^[10] It was a suffragan see of Edessa, the province’s metropolitan see.

Ephesus (/ˈɛfəsəs/;^[1] Greek: Ἔφεσος Ephesos; Turkish: Efes; ultimately from Hittite Apasa) was an ancient Greek city^[2][3] on the coast of Ionia, three kilometres southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital^[4][5] by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. According to estimates Ephesus had a population of 33,600 to 56,000 people in the Roman period, making it the third largest city of Roman Asia Minor after Sardis and Alexandria Troas.^[6]

The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 268 AD, the Temple was destroyed or damaged in a raid by the Goths.^[7] It may have been rebuilt or repaired but this is uncertain, as its later history is not clear.^[8] Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. Following the Edict of Thessalonica from emperor Theodosius I, what remained of the temple was destroyed in 401 AD by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom.^[9] The town was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD. The city’s importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes).

Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation.^[10] The Gospel of John may have been written here.^[11] The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils (see Council of Ephesus). It is also the site of a large gladiators‘ graveyard. The ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, partly owing to their easy access from Adnan Menderes Airport.

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