1. The area – historical background

The Diocese of Heliopolis and Theateira is an ecclesiastical authority of modern times which does not constitute a precise territorial and constıtutıonal revival of old administrative authorities as its archaic title could suggest. The exact date of its establishment as bishopric of the Ephesus province is not known exactly, but can be placed at the beginning of the 18^th century, for it is first mentioned in 1715 in the syntagmation of the patriarch of Jerusalem, Chrysanthos. At the end of the 19^th century the bishopric was detached from the Diocese of Ephesus and raised to diocese; its bishop carried the title of “Heliopolis and Thera, supreme and exarch of Lydia and all of Caria”. The above title instead of referring to Theateira refers to Theira (Tire), a town which did in fact come under the auspices of the diocese. The ancient town of Theateira is recorded as one of the seven churches of Revelation and is a town in Lydia situated at the base of a valley formed by one of the tributaries of the Hermus River and can possibly be identified as Akşar or Akhisar of modern times (which was under the auspices of the Diocese of Ephesus).

The area of jurisdiction of the metropolıtan of Heliopolis included extensive areas of south-western Asia Minor.¹ The foundation of the bishopric initially and later of the diocese of Heliopolis and Theateira, as well as the establishment of the ecclesiastical authorities of Crene and Anea, which brought about the division of the particularly far-reaching diocese of Ephesus, were the direct result of the demographic growth of the Greek Orthodox population along the western coast of Asia Minor through migrations from the Greek peninsula, the islands of the Aegeanö as well as from the interior of Asia Minor.

The territory of the diocese, according to the map by P. Kontogiannis,² followed to its south the boundaries of the province (vilayet) of Aydin, in other words the coast of Caria, and the boundaries of Caria east of the Indus River until Mount Cadmus. From this point, the boundaries turned to the north-west, encompassing a large area of the valleys of Maeander river (Büyükmenderes Nehri) and Kaystros river (Küçükmenderes), without however the extensive areas around their estuaries which belonged to the dioceses of Ephesus and later of Anea. The northern edge reached the district of Smyrna, while the southernmost point included the area beyond Makri (Fethiye) and Livisi; there are records that these two districts belonged to the diocese of Pisidia since 1790, while earlier (17^th – 18^th century), they came under the administrative authority of the patriarchal exarchy.³

The names of bishops and metropolitans survive from the bishopric catalogue: Ioannikios (1832-1841), Anthimos of Crene and Anea (1841-1851), Dionysios of Elaea (1851-1877), Tarasios of Christoupolis (1877-1910), Panaretos of Kallioupolis (1910-1912) and Smaragdos of Philippoupolis (1912-1919 and 1922-1924).⁴

The seat of the diocese of Heliopolis was at Aydın, the seat of the sancak of the same name which was under the jurisdiction of the vilayet of the same name which, since 1871 however, had its seat in Smyrna.⁵ The town was built in the valley of the Tambak-Çay River (the ancient Greek Eudon River), a tributary of the Büyükmenderes River, lower than the ruins of Tralleis which survive on a nearby hill. The Greek Orthodox quarter spread eastward of the river bed and had a large population which grew both demographically and economıcally after the opening of the railway line which connected the town with Smyrna.⁶ A 16-bed Greek Orthodox hospital also functioned in the town.⁷

The Aydın region contained a plethora of settlements and çiftliks; among them there existed several villages whose population was entirely Greek Orthodox.⁸ Within the boundaries of the diocese were other urban centres such as Nazilli which belonged to the Aydın sancak, Bayındır, the seat of a kaza of the Smyrna sancak, Tire, a kaza seat which belonged to the same sancak, and Ödemiş, seat of the kaza with the same name which also belonged to the same sancak.⁹

Muğla was the seat of the Mendese sancak and had a large market, but was somewhat cut-off due to the lack of a carriageway.¹⁰ Alikarnassos (Bodrum) was a kaza seat, built amphitheatrically around the saddle of land formed by the peninsular of the same name.¹¹Mylasa (Milaş), was a kaza seat built in a fertile area with Güllük as its seaport.¹²

2. Population information

The total Orthodox population of the Diocese of Heliopolis in 1906 was 47.080, according to the statistics published in Xenophanes, the journal of the “Anatoli” club of Asia Minor Greeks in Athens. As far as the population of Aydın was concerned, it reached 50.000 inhabitants of which 23.000 were Muslims, 6.000-6.500 were Greek-Orthodox and 2.500 were Jews.¹³ Slightly different facts are presented by P. Kontogiannis, who mentions a total population of 40.000, of which 25.000 were Muslims, 10.000 were Greek-Orthodox, 1.500 were Jews, 1.000 were Levantines (Catholics) and Europeans.¹⁴

As far as the other towns of the diocese were concerned, Nazilli had, according to S. Antonopoulos, a total population of 15.000 with 1.500-2.000 Greek-Orthodox, a number which contrasts strongly with the 10.000 presented by P. Kontogiannis, a seemingly more natural percentage in a total population of 25.000. They came from Smyrna, Philadelphia, Kaisareia, Pisidia, Lesvos and Epirus.¹⁵ For Bayındır, S. Antonopoulos gives a population of 13.000 inhabitants, 9.300 Muslims and 3.500 Greek-Orthodox. The numbers given by P. Kontogiannis are higher: according to him, 16.000 of the 25.000 inhabitants were Muslims and 8.000 were Greek-Orthodox. Here at Bayındır came settlers from the Peloponnese, Kaisareia and various islands.¹⁶

According to Antonopoulos, Tire had 35.000 inhabitants of which 4.000 were Greek-Orthodox, 3.000 were Jews and the rest were Muslims. According to Kontogiannis the total population was 40.000, mainly Muslims.¹⁷ For Ödemiş, Antonopoulos mentions 10.000 Muslims, 2.500 Greek-Orthodox and 1.200 Armenians, while Kontogiannis simply mentions a total population of 27.000.¹⁸

Muğla had 10.000 inhabitants, 8.000 Muslims and 2.000 Greek-Orthodox.¹⁹ Bodrum had a population of 11.000, with 6.000 Muslims and 5.000 Greek-Orthodox.²⁰ Mylasa had 7.000 inhabitants, 3.500 Greek-Orthodox, 3.000 Muslims and a few Jews. The Greek-Orthodox migrated here during the 17^th century from the Dodecanese and Cyprus.²¹

3. Economy

The town of Aydın was an important commercial centre trading mainly in textiles and agricultural products such as cotton, grains, oil, raisins and figs which were grown in the area, while there was also trading of goods produced by the town’s light industrial units such as shelling houses, dye houses, tanneries, mills and liquorice factories. Trading was exercised to a large extent by the Greek-Orthodox (particularly from Epirus), Jews and Armenians.²² A number of the town’s inhabitants had gained employment in public services.²³ The importance of the town is emphasized by the existence of French and Italian consular authorities.²⁴

Nazilli was established as a local commercial centre through its production of grains, oil, cotton, figs, acorns and liquorice. The construction of the railway promoted the town’s growth which also had a number of shops, banking bureaus and cotton gins. Although the Greek-Orthodox community is referred to as "thriving",²⁵ the Muslims are presented as the wealthiest by S. Antonopoulos.²⁶ An antimony mine which, at some point, was abandoned existed near the town.²⁷

Bayındır was surrounded by vineyards and was an important production centre of wine and raisins. Other basic products were cotton, oil and grains. The town’s Greek-Orthodox had an important presence in commercial activities and owned four steam-powered cotton, oil or flour processing factories.²⁸

The main products traded at Tire were tobacco, raisins, hemp and liquorice.²⁹ The town also had small industry units and was the final station of the right-hand arm of the Aydın railway which split at Torbali.³⁰ A gold mine to the west of the town was often in operation, as did one near Ödemiş.³¹ The area around Ödemiş produced mainly tobacco, barley, oil, raisings, and acorns; it also boasted factories which produced rope, silk threads and textiles. The Greek-Orthodox were involved with trade, construction and other businesses.³² Antimony, mercury and copper mines existed on the outskirts of the town. Ödemiş was the final station of the left arm of the railway from Torbali.³³

Despite its inaccessibility by road, Muğla had an important market. The valley produced grains and rye. In Muğla, the Muslims were landowners and traders, while the Greek-Orthodox were workers and labourers.³⁴ During the Ottoman era, Alikarnassos did not maintain the radiance and status of ancient times. It was reduced to a commercial centre of local importance.³⁵ At Mylasa as well, the Greeks were “labourers and small-time traders”;³⁶ the area’s important commercial activities were conducted mainly by the Jews. Flour mills and oil presses functioned in the town, while on Mount Aksivri, east of the town, there were some emery mines which belonged to the Abbot & Whital Company. The emery was exported from Mylasa’s seaport, Güllük.³⁷

4. Education – Culture

Talking about education in the Diocese of Heliopolis, S. Antonopoulos refers to problems concerning the educational responsibilities of the diocese.³⁸ In any case, he mentions that Aydın had a seven-class school, a girls' school and a nursery. There was also a Greek club called Melissa and a Philharmonic orchestra.³⁹